Video summary
The video begins by introducing a tool called Sharps for viewers who wish to make their own picks without cost, offering scores and performance tracking before diving into Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season. The first matchup features the Rams and 49ers playing in Australia, where the San Francisco team gained a strategic advantage by flying out a week early to build a stronger home-field presence, while the Rams arrived just a day prior with Aaron Donald listed as inactive despite George Kittle's availability. Although the speaker believes the Rams should theoretically win, they are picking the 49ers to take the game based on their superior preparation and fan base momentum in Australia.
The analysis continues across various Sunday afternoon games, starting with the Chicago Bears traveling to Charlotte to face the Carolina Panthers, where Ben Johnson aims to lead a historic high-scoring offense against an inconsistent Panthers unit, leading to a pick for the Bears. The Cincinnati Bengals are favored over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers despite expectations of a high-scoring affair, as the speaker views the Bengals as a 12-win team with an improved defense, though they warn fans to watch out for Ruben Bane. In a potential upset, the Saints are expected to defeat the Lions in a high-scoring game due to injuries to key defensive players like Kirby Joseph and Brian Branch, although the speaker still favors the Lions while acknowledging that Tyler Shook could throw close to 300 yards.
The forecast shifts to lower-scoring games involving championship-caliber defenses, such as the Houston Texans hosting the Buffalo Bills, where the speaker predicts a close contest but picks the Bills to win due to lingering playoff bitterness against the Broncos. The Baltimore Ravens are favored over the Indianapolis Colts after improvements in their defense and the expected return of Trey Hendrickson, even though the Colts' offense may take time to recover from Daniel Jones' Achilles injury. Other notable predictions include the Jacksonville Jaguars as heavy favorites over the Cleveland Browns, the Pittsburgh Steelers winning at home against an inconsistent Atlanta Falcons team missing key edge rushers, and the New York Jets overcoming a struggling Tennessee Titans offense thanks to offseason additions.
The final segment covers late afternoon and prime-time matchups, with the Los Angeles Chargers favored over the Arizona Cardinals despite a strong preseason showing for the Cardinals' offense, while the Las Vegas Raiders are picked to beat the Miami Dolphins due to their significant offseason investments in players like Quinyshad Davis and Nico Collins. The Minnesota Vikings, bolstered by Kyler Murray's acquisition, are expected to defeat the Green Bay Packers thanks to offensive stability and home-field advantage. The video concludes with the Philadelphia Eagles favored over the Washington Commanders despite identity issues for the latter, the Dallas Cowboys winning against the New York Giants due to Malik Nabors' injury timeline, and the Kansas City Chiefs taking the Monday Night Football game against the Denver Broncos at home, as the speaker believes both teams will split their season but favors the home team eager to prove last year's success was not a fluke.
Read the full video transcript
If you wanted to make picks yourself
completely free, try out the Sharps.
They'll give you a score and tell you
how well you've been doing picking
games. Click the link in the
description.
Week one is underway. The Rams and 49ers
play in Australia. San Francisco
adjusted their clock by flying out a
week early, while the Rams, they're
winging it and flew out just a day
before. Things to note are Aaron Donald
is inactive, while George KD, he'll be
playing. I'm picking the 49ers to win
this one. Ideally, the Rams, they should
win, but the 49ers, they were able to
build a fan base by traveling so early,
so they'll have the home field
advantage. Over to Sunday, the Chicago
Bears travel to Charlotte to take on the
Carolina Panthers. Ben Johnson has his
eyes set on making this the highest
scoring offense ever. Meanwhile, the
Panthers offense, fortunately, it's hit
or miss. And because of that, giving the
Bears to win this one on the road. There
was some doubt on whether DeAndre Swift
or Kyle Manungai would miss this game,
but they both seem like they're going to
be good to go. The Cincinnati Bengals
versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. You'd
expect this to be a high-scoring game,
but it's week one. The Bucks defense
also will be much better than people
think, but despite that, I'm taking the
Bengals to win. They're a 12- win team
in my eyes, and their defense has
improved as well. But watch out for
Ruben Bane this season. In what could be
the upset of the week, the Saints could
beat the Lions. That's what I had
penciled in until Jordan Tyson got hurt.
But I do expect this to be a
high-scoring game. The Lions secondary
will be missing Kirby Joseph, Brian
Branch. They also released Tyion Arnold,
so expect a lot of passing in this game.
I'm still taking the Lions to win, but
don't be surprised if Tyler Shuck is
throwing close to 300 yards. From one
high-powered game to a lowscoring one,
the Houston Texans host the Buffalo
Bills. Week one, as you saw with the
Patriots and the Seahawks, is
universally lower scoring. With the
championship caliber defense, the Texans
will keep this one close. However, I'm
taking the Bills to win this week.
There's still a bad taste in their
mouths from the playoffs against the
Broncos. One thing to note for the
Texans, Kahan Booty is expected to be
heavily involved. The two cities tied to
the Colts franchise, Baltimore and
Indianapolis. The good news for the
Ravens fans is that the defense won't be
nearly as bad as it was last season.
Trey Hendrickson as a muchneeded boost,
which is why I'm picking the Ravens to
win. I believe the Colts offense can get
to the point that they were at at the
first half of 2025, but it might take a
couple weeks to work Daniel Jones back
in coming off that injured Achilles. The
Cleveland Browns versus the Jacksonville
Jaguars. This is a game with a lot of
unknowns. Interested to see how the
Browns defense does without Miles
Garrett. And also interested to see how
the Jaguars deploy their wide receivers.
Picking the Jaguars to win this one.
Honestly, not really much to say here
and hardly any debate here. I think a
lot of people would agree that the
Jaguars are the heavy favorites. The
Atlanta Falcons versus the Pittsburgh
Steelers. The overunder for Atlanta's
win total is 7 and a half this season.
To me, seven wins, that's their ceiling.
We know how inconsistent this offense
can be, and they're also missing their
top two edge rushers and Jaylen Walker
and James Pierce. That's why I'm picking
the Steelers to win at home. Pittsburgh
has improved with the addition of
Michael Pitman, who I expect to be a
reliable piece for the offense. Also
know that Touaka Voa injured his oblique
and the status is up in the air this
weekend. The New York Jets versus the
Tennessee Titans. Two teams that many
aren't really high on. Although the Jets
offense has improved, if Gino Smith can
be decent at worst, they may make some
noise. Those offseason offensive weapons
that they added are why I'm rolling with
the Jets. Cam Ward and Cardinal Tate's
connection. It might improve throughout
the season, but unfortunately, it's just
not there yet. To the late afternoon
slate, the Arizona Cardinals versus the
Los Angeles Chargers. Mike McDaniel will
make this one of the better offenses in
the league. Got to give some love to the
Cardinals offense as well. Their offense
looked great this preseason, and this
could be a high-scoring game, but I'm
going to pick the Chargers to win this
week. Side note, Jeremiah Love seems
healthy enough to play after spraining
his ankle. The Miami Dolphins versus the
Las Vegas Raiders. Everyone expects the
Dolphins offense to be lackluster, but
it's not even that. The Raiders spent so
much money on their offense and their
defense this off season with guys like
Quinny Pay and Nico Dean. Their defense
is why I'm taking the Raiders to win
this one. They'll be without Brock
Bowers, but it looks like Ashen Genty is
in line to play. However, Mike
Washington could see an increase in
snaps. The Green Bay Packers and the new
look Minnesota Vikings. Minnesota is
hoping for some sense of normaly at
quarterback after acquiring Kyler
Murray. Their favorites to beat the
Packers, and I'm gonna have to agree
with that. The stability in the offense
is going to rejuvenate the crowd and
homefield advantage is going to be a
thing. While the Packers might struggle
with a lack of an established run game,
let's keep the division matchups rolling
with the Commanders and the Eagles. In
their own ways, last year seemed like a
disappointment for both teams. The
Eagles were the better squad, so I'm
picking them this week. Washington may
take a couple weeks to find their
identity with new offensive coordinator
David Blau. Sunday Night Football, the
Dallas Cowboys versus the New York
Giants. It looks like Malik Neighbors
will be playing this week, but due to
the complication of the injury, it'll
take a few weeks to get back up to full
speed. The Giants may have a tough time
keeping up with Dallas and their
offense. So, I'm picking the Cowboys to
win this week. And finally, Monday Night
Football between the Denver Broncos and
the Kansas City Chiefs. Both
quarterbacks suffered season ending
injuries, but both are fully recovered
and will start. As good as Denver was
last season, people have forgotten the
dominance of the Chiefs the last few
years. With it being in Kansas City, I'm
picking the Chiefs to win. I do believe
that both teams are going to split this
season. So, I'm siding with the home
team in this one that is itching to show
that last year was just a fluke.