Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-0) @ Houston Texans (0-1)
Monday, September 15, 7:00 PM ET
Week 1 of the 2025 season was a massive disappointment for the Houston Texans. Not only did they lose, but their offense didn't put up much of a fight, scoring just nine points.
Concerns from last season were anything but squashed, and it feels very much like this team is back to the proverbial drawing board. We need to see CJ Stroud be that star player we all know he's capable of being. And if he can bounce back against the Bucs, it would be a big statement.
The Monday night doubleheader starts off with Stroud trying to do just that against Baker Mayfield and the Bucs, who have no shortage of weapons offensively to spread the ball to. This is going to be a major test for Derek Stingley Jr. and the stellar Texans secondary, but should be a great battle.
I've got the Texans bouncing back at home to get their first win of the season.
Prediction: Texans win 24-22
Los Angeles Chargers (1-0) @ Las Vegas Raiders (1-0)
Monday, September 15, 10:00 PM ET
Two of the most impressive quarterbacks in Week 1 of the 2025 season were AFC West passers, but perhaps not the ones you might have expected.
After showing such a commitment to running the ball last year, it felt like the Los Angeles Chargers unleashed Justin Herbert in Week 1, and they had a ton of success doing it. Herbert carved up the Kansas City Chiefs in the season opener for the Chargers, and obviously has a chance to repeat that type of performance against a rather weak Raiders secondary.
Geno Smith also carved up the Patriots in Week 1, but they didn't have their best player (Christian Gonzalez) and the Chargers present a much tougher task overall. It's going to be fun to see these two go toe-to-toe and we might see these teams lean more heavily on their 1st-round rookie running backs.
As strong of a start as Geno Smith had in Week 1, it's hard to see the Raiders outscoring the Chargers with the way they played in Week 1.
Prediction: Chargers win 31-21