Pigskin Predictions: Week One

I'm going to try and run my NFL predictions here every week, along with one-line reasons for each pick. We'll see how it turns out!

Thursday:

Tennessee at Pittsburgh: Steelers

Rationale: This will be close, but Pittsburgh's defence is just too good for the Titans.

Sunday:
Miami at Atlanta: Falcons

Rationale: Both of these teams will be good this year, but home-field advantage gives the Falcons the edge in this one.

Denver at Cincinnati: Bengals

Rationale: The Broncos have been a gong show so far under Josh McDaniels. Cincinnati isn't the league's best team or the most stable, but they look positively competent by comparison.

Minnesota at Cleveland: Vikings

Rationale: I think the Brett Favre experiment will implode at some point, but the Vikings are still a much better team than the Browns.

Jacksonville at Indianapolis: Colts

Rationale: The Colts may take a step back this year, but they still have Peyton Manning and a great passing offence.

Detroit at New Orleans: Saints

Rationale: Detroit is still Detroit, and the Saints should be quite good this year as they finally have a bit of defence to go with their offence.

Dallas at Tampa Bay: Cowboys

Rationale: The Cowboys won't be great this year, but they're still better than the Bucs, and they didn't just fire their offensive coordinator.

Philadelphia at Carolina: Eagles

Rationale: The Eagles should be solid again this year, and I'll take Donovan McNabb over Jake "Daylight Come And I Wanna" Delhomme and his five interceptions in one game any day.

Kansas City at Baltimore: Ravens

Rationale: The Chiefs will be one of the worst teams in the league this year, and they're going up against a very tough opponent in the Ravens.

New York Jets at Houston: Texans

Rationale: This one could see some early-season jitters from Jets QB Mark Sanchez, and I think the Texans will exploit that.

Washington at New York Giants: Giants

Rationale: This could be an interesting clash, but I think the Giants' superior defence and running game will see them prevail.

San Francisco at Arizona: Cardinals

Rationale: This one could be close, but I like Kurt Warner over Shaun Hill.

St. Louis at Seattle: Seahawks

Rationale: The Seahawks should be decent with the return of Matt Hasselbeck, but the Rams won't be good any time soon.

Chicago at Green Bay: Bears

Rationale: I expect the Packers' defence to struggle early on as they adjust to the 3-4.

Buffalo at New England: Patriots

Rationale: The Bills are in horrible shape after firing their offensive coordinator and cutting their starting left tackle, while the Patriots should return to dominance.

San Diego at Oakland: Chargers

Rationale: The Chargers' high-powered offence should be more than enough to demolish the Raiders.