The NFL season kicks off tonight with Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs taking on DeShaun Watson and the Houston Texans. It’s a battle of two of the most dynamic quarterbacks in the league so this one should be fun. Can the defending champs cover a big line tonight?
You can see all the current NFL lines here and also check out the video above. One of many interesting games has Miami getting 6.5 points on the road against New England. The key here is that Miami is an up-and-coming team, while New England starts the post-Tom Brady era. Cam Newton gets the nod, and that would not make me feel comfortable about laying down the points.
One of the greatest coaches in NFL history, Don Shula, passed away at the age of 90. He won two Super Bowls and coached the Miami Dolphins to the only undefeated team in NFL history.
Here’s a great interview with Larry Csonka about Shula:
"Winning was important to him, but not at all cost. He had to win within the rules or it didn’t count.” “If you cheated in any capacity, it meant nothing. He’d throw the whole thing out."
The Baltimore Ravens started the season against the Miami Dolphins, easily one of the worst teams in NFL history. Then they played the woeful Arizona Cardinals. After easy wins, naturally many in the press jumped to the conclusion that the Ravens were one of the best teams in the NFL. Oh, and suddenly Lamar Jackson was a cut below Patrick Mahomes.
Meanwhile, the Cleveland Browns had plenty of hype coming into the season, and many in the pressed relished watching them struggle in their opener and then suffer some horrible play calls from Freddie Kitchens last week against the Rams. Many loved mocking Baker Mayfield for his slow start.
This poll from last week summed up the silliness we’ve been hearing. Lamar Jackson is a very talented player with a unique skill set, but there’s no way you take him over Baker Mayfield.