2015 NFL Season: Pokorny's Week 1 Picks

Only Thing Deflated is Pittsburgh's Defense: How many "deflategate" references are we going to get during the game? I think the actual number will be low, although the phrase will run rampant on pre-game shows and on social media. I'd love to see one of the Patriots act like they are sticking a needle in the air hole of the football after they score a touchdown. This is a great match-up for the season opener, but I think the changes Pittsburgh will face defensively, coupled with missing their center for half the season, will prevent them from competing with the powerhouse Patriots. Patriots 31, Steelers 20

Bortles With the Rebound: Losing Dante Fowler right off the bat was a tough get-go for a Jaguars franchise trying to build a dominant defense, but if the preseason was any indication, this could be the year that Blake Bortles rebounds with a good sophomore season. The Panthers were a letdown for the first half of last season, and I'm waiting for them to deliver a consistent effort before I pick them regularly again. Jaguars 17, Panthers 14

No Jordy, No Problem: It must be nice to lose a guy like Jordy Nelson and still have the type of team (because of Aaron Rodgers) where you can shrug it off a little and say, "we'll be fine." John Fox is going to have to go through a little bit of a re-building effort in Chicago, but the Jay Cutler ceiling isn't going to magically get any higher. Packers 27, Bears 10

Game of the Week: Oh my goodness, I absolutely love this game. The Colts have added a lot of veteran talent on offense with Andre Johnson and Frank Gore, which will hopefully continue to aid the growth of Andrew Luck. The Bills are going to be a brutal defensive match-up for even the powerhouse offenses of the NFL, and even their offense has a lot of intrigue with new weapons like Tyrod Taylor, LeSean McCoy, and Percy Harvin. Rex Ryan has more "punch" than he did with the Jets, and it'll be enough to pull off a bit of a Week 1 upset. Bills 23, Colts 20

Coin Flip Game of the Week: Sometimes, coin flips are bad things for the teams involved because it means both teams are terrible. That isn't the case with the Chiefs and the Texans, two teams who have good running games, pretty good defensive units, and mediocre quarterbacks. It'll be an interesting dynamic to watch how Browns fans react to Brian Hoyer's struggles or successes in Houston. For Week 1, I think he'll help manage them to a victory. Texans 20, Chiefs 17

Suh Ready for the Challenge: Ndamukong Suh is ready to introduce himself to the rest of the AFC East, but first he and the Dolphins will have to make a pit stop in the NFC to take on the Redskins. This seems like a disastrous match-up for Washington, who don't feature a great offensive line and have been through quarterback turmoil in the preseason. I can't believe Jay Gruden survived year one, and I'd be stunned if his team had the energy to combat a solid Miami team. Dolphins 24, Redskins 13

Foles to the Rescue? The Rams made an interesting decision at quarterback this offseason by swapping Sam Bradford for Nick Foles. The problem is that the Rams still don't a real identity on offense, which has been a problem since even before Jeff Fisher took over. The defending Super Bowl Champion Seahawks could always have a little bit of a hangover like they did at the start of 2014, but if I had to pick, I'll lean toward the side that says they come out clicking. Seahawks 23, Rams 10

Changes in Key Personnel: This is another one of your coin-flip type of games. Even though the Lions lost Ndamukong Suh, they tried to make the best of the situation by adding Haloti Ngata. San Diego made a switch at running back this year by going with Melvin Gordon, but I'm more interested in seeing Danny Woodhead back in the offense as Philip Rivers will love having him back. I'll roll with the Chargers in a down-to-the-wire game. Chargers 27, Lions 23

Reversal of Fortune? Last year, Drew Brees and the Saints were off of their game. Every time you thought, "they'll snap out of their funk this week," things got worse. This year, they made the interesting decision to trade tight end Jimmy Graham and re-shape the receiver position a tad, but have made efforts to improve their offensive line and defense. I like the strategy, but Arizona proved to be a tough match-up for anyone last year, and now they have a semi-reliable quarterback back in Carson Palmer. Cardinals 20, Saints 17

Tugging at the Heart Strings: This pick kills me inside for two reasons: Peyton Manning remains my favorite non-Browns player, and of course I hate the Ravens. I can't shake the ugly outing I saw from Manning in the playoffs last year with his downfield throws having nothing on them and being well off-target. I hope he can be back to form, but my "gut feeling" is telling me to look on the gloomy side. Ravens 27, Broncos 20

Don't Dalton it Up: Regular season Andy Dalton is fine -- it's the playoff version who will get them nowhere but the land of disappointment. If Cincinnati does have a chance to instill a bit of a culture change, it'll be another season of committing to Jeremy Hill as their lead back. The Raiders have probably the best young quarterback of last year's class and Amari Cooper will be a great new toy for him, but the Raiders need more time to develop. Bengals 31, Raiders 14

Marcus Mariota vs. Jameis Winston: When I saw the Browns dismantle the Buccaneers in the third preseason game, I pegged the Buccaneers to finish with the worst record in the NFL because of their horrid offensive line. But, if they do have a chance of winning a game, it'll come in Week 1 against another team in rebuilding mode, the Tennessee Titans. This game will be exciting in the sense that it features the two two picks of the draft, but I'll give Tampa Bay the edge here for being at home and having more weapons at receiver and running back. Buccaneers 17, Titans 16

Sunday Night Football: How fun is it going to be to see Odell Beckham for an entire season? And, can the Cowboys still have the type of great offensive season they did a year ago now that their bell-cow in DeMarco Murray is gone? All bets are off when the Giants, Cowboys, or Eagles square off against each other, so for Week 1 I'm deferring to the Cowboys for their home field advantage. Cowboys 34, Giants 28

Chip Kelly 3.0: Perhaps no team was more disappointing last year than the Atlanta Falcons. Can Kyle Shanahan right the ship on offense, or will he lead another team to doom because of his inability to work with others? Meanwhile, Chip Kelly tried to make a lot more "genius" moves this offseason, but no change was bigger than the acquisition of Sam Bradford, who should have the Eagles winning shootouts as long as he can stay healthy. Eagles 42, Falcons 20

Worst Offseason Ever: The 49ers' horrific offseason seems unprecedented, doesn't it? Maybe things will turn out better for them than I envision, but I'm seeing doom-and-gloom for San Francisco. Meanwhile, the Vikings built up a lot of positive momentum last year, so we'll see if Teddy Bridgewater can build upon a successful rookie year with a road win over the 49ers. Vikings 21, 49ers 17

Defensive Battle of the Week: These teams seem like mirror images of each other, although you can give the Jets the edge in run defense and the Browns the edge with their offensive line. My full preview and prediction of the Browns vs. Jets game will be posted this Saturday on DBN.