Football is officially back, and with its return comes a chance to make money on NFL games. While many believe Week 1 is a time to wait back and see how teams perform, I believe that it is a chance to find edges before Vegas has data points to create sharper spreads. While I would never advise forcing bets, if you had any preseason convictions on certain teams I would highly recommend you consider betting on them in Week 1 before the market catches up.
In this article, I will highlight three of my favorite bets that you can make on Week 1 games, with one being a spread, one being a team total, and one being a player prop. However, I will also mention any additional bets I made on those games along with their respective unit size.
In 2021, Garner Hasler and the Bookie Busters Podcast profited over 50 units in the NFL and over 145 units across all sports. While this article highlights his favorite bets of the week, his full card can be found on all major podcast platforms.
Best NFL Week 1 bet: Baltimore Ravens winning by more than a touchdown
- Ravens back at full health
- Jets will be unable to generate pressure
- Jets league-worst defense in 2021
The Ravens having a successful 2022 campaign was one of my biggest stances in the preseason, so it is only right that I love them in Week 1 against the New York Jets. After a disappointing 2021 season where almost every position was riddled with injury, the Ravens come into their opener almost at full health. In 2021 John Harbaugh was forced to change his whole offensive approach, going from the league’s highest rushing rate to the 11th most.
Though their running backs are not back at full health that did not prove to be a problem in 2021 where Lamar Jackson had his team as the one seed in December before losing his defense to injury and eventually going down hisself.
Last year the Jets gave up the most yards in the NFL, and while they added plenty of young talent in the draft they will still be rookies in their first ever NFL game going against one of the league’s most versatile weapons in Lamar Jackson. I also have low hopes for Joe Flacco and company against an extremely strong Ravens secondary. With all that being said, I will gladly take the Ravens to beat the Jets by at least a touchdown on Sunday.
Additional bets:
Mark Andrews ATTS +120