That’s right people Bick’s Picks is back for another season of arbitrary biases and picking with our plums. I’d like to think I performed admirably after Jake’s Takes sudden retirement, as I ended up with a 38-34-1 overall record with my picks last season. Sure a winning record is nice and all but we were practically .500 and settling for that type of Jeff Fisher mediocrity is not in our DNA. This year I aim to do better and I think there’s some easy money to be had in these NFL season openers so enough banter let’s get into it.

Ravens @ Chiefs (ML) (47.5)

Football is back and we really couldn’t ask for a better opener than this AFC Championship rematch. The Derrick Henry infused Ravens out for revenge against who else but the banner dropping Chiefs starting their quest for a three-peat. I’ll skip the pleasantries and simply say I expect the Chiefs to win this game. Much like Brady and the Pats I just can’t shake the feeling of inevitability when it comes to Mahomes and the Chiefs. That said I do like this to be a really close game and frankly one that the Ravens could easily win if they can avoid beating themselves. Speaking of which, remember when the Ravens(the best rushing team in football) ran the ball only SIX times in the AFC Championship? I’m sure Baltimore does, which is why they traded for Derrick Henry and why I expect them to overcorrect by running early and often. This potential run heavy script is why I’ll be jumping on the Tractorcito for an Any Time TD. Another outcome I expect because of this game script is the Under. Now I know what you’re thinking but don’t worry we’ll bet plenty of Overs this season at Bick’s Picks but this isn’t one of them. Both these teams boasted top 10 defenses last season and both units should be strong again. Meanwhile on the offensive side of the ball both teams have some big changes on the OL with rookies and new additions starting for the first time. For these reasons I’m liking the Under and even though I think Mahomes is inevitable the Ravens are just too good for me to bet the spread. So give me the Under 47.5, Chiefs ML and Henry to find the end zone giddy up.

The Don’t Wear Green Game

I’m not sure how much the cartels paid for this game in Brazil but I sure hope it was worth it to the NFL. I think we can all agree some extra football on Friday is a tradition we can get behind, however players like Darius Slay are not happy about this international experience so we’ll see if the NFL ever returns to São Paulo. Kidnapping concerns aside, similar to Thursday’s game this should be a good one because both these 2023 playoff teams come in with a lot to prove. Philly collapsed last season after starting 10-1 and is eager to put a blowout loss to the Bucs in the Wild Card round behind them. However, they also have to adjust to life without cornerstone players Jason Kelce and Fletcher Cox. On the other side now that Jordan Love got the bag, he and his group of young weapons are out to prove they weren’t just a flash in the pan after their 6-2 run to end last season. Not to mention both teams went out and spent actual money on new running backs so both Barkley and Jacobs also have something to prove. Ending last season these were two teams going in different directions and I think things keep trending the same way. By no means do I think the Eagles will be bad this season but frankly I lost too much picking them last year. My biases aside I do think it’s gonna take them time to adjust to the veteran leadership they’ve lost and meanwhile I’m expecting the Packers to pick up where they left off. Jordan Love should be able to have some fun carving up what’s expected to be another shaky Eagles secondary. Hey since I plan to eat a lot of cheese on football Sundays why not take the cheese on the Pack Week 1?

Packers ML (+110)