Fifteen weeks remain until the start of the NFL’s regular season, but the betting lines for the opening week of games are already available. We identify four games to bet on now based on the NFL’s Week 1 lines and odds.
It’s only May, but it’s never too early to make a smart bet. A number of games and surprising lines jump off the page when looking at the opening lines for the NFL’s Week 1 slate.
Here are our early NFL Week 1 lines, odds, and picks (odds via DraftKings Sportsbook, Pointsbet, FanDuel Sportsbook; Pick confidence is based on a 1-to-5-star scale).
NFL Week 1 Lines and Odds
Odds via BetMGM
- Buffalo Bills vs. Los Angeles Rams (-1)
- Baltimore Ravens (-4.5) vs. New York Jets
- New Orleans Saints (-4) vs. Atlanta Falcons
- New England Patriots vs. Miami Dolphins (-3)
- Cleveland Browns (-3.5) vs. Carolina Panthers
- Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cincinnati Bengals (-6.5)
- San Francisco 49ers (-6.5) vs. Chicago Bears
- Philadelphia Eagles (-3.5) vs. Detroit Lions
- Indianapolis Colts (-7.5) vs. Houston Texans
- Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Washington Commanders (-3.5)
- Kansas City Chiefs (-3) vs. Arizona Cardinals
- Las Vegas Raiders vs. Los Angeles Chargers (-4)
- Green Bay Packers (-1.5) vs. Minnesota Vikings
- New York Giants vs. Tennessee Titans (-6.5)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-2.5) vs. Dallas Cowboys
- Denver Broncos (-4.5) vs. Seattle Seahawks
Early NFL Week 1 2022 betting at @BetMGM
Odds
Line movement
Betting percentages pic.twitter.com/fmE3VeHCUf— John Ewing ?? (@johnewing) May 24, 2022
NFL Week 1 Picks
A much improved New York Jets squad has been a main talking point this offseason, but the Baltimore Ravens should be bolstered too.
The Ravens finished a surprising 8-9 and last in the AFC North in 2021, but that disappointing campaign was mostly due to significant injuries.
NFL end of 2021 regular season injury plot. Games missed to injuries versus team wins. Bubble size represents cumulative quality of players lost (Lost-av metric) https://t.co/ILv7Y4ZcaH pic.twitter.com/z0oPcldiW2
— Man Games Lost NFL (@ManGamesLostNFL) January 13, 2022
Starting corner Marcus Peters and running back Gus Edwards missed the entire year, All-Pro left tackle Ronnie Stanley played just one game, and star quarterback Lamar Jackson missed the last four contests. Those are just four of the notable players who missed major time, but they should all be healthy to kick off the 2022 season.
The Ravens have also made several depth additions, including signing veteran corner Kyle Fuller and drafting stud safety Kyle Hamilton. Top receiver Marquise "Hollywood" Brown was traded to Arizona, but 2021 first-round pick Rashod Bateman is primed to vault atop the depth chart.
Baltimore is a realistic candidate to jump from worst to first in its division. Though the Jets have also improved their talent-particularly after drafting corner Sauce Gardner, wideout Garrett Wilson, and running back Breece Hall-they're not in the same weight class as Baltimore. The Jets have won just six games over the last two seasons.
The line should be much more like the -7.5 spread the Indianapolis Colts are getting over the Houston Texans in Week 1, the largest of the week right now. It's already moved to -5.5 at FanDuel.
Pick: Ravens -4.5 (-110 via DraftKings) ?????