NFL Picks: Week 1 Best-Bet Parlay Backs 49ers, Eagles

It’s incredibly difficult to handicap Week 1 in the National Football League given there is no film to watch, records to go off or, well, any measure of certainty. It’s no different this weekend with the NFL set to kick off the 2023 campaign.

There are a lot of small numbers on the betting board for that exact reason. There are only two games — Baltimore at Houston, Arizona at Washington — with spreads more than one touchdown. In contrast, there are six games with spreads of a field goal or less.

With that, we’ve highlighted four games worth considering, backing a pair of road favorites with one moneyline pick and one total in our best-bet parlay.

All lines are courtesy of the consensus data listed on NESNBets.com live odds page.

(-2) San Francisco 49ers at Pittsburgh Steelers
The 49ers on Wednesday made Nick Bosa the highest paid pass-rusher in the league, concluding his holdout and ensuring the reigning Defensive Player of the Year would be back on the field. Though San Francisco will be traveling to the East coast for the early game, getting the star-studded 49ers while laying less than a field goal is too enticing.

(-4) Philadelphia Eagles at New England Patriots
Reports coming out of Gillette Stadium this summer were consistently down on New England’s offensive line. And Philadelphia travels to Route One with one of the best defensive lines in the league. There’s reason to believe Bill O’Brien will help quarterback Mac Jones will bounce-back this season, but this is an incredibly difficult spot for their season opener.

Jacksonville Jaguars at Indianapolis Colts UNDER 45.5
While we’ve opted to stray away from road favorites in division games, we’re willing to go against a rookie quarterback in Anthony Richardson and a woeful Colts offense. Jonathan Taylor, of course, will be sidelined the first four weeks.

Baltimore Ravens moneyline vs. Houston Texans
This represents the largest Week 1 spread. And while Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is 3-1 against the spread in his Week 1 opportunities, teams don’t tend to fare well in double-digit Week 1 spots. Instead, we’ll take the Ravens to win straight up, which feels like the biggest given on the slate, in a way to add a couple more dollars to the potential payout.

Payout: 1 unit to win 6.3 ($10 to win $73)