Soldier Field will not only host the NFL opener for 2019 but the fierce rivalry between the Bears and Packers this Friday. For Chicago, they come off an impressive 12-4 season and have made very minimal changes to their squad. So they’ll be pushing for a Super Bowl title in 2019, led by their elite defence and an underwhelming playoff exit last season at this venue as motivation. Green Bay will be disappointed in their 2018 performance with just 6 wins and it cost Mike McCarthy his job. So they\u2019ll look to overturn a horrible 1-7 road record and a poor defensive unit. Which they did address in the offseason with a few key signings. The key in this Week 1 matchup will likely be on the defensive side of the field. The Bears have a great unit that proved hard to score against at this venue last season. They allowed the fewest points in the NFL and have conceded under 18 points in their last 3 home games. For the Packers, they have a new coach so it will likely take some time to adjust and that should see a low scoring affair here. So the Under total, which is 11-6 at Soldier Field since 2017, looks the best bet.<\/p>\n
Stadium Record<\/strong><\/p>\n Packers are 8-1 at Soldier Field since 2011. Bears went 7-2 at home last season.<\/p>\n Head to Head Record<\/strong><\/p>\n Packers are 5-1 against the Bears but Chicago was victorious in the last meeting.<\/p>\n Best Bet<\/strong><\/p>\n UNDER 48.5 $1.71<\/a><\/p>\n Foxborough will be rocking on Monday morning as the Super Bowl champions unveil another title in this Week 1 affair. On the field, this should be a really tough contest between a pair of AFC rivals. It\u2019s Tom Brady against Big Ben once again in the QB battle. Meanwhile, the Patriots will look to find scoring avenues without Gronk on the field (retired). Their strategy looks to be finding tall receivers for Brady with the likes of Josh Gordon and rookie Jakobi Meyers in line for big seasons. It\u2019s a similar story for Big Ben with Antonio Brown now at the Raiders. Which should see JuJu Smith-Schuster play an even larger role in 2019. Ultimately, it\u2019s incredibly hard to bet against the Patriots at home, especially in a home opener. They went a perfect 9-0 here last season and they\u2019ve enjoyed large wins over the Steelers in the last 3 meetings in Foxborough. So we\u2019ll be looking at a high scoring contest. The Patriots first five home games in 2018 went 4-1 against the 48.5 total and the Over is 3-0 when the Steelers have travelled here since 2013.<\/p>\n Stadium Record<\/strong><\/p>\n Pittsburgh has lost all of the last 3 meetings at this venue. The Patriots went undefeated at home last season (9-0).<\/p>\n Head to Head Record<\/strong><\/p>\n The Patriots hold a 6-2 SU record since 2010.<\/p>\n Best Bet<\/strong><\/p>\n OVER 48.5 $1.71<\/a><\/p>\n The Tuesday doubleheader will begin in New Orleans as the Saints take on the Texans. It\u2019s been an interesting preseason for the Texans so this is a tough ask in Week 1 against the 13-3 Saints of last season. They\u2019ve already lost RB Lamar Miller and shipped Jadeveon Clowney to the Seahawks. For the Saints, last year\u2019s disappointing playoff exit should only motivate them to make it to the Super Bowl this time. Drew Brees isn\u2019t getting any younger so he\u2019s running out of time. Not that he\u2019s slowing down in production though. The Saints offence is always the talking point but their defence is a major reason why they\u2019re tipped to feature in Atlanta this February. They were the 2nd best team against the run in 2018 and that bodes well for them against the Texans injury-riddled backfield. So with the Texans owning a very poor 4-13 ATS record in away night games, we have to like the Saints in their home opener to win by over a touchdown.<\/p>\n Stadium Record<\/strong><\/p>\n In 2011, the Texans travelled to New Orleans and lost 40-33. Saints are 15-3 in their last 18 home games.<\/p>\n Head to Head Record<\/strong><\/p>\n The two sides have met just twice since 2011 and the home team is 2-0.<\/p>\n Best Bet<\/strong><\/p>\n Saints -6.5 $1.85<\/a><\/p>\n The Raiders and Broncos aren\u2019t expected to feature in this AFC West divisional race but a Week 1 victory will be a great start. Oakland brought in Antonio Brown from the Steelers but he\u2019s been more a distraction at this point. So after no preseason action with Derek Carr, it\u2019s hard to see them building chemistry straight away. While for the Broncos, they\u2019ve added the experience of Joe Flacco at QB and he\u2019ll look to build a partnership with new head coach Vic Fangio. Ultimately, this really has a feeling of a low scoring and grinding contest between two poor teams on paper. So we\u2019ll be looking for the Under trend to continue. In the Raiders last 12 home games, 9 have gone Unders and it\u2019s also 5-2 when they play Denver at home. For the Broncos, their Under record on the road is 5-0 and 5-0 at any venue.<\/p>\n Stadium Record<\/strong><\/p>\n Denver holds an 11-5 record at this venue against the Raiders. Oakland is 2-4 in their last 6 home games.<\/p>\n Head to Head Record<\/strong><\/p>\n The two sides split the season series in 2018. Oakland won 27-14 in the previous meeting.<\/p>\n Best Bet<\/strong><\/p>\n UNDER 46.5 $1.59<\/a><\/p>\n
\nPittsburgh Steelers at New England Patriots<\/h3>\n
\nHouston Texans at New Orleans Saints<\/h3>\n
\nDenver Broncos at Oakland Raiders<\/h3>\n
\nOther NFL Week 1 Tips<\/h3>\n