Week 1 NFL Odds, Early Locks and Best Bets on the Schedule

Football is back! college football brought fans a thrilling Week 1 slate over the weekend, and now it's the NFL's turn to take over the sporting world. The Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots will kick off the season with a Super Bowl LX rematch on Wednesday.

Fans will also be treated to a special Thursday game between the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers in Australia, a full Sunday slate, and a battle between the Kansas City Chiefs and Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football .

While the schedule itself is exciting enough, many fans will look to up the stakes by making a few wagers. Week 1 is always a tricky slate to navigate, but here, we'll pick the best bets based on the early odds from FanDuel Sportsbook .

Will Wednesday's rematch be closer than Super Bowl LX was? Probably. The Patriots were outclassed from the opening kickoff in that one, had no answers for Seattle's relentless pass rush, and went on to lose 29-13.

On paper, New England has a more complete squad this year, and it has a new No. 1 receiver in A.J. Brown. The Seahawks, meanwhile, lost key contributors like Kenneth Walker III, Riq Woolen, Coby Bryant, and Boye Mafe.

Considering how the last meeting went, though, this is a surprisingly small line. Seattle still has the bones of an elite defense, which is probably the biggest issue for New England in this matchup. Brown should give Drake Maye a more reliable top target than he had in Stefon Diggs, but finding time to push the ball downfield will still be a challenge.

And while the Patriots have plenty of talent on their own defense, they're unlikely to corral the Seahawks for a full four quarters in Seattle. Both teams may be able to avoid the dreaded Super Bowl hangover this season, but I'd expect New England to come out of this one with a headache.

Sunday's matchup between the Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers will be a battle between defending divisional champions. However, these two teams are not equal.

Carolina won the NFC South with a losing record and was fortunate to overcome an offense that ranked just 27th in yards and points and an average (16th in yards allowed) defense.

Good complementary football did allow Carolina to upset the mighty Los Angeles Rams in 2025, but the Panthers got to eight wins by beating up on teams like the New York Jets, Miami Dolphins, and Atlanta Falcons (twice).

The Bears had their fair share of defensive issues in 2025, but they also featured a potent offense led by Caleb Williams, D'Andre Swift, Luther Burden III, and Colston Loveland. Head coach Ben Johnson is looking to push that offense a step forward in 2026.

"I want to have the highest-scoring offense ever," Johnson said, per The Athletic's Dan Pompei .

While Chicago's offense might not be historically good this season, it's hard to envision Bryce Young and the Panthers keeping pace in Week 1.

The Las Vegas Raiders stunned the Patriots with a Week 1 win last season—though it wasn't viewed as a major upset at the time. With a new head coach in Klint Kubiak and a seasoned quarterback in Kirk Cousins, the Raiders won't shock anyone with a home win over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.

Kubiak knows what it takes to build a Super Bowl contender, and Cousins will provide the sort of steady presence that Las Vegas lacked a year ago. The Dolphins, meanwhile, have a roster largely devoid of proven talent.

There's a reason why Miami claimed a whopping seven players off waivers during final roster cuts. Why isn't this line even larger, again?

Quarterback Malik Willis is the wild card that could keep Miami competitive in this one. He showed glimpses of being a top-tier dual-threat as the Green Bay Packers backup, and Las Vegas doesn't exactly feature an elite defense. Willis and De'Von Achane could potentially control the game on the ground and give the Dolphins a chance—and Ashton Jeanty's ankle sprain is another obvious factor.

Still, the Raiders will have a massive home-field advantage here and should cover.

Will a non-QB be 2027's No. 1 pick? New NFL mock draft