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Writer's pictureBob Hocking

Penny, Cassie, And The 2024 NFL Week One Selections

The Golden Pair Have Some Surprises In Their First Week Of Picking NFL Games Against The Point Spread.


Penny And Cassie Have Been Shown The Schedule, Offered Their Treats, And Settled On Their Picks.  It’s Time For The NFL Season To Begin.


Penny and Cassie are ready to make their first picks


Welcome to the first week of selections pitting me against my two Golden Retrievers, Penny and Cassie.

 

Each game has a few observations from me and then our selections.  This is more or less based on the standard design for NFL pick columns.  The surprise element comes from Penny and Cassie making picks against the spread along with me.  Throughout the season, we’re going to change up how some of the selections are made, but we will always be consistent.  The dogs will be given a task for the selection process each week, will both play with the same task, and they will have the ability to select either team with no interference.

 

The girls were given a simple game this week.  Two sheets of paper were placed on the ground, reflecting a game being played.  Each sheet had a name of one of the two teams playing in that contest.  A treat was placed on each sheet.  The sheet with the treat the dog selected first was used as their selection in the game.  In order to eliminate tendencies or bias, the only change from pick to pick was moving the sheets into new locations before they were released to make their choice.

 

This is week one of the NFL season, and that means no one truly knows what to expect.  There will always be one or two teams that get out to unexpectedly hot starts (or exceptionally poor ones), only to have things shift dramatically in October.  Time will usually work out the wrinkles, but for the month of September it can be chaos, and a gambler’s nightmare.  Let’s see if Penny and Cassie can take advantage of the confusion.

 

Cassie locking in on the Ravens


Baltimore Ravens At Kansas City Chiefs (-3)

In 2023, the Chiefs opened the season at home against the Lions and lost, 21-20.  In 2022, they traveled to Arizona and soundly thumped the Cardinals, 44-21.  Nothing to support Kansas City coming out of a championship into a strong or a weak start.  There’s also something to be said about a team that has played so many additional games, season after season, raising the chances of being worn out and tired.  Baltimore is a strong opponent, and a Super Bowl contender.  This game has all the makings of an upset and all the possibilities of playoff seeding importance.  When in doubt, trust the obvious and don’t overthink.  Take the Chiefs at home.

Bob: Kansas City

Penny: Baltimore

Cassie: Baltimore

 

Green Bay Packers At Philadelphia Eagles (-2.5) (In São Paulo, Brazil)

Both teams enter this contest with something to prove.  Green Bay is being raised onto the shoulders of Jordan Love and positioned as a potential conference champion in the NFC.  Philadelphia is looking to start strong after a disappointing 2023 season and an embarrassing playoff loss.  The Eagles will make a bit of a statement here, leading many to begin questioning what it means for the rest of the season.

Bob: Philadelphia

Penny: Philadelphia

Cassie: Philadelphia

 

Tennessee Titans At Chicago Bears (-4.5)

Here’s the first game on our slate where the early season chaos and oddsmaker dilemmas is easy to spot.  Caleb Williams, rookie quarterback and hype recipient extraordinaire, takes the field at home to begin his career.  Williams and his teammates are favored by 4½.  The choice feels like a trap.  The Titans are being led by Will Levis, with nine starts to his credit, eight touchdown passes and a professional completion percentage under 60%.  It’s worse than that for Tennessee, however, as Levis threw four touchdown passes in his first game, five in the other eight games, and none in more than half of his starts.  Get ready for the early-season overrating of the Bears to begin.

Bob: Chicago

Penny: Tennessee

Cassie: Tennessee

 

Pittsburgh Steelers At Atlanta Falcons (-3)

This game is extremely important for both teams.  Pittsburgh needs to get the quarterback questions answered early, or risk looking like Denver in 2023.  Atlanta has plenty of people looking on with interest, but a potential quarterback controversy of their own has been offered in whispers since draft day.  When the offense is the story and that story is built on questions, turn to the defense for answers.  The Steelers defensive stars are going to give the Falcons fits. 

Bob: Pittsburgh

Penny: Pittsburgh

Cassie: Atlanta

 

Jacksonville Jaguars At Miami Dolphins (-3)

Jacksonville opens the season at Miami, home against Cleveland, at Buffalo and at Houston.  The past two years they have not started strong in the first three or four games, and that run suggests some early headaches are about to arrive.  Miami may have issues finishing the year strong, they love to start the season on fire under Mike McDaniel.  Take the Dolphins in a track meet.

Bob: Miami

Penny: Miami

Cassie: Jacksonville

 

Penny likes the Patriots


New England Patriots At Cincinnati Bengals (-8.5)

Cincinnati has weapons and, for now, a healthy Joe Burrow.  New England has few playmakers on either side of the ball and no offensive line.  The Bengals are favored as a laugher, and the Bengals will win in a laugher.

Bob: Cincinnati

Penny: New England

Cassie: New England

 

Houston Texans (-2.5) At Indianapolis Colts

AFC South divisional games tend to swing in mysterious ways, and the Texans against the Colts delivers the unexpected every time.  Houston had a fantastic run last season, and are looking to continue building in the second years of head coach DeMeco Ryans and quarterback C. J. Stroud.  If the Colts had anything reliable on offense, it would be tempting to take them.  They don’t.

Bob: Houston

Penny: Indianapolis

Cassie: Houston

 

Minnesota Vikings (-1.5) At New York Giants

The idea that the Vikings are favored here, with nothing but crossed-fingers and a few wishes on offense, tells you everything you need to know about the quality of play expected from the Giants.

Bob: Minnesota

Penny: Minnesota

Cassie: New York

 

Carolina Panthers At New Orleans Saints (-4)

The only way the Saints lose this home opener is if a halftime lottery is necessary to select a person sitting in row 7 of section 332 to start at quarterback in the second half.

Bob: New Orleans

Penny: Carolina

Cassie: New Orleans

 

Arizona Cardinals At Buffalo Bills (-6)

Last year the Bills lost their first game, on the road, when an overcompensating Jets team survived the Aaron Rodgers injury.  Somehow, the Bills under Sean McDermott and playing Josh Allen have a way of routinely giving opposing teams a chance.  Over their run of success recently, they haven’t been consistent in week one contests.  Arizona could pull off the upset, and they won’t lose by more than 6.

Bob: Arizona

Penny: Arizona

Cassie: Arizona

 

Las Vegas Raiders At Los Angeles Chargers (-3)

I may not think the Chargers are going to be able to keep pace for the full year with the teams in their division, I do think they will run wild early under Jim Harbaugh.  The Bolts are going to be a different team than we’ve seen in recent seasons.  Hard to see Gardner Minshew and the Oakland offense keeping pace on the road.

Bob: Los Angeles

Penny: Las Vegas

Cassie: Los Angeles

 

Denver Broncos At Seattle Seahawks (-6)

This game fascinates me more than any other on the schedule.  Why?  It's the rookie starter, Bo Nix.  How basic will the design be of the Denver offense?  Will Seattle be able to handle the wrinkles that will absolutely be played?  I think Sean Peyton is going to give Seattle rookie head coach Michael McDonald a rough introduction.

Bob: Denver

Penny: Seattle

Cassie: Seattle

 

Dallas Cowboys At Cleveland Browns (-2.5)

This game has “Dak Prescott performance silences the critics” written all over it.  Not because Prescott will deliver all season.  Prescott does well all the time in ways that ultimately mean nothing.  His stats get padded all the way to brilliance with early game successes.  Dallas is not a true contender for playoff dominance.  In Cleveland, the preseason was filled with half-hearted endorsements of being ready, but few enthusiastic reports.  For those of you looking for some parlays and performance wagers, take Prescott to throw for more than 350-yards and three touchdowns.

Bob: Dallas

Penny: Cleveland

Cassie: Cleveland

 

 

Washington Commanders At Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-3.5)

It very easy to look at this game and select Tampa Bay.  They won the division title and won a game in the playoffs last season.  Mike Evans is back.  They have a solid roster, even if it’s not spectacular.  The trouble is Baker Mayfield, a quarterback that has had plenty of difficulties with season-to-season consistency and expectations.  For the Buccaneers, however, those expectations are not at a title level, and Mayfield may be happy and comfortable for the first time ever as a season begins.  This is the perfect opponent for a good start.

Bob: Tampa Bay

Penny: Washington

Cassie: Tampa Bay

 

Los Angeles Rams At Detroit Lions (-3.5)

This should be an exciting game.  The Lions have it all going in the right direction, and should come out on top.

Bob: Detroit

Penny: Detroit

Cassie: Los Angeles

 

New York Jets At San Francisco 49ers (-4)

The Jets will get exposed here in a major way.  The 49ers are too good in all areas, from offense to defense to special teams.  They are not only the better team in this game, they are significantly better.

Bob: San Francisco

Penny: San Francisco

Cassie: San Francisco

 

Odds sourced from USA Today

 

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