The Patriots open the season as underdogs at Miami.
• 49ers (-7) over @Bears, 19-16: How ready is Trey Lance to be the 49ers’ QB1 while seasoned Jimmy Garoppolo waits in the pen? Justin Fields should do enough by air and land to keep a bad Bears team inside a bet-line that flatters San Francisco.
• @Bengals (-6 1/2) over Steelers, 27-16: Cincy reached the Super Bowl last year and is due a sizable drop-off, but it might not show here as Pittsburgh experiences a steep drop-off of its own: Ben Roethlisberger to Mitch Trubisky.
• Ravens (-7) over @Jets, 28-13: Joe Flacco will start against his longtime former team while Zach Wilson’s knee heals. Baltimore has a few notable players battling back from injuries, but Lamar Jackson has plenty left to dominate a bad opponent.
• @Commanders (-3) over Jaguars, 24-20: Fantasy geeks are all in on Trevor Lawrence. More than that, new Jags Coach Doug Pederson knows Commanders QB Carson Wentz well from their days in Philly together. Still, the better squad is the home team.
• @Panthers (-2) over Browns, 23-20: The domino effect of Deshaun Watson’s 11-game Cleveland suspension leaves us this bit of tasty intrigue: Baker Mayfield, now the Panthers QB, facing the team that discarded him in a bitter divorce.
