9. Minnesota Vikings at St. Louis Rams (noon CT, 1 ET, Fox: Dick Stockton, Kirk Morrison, and Kristina Pink)
Veteran Vikings quarterback Matt Cassel hasn't ever gotten back to how good he was in his 11-5 year replacing Tom Brady in 2008, but without Sam Bradford in front of him, Shaun Hill will have to be just as good as Cassel was in '08 for the Rams to have any chance to succeed. Vikings 20, Rams 10
8. Carolina Panthers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4:25 ET, Fox: Chris Myers, Ronde Barber, and Jennifer Hale) Sunset at 7:44.
While Cam Newton doesn't have a single wide receiver on his roster who has ever caught a regular season pass from him, Lovie Smith's defensive system will take more than one week of regular season play for Tampa to begin to dominate with it. Panthers 24, Buccaneers 17
7. Jacksonville Jaguars at Philadelphia Eagles (1 ET, CBS: Andrew Catalon, Steve Tasker, and Steve Beuerlein)
Chip Kelly's high-flying offense should have no trouble dominating the Jaguars, who honestly should be starting Blake Bortles at quarterback. On the other hand however, no team has won the NFC East in back-to-back seasons since the Eagles did it from 2001-4, but I believe Chip Kelly will return the Eagles back to the top of the division and break this trend. Eagles 40, Jaguars 11
6. New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons (1 ET, Fox: Kevin Burkhardt, John Lynch, and Pam Oliver)
Last season, the Falcons had their first losing season under Mike Smith, but if Julio Jones can stay healthy this year, they'll get back to being a competitor. Also important to note is that the NFC South has never been won by the same team two years in a row, so most likely the winner of the division this year will come out of this game. Falcons 18, Saints 17
5. Buffalo Bills at Chicago Bears (noon CT, 1 ET, Fox: Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, and Tony Siragusa)
If Sammy Watkins is healthy enough to start in this game, he could rip the Bears' defense to shreds. The Bills' defense is an up and coming bunch, good even without Kiko Alonso. Bills 13, Bears 9
4. San Francisco 49ers at Dallas Cowboys (3:25 CT, 4:25 ET, Fox: Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, and Erin Andrews)
Until the Cowboys succeed, I will never believe they can win the big games. For now, 49ers 31, Cowboys 30
3. New York Giants at Detroit Lions (Monday 7:10 ET, ESPN: Chris Berman and Trent Dilfer) Sunset at 7:54.
The Lions led their division for more than half the season last year, until their late season collapse concluding with the loss to the Giants. Don't think they've forgotten that, and expect them to come out looking for revenge. Lions 38, Giants 21
In the first meeting since the Fail Mary game, the Packers will get thrashed. Seahawks 24, Packers 13
1. San Diego Chargers at Arizona Cardinals (Monday 7:25 MST, 10:25 EDT, ESPN: Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden, and Lisa Salters) Sunset at 6:45.
In a matchup of the third place teams from the best two divisions in football last year, both teams will have a tough time winning the division but both are definite contenders for the wild card spots, and could certainly make title runs. Cardinals 45, Chargers 41
To see which games you'll see in your area, click this link; http://506sports.com/nfl.php?yr=2014&wk=1
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