NFL Picks: Week 1

And away we go! Here’s who Sports Illustrated editors are picking in the first week of the NFL’s 2020 regular season. (Spoiler alert: the Indianapolis Colts are a lock at Jacksonville.)

In the past, NFL picks were presented with the caveat that the smart play would be to check on who I was picking, then choose the opposite.

In all seriousness, that was merely an attempt at humor. Many in the media won’t admit this, but journalists don’t want to look too stupid when predicting the future. It’s a given that we’ll be wrong sometimes, but there’s some pride in at least being respectable in picks.

The new wrinkle this year is that Maven/SI has created a spreadsheet so fans can check out the picks of several editors. My picks are also listed below.

For what it’s worth, the Indianapolis Colts should consider their opener at the Jacksonville Jaguars as a bye week. Yeah, the Jags are going to be that bad. The one thing the franchise is good at is getting rid of quality players.

But the Jags do have one advantage — they’re used to playing in a stadium with few fans.

Want another?

The Jags are allowing 25 percent capacity at TIAA Bank Field — and they still can’t fill that many seats. OK, bad joke.

Good luck this season, NFL pickers.

PhilB’s Picks

Texans at Chiefs — Chiefs

Seahawks at Falcons — Seahawks

Jets at Bills — Bills

Bears at Lions — Lions

Packers at Vikings — Packers

Dolphins at Patriots — Patriots

Eagles at Washington — Eagles

Raiders at Panthers — Raiders

MORE: Check out Horseshoe Nation’s premium page

Colts at Jaguars — Colts

Browns at Ravens — Ravens

Chargers at Bengals — Chargers

Buccaneers at Saints — Buccaneers

Cardinals at 49ers — 49ers

Cowboys at Rams — Cowboys

Steelers at Giants — Steelers

Titans at Broncos — Titans

MORE: Check out all 32 NFL Team Previews by Sports Illustrated

(Phillip B. Wilson has covered the Indianapolis Colts for more than two decades and authored the 2013 book 100 Things Colts Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. He’s on Twitter @pwilson24, on Facebook at @allcoltswithphilb and @100thingscoltsfans, and his email is phillipbwilson24@yahoo.com.)