TYLER WAGNER 

Whether you play fantasy football, Pick’Em, bet on the games or just enjoy watching NFL football every Sunday, this column is for you. Stay up to date with the weekly match-ups and storylines as myself and the Sheaf’s sports editor Austin Arvay go head-to-head in a weekly Pick’Em.

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. New England Patriots (Sept. 10)

This NFL season will be kicking off with the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots taking on the powerhouse offence of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Pittsburgh will be playing without their stud running back, Le’Veon Bell who is suspended for the first two games because of the NFL drug policy. Regardless, Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown should provide a difficult time for the New England defence. Tom Brady, who was initially supposed to be suspended for the start of the season because of the Deflategate incident, will play. It should be a heavily offensive contest with these two studs at quarterback.

Tyler: Pittsburgh     Austin: New England

Indianapolis Colts vs. Buffalo Bills (Sept. 13)

Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts will be the first to face this year’s frightening Buffalo defence. Luck is one of the best young quarterbacks in the game and is looking to have yet another great season after posting better numbers in each of his seasons in the league. Buffalo has an entirely new look on the offensive side this year, starting the fifth-year Tyrod Taylor as well as acquiring star running back Lesean Mccoy.

Tyler: Buffalo     Austin: Indianapolis

Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers (Sept. 13)

A classic divisional rivalry will open the season for both Green Bay and Chicago. Aaron Rodgers will be without one of his biggest weapons for all of the 2015 season, as Jordy Nelson tore his ACL in the preseason. Rodgers is an elite quarterback but will be put to the test this season. The Bears lost stud receiver Brandon Marshall in the offseason and are hoping their defence will rebound after a tough 2014 season where they went 5-11.

Tyler: Green Bay     Austin: Green Bay

Kansas City Chiefs vs. Houston Texans (Sept. 13)

Kansas City is looking to rebound off a rough passing season in which quarterback Alex Smith didn’t throw a single touchdown to a wide receiver. Houston has one of the most dangerous run defences with J.J. Watt  and JaDeveon Clowney, as well as acquiring a plug in the middle that is Vince Wilfork. Regardless of how good the Houston defence is, they will be taking on the fastest running back in the league, Jamaal Charles.

Tyler: Houston     Austin: Kansas City

Carolina Panthers vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (Sept. 13)

Carolina won the NFC South at 7–8–1 and have a very solid defence anchored by Luke Kuechly, who is arguably the best middle linebacker in the league and causes problems for any opposing offence. Jacksonville’s second-year quarterback Blake Bortles is looking to take the next step in his career and after a couple dismal seasons in Jacksonville, they look to have a better year with rookie T.J. Yeldon in the backfield.

Tyler: Carolina     Austin: Carolina

Cleveland Browns vs. New York Jets (Sept. 13)

New York has a powerhouse defence this year after getting Darrelle Revis in the offseason and drafting top prospect Leonard Williams. They also acquired receiver Brandon Marshall, who is looking to make a difference and be a solid number one option in New York. Cleveland is hoping to have a better season after they made a late playoff push. The loss of Brian Hoyer as quarterback will leave some question marks on the Browns’ offence, but their defence is solid and will look to keep them in games.

Tyler: New York     Austin: New York

Seattle Seahawks vs. St. Louis Rams (Sept. 13)

Seattle went from having the most dominant defence in the league to also having one of the most dangerous offences as well. “Beast Mode” Marshawn Lynch is ready to have another dominate rushing season, as is quarterback Russell Wilson. After signing superstar tight end Jimmy Graham, this offence is feared by the entire league. St. Louis, however, has a very strong defence and after trading for quarterback Nick Foles will be serious playoff contenders.

Tyler: Seattle     Austin: St. Louis

Miami Dolphins vs. Washington Redskins (Sept. 13)

Miami’s quarterback Ryan Tannehill had an excellent season last year and was a top 10 quarterback. Washington’s quarterback situation is a little bit more complicated after giving the starting job to Kirk Cousins who has been Robert Griffin III’s backup since the start of his career. Entering his fourth year, he has finally ousted Griffin and gets his first chance to start.

Tyler: Miami     Austin: Miami

Cincinnati Bengals vs. Oakland Raiders (Sept. 13)

Cincinnati was one of three AFC North teams to make the playoffs last year and they hope to start off strong against an up-and-coming Raiders team. Quarterback Andy Dalton will look to rebound after a tough 2014 and his favourite target, AJ Green, will hope to help. Oakland is on the right track with second year quarterback Derek Carr, as they gave him some help with the draft choice of game changer Amari Cooper.

Tyler: Cincinnati     Austin: Oakland

Detroit Lions vs. San Diego Chargers (Sept. 13)

Both of these teams posses receivers looking to have bounce-back seasons. Calvin Johnson, also known as “Megatron,” had a nagging injury last year and is hoping to have a healthy and successful season. Golden Tate had to step up in his place last season but it was clear that Matt Stafford was missing his star receiver. Keenan Allen had a bad year last year after a great rookie season with the Chargers. San Diego is hoping that they can chalk that one up to the notorious “sophomore slump.”

Tyler: San Diego     Austin: Detroit

Baltimore Ravens vs. Denver Broncos (Sept. 13)

The ageless Peyton Manning is looking to have yet another record breaking season. Demaryius Thomas is still the number one option in Denver in front of Emmanuel Sanders. Baltimore is coming off two straight years of being 8–8. Last year their season was surrounded by the controversy of Ray Rice, who was released after he was suspended for domestic violence.

Tyler: Denver     Austin: Denver

New Orleans Saints vs. Arizona Cardinals (Sept. 13)

Arizona had very strong showing last year and is only going to improve from it this year. They have a few young studs on offence, with wide receiver John Brown and running back Andre Ellington. New Orleans lost their star offensive player Jimmy Graham and it will be interesting to see if Drew Brees will be able to maintain the great numbers he’s put up year after year without Graham.

Tyler: Arizona     Austin: Arizona

Tennessee Titans vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Sept. 13)

This is the matchup of the first and second overall draft choices of this year: quarterbacks Jameis Winston versus Marcus Mariota. This game puts a lot of pressure on both rookies, as there was a lot of controversy around who should’ve been selected first. Winston will look to show that he was rightfully the first pick and prove not only to his team that they made the right choice, but also prove it to himself.

Tyler: Tampa Bay     Austin: Tampa Bay

New York Giants vs. Dallas Cowboys (Sept. 13)

Dallas had the most dangerous rushing attack last year with DeMarco Murray. However, much of the rushing credit needs to be given to their talented young offensive line. New York has one of the most exciting young players in the league in receiver Odell Beckham Jr. You may remember him from last year for having arguably the nicest catch of all-time. He looks to have yet another explosive year after putting up some of the best numbers of any rookie in quite some time.

Tyler: Dallas     Austin: Dallas

Philadelphia Eagles vs. Atlanta Falcons (Sept. 14)

Dan Quinn takes over as the Falcons’ new head coach and will look to improve on the league’s worst defence from last year. The duo of Matt Ryan and Julio Jones will return, looking to match their success of previous seasons. The Eagles had one of the most interesting offseasons filled with a plethora of trades, as they lost stud running back Lesean McCoy and starting quarterback Nick Foles.

Tyler: Philadelphia     Austin: Atlanta

Minnesota Vikings vs. San Francisco 49ers (Sept. 14)

Part two of Monday Night Football marks the return of running back Adrian Peterson, following his roller coaster 2014 season. Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater will look to build off his rookie campaign and will have more weapons at his disposal this time around. San Francisco had a tough offseason with the departure of seven starters from last year. They also lost prominent head coach Jim Harbaugh who resigned after taking the team to the playoffs three of the last four years.

Tyler: Minnesota     Austin: Minnesota