Patrick Mahomes earned his second NFL Most Valuable Player award and the Kansas City Chiefs won their second Super Bowl under his leadership. Now, they kick off the 2023 NFL betting season by hosting the upstart Detroit Lions. The Thursday, Sept. 7 showdown opens the 17-game, 18-week regular season. 

The Chiefs enter the new year as betting apps favorites in the Super Bowl futures odds. The Lions are +2200 to win their first-ever championship – a wild improvement from the +12500 they were to begin the 2022 season. 

The Week 1 schedule is out. Don’t think it matters? Consider that the eventual Super Bowl champion is 45-10-1 all-time in their opening games. 

NFL Week 1 Odds For 2023 Season

Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook and current as of August 23.

Thursday, Sept. 7

Detroit Lions at Kansas City Chiefs, 8:20 p.m. ET (NBC)

No team exceeded expectations more in 2022 than the Lions, who went from three wins the year prior to nine wins. 

They followed that up with one of the top offseasons of any team, adding three new starters to a defensive backfield that was the biggest weakness. Rookie RB Jahmyr Gibbs joins Jared Goff to lead an offense that last year ranked top five in scoring and yards. 

KC didn’t do much in the offseason, but perhaps that’s fine for an offense that led the NFL in scoring and yards gained en route to the championship. As long as Mahomes is under center and Travis Kelce is there to catch passes, the Chiefs are a contender. 

That their defense went from No. 27 in yards allowed to No. 11 last year was also a key reason they returned to the Big Game. 

Sunday, Sept. 10

Carolina Falcons at Atlanta Falcons, 1 p.m. ET (FOX)

Carolina made the bold move of acquiring the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft, nabbing QB Bryce Young to be the new face of the franchise. 

It cost them WR D.J. Moore and a slew of picks, but they added RB Miles Sanders from the Eagles, as well as WR Adam Thielen and TE Hayden Hurst in a quest to jumpstart an offense that’s finished bottom-four in scoring the last two seasons. 

Running back wasn’t exactly a position of need in Atlanta, but the Falcons used their No. 8 overall pick on RB Bijan Robinson, who should make life easier for second-year QB Desmond Ridder. 

The team ranked 24th in total offense and 27th in defense, a dip from the previous year. How Ridder improves will determine how competitive Atlanta is in a balanced NFC South.

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Houston Texans at Baltimore Ravens, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)

Houston didn’t want to waste any time acquiring the face of both the offense and the defense, adding QB CJ Stroud with the No. 2 pick in the NFL Draft, then trading for the No. 3 pick to get edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. 

New coach DeMeco Ryans has a blank slate and a long leash after the team ranked 31st in total offense and 30th on defense last year. 

A contentious offseason now behind him, Lamar Jackson is back and will be in Baltimore for at least a few more years. The drama-filled negotiations kept the Ravens from getting many key free agents, but Lamar got his wish for new pass targets, with veteran Odell Beckham Jr. and rookie Zay Flowers on board to spark the pass game. 

Baltimore’s defense, which ranked 25th in points allowed in ’21, was a solid ninth last year. 

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Cincinnati Bengals at Cleveland Browns, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)

The Bengals finished just short of a return trip to the Super Bowl but return all of their weapons, led by QB Joe Burrow, and added an All-Pro RT in Orlando Brown Jr. The defensive backfield was revamped in an effort to shore up a 19th-ranked pass D. 

On the northern end of the Buckeye State, Deshaun Watson gets to suit up for Week 1 for the first time since joining the Browns. The team ranked 23rd in passing but the weapons are there, with Amari Cooper and the acquired Elijah Moore catching passes, plus the powerful Nick Chubb (1,525 yards, 12 TDs) out of the backfield. 

The Browns have just one playoff berth since 2002 but have spent the capital to make a run. Cleveland has won five of the last six meetings with rival Cincy. 

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Tennessee Titans at New Orleans Saints, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)

After consecutive five-loss seasons, the Titans went 7-10 in 2022 and missed the playoffs. The offense was the main culprit with Ryan Tannehill missing five games (the team went 1-4 without him). 

Workhorse Derrick Henry led the NFL in rushing attempts, and the team made a big off-season move by trading for star WR DeAndre Hopkins, hopefully giving opponents a reason to stop keying on Henry. 

Derek Carr moves from Vegas to the Big Easy to lead a Saints squad that needs a kick offensively. New Orleans ranked Top 10 in points allowed on the defensive side and used its top draft picks on more help there. 

So they’ll look for production in Week 1 from RB Jamaal Williams (Alvin Kamara is suspended the opening three games), who led the NFL in TDs for the Lions in '22, and with budding star WR Chris Olave. 

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Jacksonville Jaguars at Indianapolis Colts, 1 p.m. ET (FOX)

Trevor Lawrence took a sizeable step forward in his sophomore season with the Jaguars, and with Doug Pederson as coach the team improved from 3-14 just one year prior to 9-8 and in the postseason for the second time since 2007. 

The offense ranked 10th in scoring and yards, this after ranking dead-last in scoring in 2021. New addition WR Calvin Ridley may be the top target on a team full of them. 

The Colts needed a Lawrence-like answer at QB and used the No. 4 overall pick to nab Anthony Richardson, who may or may not be ready for NFL-level action by Week 1. 

Either way, he's the starter here. A healthy Jonathan Taylor is needed to jumpstart one of the league’s bottom offenses of last year, and he's requested a trade. 

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Minnesota Vikings, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)

The Tom Brady era ends in Tampa, and he did help deliver a Super Bowl to town. But now the team appears to be in rebuild mode. It made the postseason despite going just 8-9 with an offense that ranked 25th in scoring (and that was with TB12). 

Baker Mayfield has been tasked with keeping Tampa afloat as young players learn their roles. 

In Minnesota, Kirk Cousins had his lowest TD output in three years and his highest INT total of his career, yet the Vikings improved 4.5 games and won the NFC North for the first time since 2017. The team added WR Jordan Addison to complement superstar Justin Jefferson, but lost RB Dalvin Cook in a salary cap dump. 

Whether Minnesota can be great again will be determined by defensive improvements. The Vikings' D ranked bottom-five in points and yards allowed. 

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San Francisco 49ers at Pittsburgh Steelers, 1 p.m. ET (FOX)

From Trey Lance to Jimmy Garoppolo to Brock Purdy, the 49ers offense mostly delivered. San Fran really shined with Mr. Irrelevant under center, going 5-0 in the regular season and advancing to the NFC Championship Game. 

But what really kept it together was the NFL’s top defense. A unit that ranked No. 1 in both points and yards allowed got stronger with the addition of DT Javon Hargrave. It’s the main reason the Niners are only behind the Chiefs, Eagles and Bills on NFL futures odds boards. 

Kenny Pickett had an up-and-down rookie season as QB in Pittsburgh, but he’s back for Year 2. The Steelers supported him by improving arguably the league’s worst-performing O-line, a move that should help RB Najee Harris as well. 

The defense should be better with Joey Porter Jr. joining the backfield and a healthy T.J. Watt to terrorize QBs. 

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Arizona Cardinals at Washington Commanders, 1 p.m. ET (FOX)

Kyler Murray will be back at some point, but it doesn't sound like it will be in Week 1 after he tore his ACL in December. That puts the offense in the hands of Colt McCoy. New coach Jonathan Gannon has his work cut out for him. QB situation aside, he needs to fix a defense that was 31st in scoring last year didn’t add much in the offseason; in fact, it lost key players. 

The first priority was protecting Murray, and drafting Paris Johnson Jr. was a step in that direction. That offers more chances to get the ball to playmakers Marquise Brown, Rondale Moore and Zach Ertz. 

The Commanders spent the offseason shoring up issues on the offensive and defensive lines. They also released QB Carson Wentz and will now hand the offense to second-year QB Sam Howell, who has shined in the preseason. 

The defense ranked No. 3 in yards allowed despite getting star DE Chase Young for just two starts. It should again be the team strength. 

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Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears, 4:25 p.m. ET (FOX)

It’s been over 30 years since someone other than Brett Favre or Aaron Rodgers came into a season as QB1 in Titletown. But the team now belongs to Jordan Love. He’ll have a top-tier run game backing him and a slew of young, relatively inexperienced receivers and tight ends to grow with. 

The offense and defense each ranked 17th in yards last year. Both sides will need to rebound as the post-Rodgers era begins. 

Green Bay has “owned” Chicago over the last two decades, but the Bears are looking to do something about it. The Bears sent the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 Draft to the Panthers, adding a WR1 for Justin Fields in D.J. Moore. 

Chicago also upgraded the O-line and revamped the middle of the defense, adding LB Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards. Chicago expects far more than the three wins it accumulated in 2022. 

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Last Vegas Raiders at Denver Broncos, 4:25 p.m. ET (CBS)

Derek Carr is out, Jimmy Garoppolo is in under center for the Raiders, who finished five games worse under first-year coach Josh McDaniels. Defense was the huge issue for Vegas, and it was at least partially addressed with the pick of edge rusher Tyree Wilson at No. 7 in the draft. 

We’ll see if it helps enough for a unit that ranked 26th in points allowed and 28th in yards. We'll also see how RB Josh Jacobs fares after sitting out the preseason in a contract dispute. 

Denver went all-in for 2022 and somehow got worse, dropping to 5-12 and dead-last in the AFC West. A big turnaround is expected with new coach Sean Payton leading the way and Russell Wilson returning. 

The offensive line was revamped and a healthy Javonte Williams at RB could go a long way to reestablishing expectations. 

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Miami Dolphins at Los Angeles Chargers, 4:25 p.m. ET (CBS)

Miami got back to the playoffs after a five-year absence, led by an offense that improved under Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill. The defense was worse than a year ago. 

A 28th-ranked pass D got a big boost with the addition of CB Jalen Ramsey, but an injury shelves him until at least November. Miami was 6-3 when Tua started and 3-5 when he didn’t, so keeping him off the injured list will be key. 

Justin Herbert and L.A. ended a four-year playoff drought of their own, only to blow a 27-0 lead in a Wild Card Round loss to the Jaguars. 

The team added WR Quentin Johnston in the draft, while a main key on defense will be to just stay healthy. That is especially true regarding DE Joey Bosa, who missed 12 games. Oddly, he’s played in 16 games in 2017, ‘19 and ‘21 and 12 or fewer in ’16, ’18, ’20 and ’22. 

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Philadelphia Eagles at New England Patriots, 4:25 p.m. ET (CBS)

Philly advanced to the Super Bowl led by QB Jalen Hurts, who this offseason signed the richest deal in NFL history. The Eagles ranked No. 5 in total offense and total defense last year, retained many of their top veterans and had a stellar draft, led by the additions of D-lineman Jalen Carter and edge rusher Nolan Smith. 

The Eagles are the favorites on betting apps to win the NFC and return to the Super Bowl. 

The Pats went 10-7 and qualified for the playoffs under rookie QB Mac Jones in 2021, but stumbled to 8-9 last year due to a dramatic downturn in production from the offense. 

WR JuJu Smith-Schuster and TE Mike Gesicki were added, as were RBs James Robinson and Ezekiel Elliott, to help Jones get back to his rookie-year level. The defense should remain an upper-half unit, as it’s been the last four years. 

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Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks, 4:25 p.m. ET (FOX)

The Rams won a Super Bowl two years ago with Matthew Stafford and a slew of veteran stars leading the way. Now it’s time to pay up, and they had to part ways with three of their top defenders this offseason, most notably sending Ramsey to Miami. At least they still have Cooper Kupp to catch balls and DT Aaron Donald to terrorize QBs. 

The Seahawks were a nice surprise in 2022, advancing to the playoffs after a one-year hiatus despite trading franchise QB Russell Wilson. Geno Smith flourished under center for the No. 9-ranked offense. 

The defense was on pace to be one of the worst in history but rebounded in the second half of the year and added talent, notably DL Dre’Mont Jones from Denver and CB Devon Witherspoon from the draft. 

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Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants, 8:20 p.m. ET (NBC)

The Cowboys went 12-5 each of the last two seasons, advancing one round further in the playoffs last year. They ranked top five in both points scored and allowed, and added playmakers on both sides of the ball with WR Brandin Cooks and CB Stephon Gilmore.

 Tony Pollard takes over as RB1 with Elliott now in New England. Micah Parsons, who has 26.5 sacks through two seasons, returns. Dallas has won 11 of the last 12 matchups of these NFC East rivals. 

In New York, Daniel Jones signed a huge deal to remain QB in the Big Apple, and Saquon Barkley returns to run it back after the Giants advanced to the postseason after a five-year drought. They spent much of the offseason adding weapons for Jones, including TE Darren Waller and WR Parris Campbell.

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Monday, Sept. 11

Buffalo Bills at New York Jets, 8:15 p.m. ET (ESPN/ABC)

The Bills won double-digit games for the fourth year under QB Josh Allen, but failed in their ultimate goal of a Super Bowl berth. Still, everyone expects the Bills to be in the hunt again. 

They bring back units that ranked No. 2 in scoring and points allowed. They are No. 3 on the Super Bowl futures board, behind only the Chiefs and Eagles. 

Meanwhile, the lowly Jets expect to be lowly no more. With Aaron Rodgers brings an explosion of expectations for a franchise that hasn’t even been to the playoffs in more than a decade. 

The defense ranked fourth in the NFL in points and yards allowed, and the offense was revamped with Rodgers and Cook to do more than than hold its own. 

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