NFL Week 1 betting guide: Predictions, picks, best bets and player props for first week of the season

CBS NFL expert Will Brinson dives into the full Week 1 slate and shares his best bets and top player props for Sunday's games

Sure, the kickoff on Thursday night is an incredible scene, and having NFL football on television is great, but nothing — with all due respect to my friends and family and loved ones — compares to diving headfirst back into a full Sunday of frenzied football action in Week 1.

The widespread advent of legalized sports betting has only made it more of a thrill. If you're a novice bettor and just wetting your beak, make sure and take advantage of the myriad sportsbook promos legal in your state, including hefty deposit options around the start of the season. Click on any of the bets below to see the best offers available to you.

Speaking of best offers, how about a buffet of best bets for Week 1? There's a ton of great underdog looks this week, and it wouldn't be NFL Week 1 if we didn't dabble in the anytime touchdown market and some player props. Let's get to it and look at my NFL betting picks for Sunday. 

NFL Week 1 best bets, side or total

Browns +5.5 (DraftKings)

The Bengals are 1-9 in the first two weeks of the season since drafting Joe Burrow in 2020 and pairing him with Zac Taylor. That's an almost impossible stat because Burrow is an MVP-caliber quarterback, and starting slow every single season is just embarrassing. It's to the point the Bengals changed things up and ran everyone out in the preseason.

The Bengals' offense looked awesome, and maybe they come out hot this year on that side of the ball. I don't think — and I can't believe I'm saying this — the defense will slow down 40-year-old Joe Flacco. And this many points is just too many points for a Bengals team that likes to wet the bed early in the season. 

Steelers vs. Jets Under 37.5 (FanDuel) 

What a ridiculous total this is. It could be 28 and I'd probably still be on board. Reports emerged late in the week that the Jets will feature a "run-heavy offense." I am not questioning those reports nor disparaging those reports, but, like, no bleep, Sherlock. 

Aaron Glenn and Co. brought Justin Fields in and have Breece Hall and Braelon Allen behind him in the backfield. They're gonna want to win with defense and the run game. Guess who else wants to chomp clock, play defense and win a close football game? Your Pittsburgh Steelers. 

This is a double revenge game, which we love, but the true revenge may be your eyeballs seeking payback after watching this slog of a slugfest. 

Panthers vs. Jaguars Over 46.5 (DraftKings)

My favorite bet of the week. I don't care that I'm not getting the best number. I don't care that it's a Shrek-level donkey play. These teams are not going to be great on defense, and they should be well above average on offense. 

Both Liam Cohen and Dave Canales should be highly incentivized to generate glowing reviews from Trevor Lawrence and Bryce Young, as those quarterbacks playing well early in the season will boost everyone's confidence in the respective coaching staffs. 

In other words, I think we get a ton of passing here and thus, a bunch of points. There are weapons aplenty and the defenses shouldn't be able to slow them down. I could see this ticking up a smidge too before kickoff. 

Rams -2.5 (Fanatics)

Matthew Stafford's back was a concern this preseason, but he wasn't listed on the injury report ahead of Week 1. The Rams are always underrated coming into the season, and this year is no different. The addition of Davante Adams paired with Puka Nacua gives Sean McVay the firepower to contend with an elite secondary in Houston. 

On the other side, I'm not sure the Texans come out of the gates firing on offense with all their injury issues, particularly the problems at running back, which features some unknowns. I'd probably hesitate once this got past 3 but at 2.5, I like the Rams to find a way to win quite a bit.

Raiders +3 (DraftKings)

If you just want to take the Raiders money line at +130, I won't blame you one bit. I think they're the better team overall, and if there's legitimately buzz about Drake Maye struggling in Josh McDaniels' offense heading into the year, not only is the Patriots hype way out of line, but you might be able to make a case the wrong team is favored here.

Ashton Jeanty is going to have a strong debut and run like Pete Carroll's newer version of Marshawn Lynch, the Raiders are going to force Maye into dropping back a ton without a slew of good weapons (although Stefon Diggs might show out in his first game for New England) and Pete Carroll gets his revenge from 30 years ago.

NFL Week 1 anytime touchdown bets

Malik Nabers +145 (DraftKings)

Russell Wilson has actually had great success against Dan Quinn defenses, including a strong performance last year. Maybe his experience practicing against Quinn's defense in Seattle has leant him a better knowledge of how to operate? Either way, we can get here with a moonball or a short bootleg red-zone pass. This Nabers number is getting overlooked with some other silly odds for lesser players in the same game with a reasonably high total. He's a target hog and Russ will feed him.

Trey McBride +200 (DraftKings) 

Another target hog at a really nice price relative to the skillset is McBride. Yes, he notably did not score a touchdown for months last year, but the Cardinals were aware of that and fed him late in the season. My guess is they'll do the same against an overmatched Saints team to shrug the narrative early. These odds are great for one of the elite tight ends in football. 

Brenton Strange +370 (DraftKings)

This Panthers secondary isn't great! And while I like the number for Brian Thomas, Jr., I'm going to play a little bit of a longshot operating under the impression that Carolina can maybe slow down Jacksonville near the goal line a bit and force a third down. Then, we get a bootleg from Trevor Lawrence and boom, pay off a pretty hefty price for a starting tight end who is drawing strong reviews in camp. 

Matthew Golden +215 (DraftKings)

Speaking of rave reviews, Golden has been lighting it up this preseason and ended up slotted as the No. 1 receiver for the Packers heading into the season. He's wearing No. 0, which is just an absolutely savage move that I wholeheartedly endorse. Even though there won't be an Under touchdowns in his box score, am I right?

I'm not suggesting you lay the lumber on this parlay, but I will tell you that a putting all four of the above guys in on a four-game ATD parlay at DraftKings pays out over $1,100 on a $10 bet if you're so inclined to sweep the board in Week 1.