Free NFL Picks Today for Week One, 2023

Our free NFL picks are out for Week One, 2023! Make sure you check our NFL picks before the action kicks off.

Look below to find our free NFL picks for the five best games on today’s schedule!

Cincinnati Bengals @ Cleveland Browns – 1PM ET

Tony Battalio

The Cincinnati Bengals come into the opening game of this season with plenty of expectations. Cincinnati is arguably the favorite to win the AFC North this season, and they are one of the top teams in the AFC. They will be looking to pick up a quality victory over their AFC North divisional and in-state rivals here on Sunday afternoon in Cleveland. It is unknown what Joe Burrow will look like in the opening game of this season after he suffered an injury during practice earlier in the year, but one thing is for certain Cincinnati has the talent to pick up the victory, even without their starting quarterback in the lineup or at 100%, if he does play here in this one. Cincinnati is arguably the favorite to win the AFC North this season, and they are one of the top teams in the AFC.  

The Cleveland Browns are another team that come into this season with plenty of expectations as they finally have their franchise quarterback, Deshaun Watson. He will be playing his first full season and nearly 3 years it will be interesting to see how he plays after his six game preview at the end of last season. The roster they have built around him is a solid one, and they certainly have all the pieces they need to succeed but it awaits to be seen if they can put it all together and put out a competitive and respectable product on the field this season. I expect them to get this season off on the right foot and pick up a shocking victory over the Cincinnati Bengals to open up the year at home.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Minnesota Vikings – 1PM ET

Tony Battalio

The Tom Brady era in Tampa Bay is finally over and now they are moving on to likely starting quarterback Baker Mayfield. He will be looking to have a career resurgence after he will be playing on his fourth professional franchise in the last three seasons. Both parties will be hoping that the pairing is successful, and they can get their season off to a solid start here on Sunday afternoon in Minnesota. Tampa Bay has plenty of expectations this season, and they are competing in arguably one of the worst divisions in the league and they will be looking to pick up a victory on the road to start off the year here on Sunday. 

There have been a lot of questions surrounding the Minnesota Vikings coming into the 2023-24 regular season. Most of them are about the future of starting quarterback Kirk Cousins with the franchise. However, it seems as if every single season in Minnesota, their questions surrounding Kirk Cousins, and he is the future starting quarterback of this team. One thing is for certain he could go out on the field on Sunday afternoon and erase some of those question marks with a quality performance against Tampa Bay here at home. Minnesota is a team that is built to make a playoff appearance this season, despite moving on from Dalvin Cook and allowing Alexander Mattison to step in 

to the starting running back role. However, I do look for Minnesota to pick up a comfortable victory over Tampa Bay here on Sunday to open up the year.

San Francisco 49ers @ Pittsburgh Steelers – 1PM ET

Tony Battalio

The San Francisco 49ers come into the opening game of this season after nearly reaching the Super Bowl last year before an injury took out their starting quarterback in the NFC Championship Game. Now Brock Purdy will be back in the lineup for the opening game of this season and he will be looking to pick up right where he left off after he lit the league on fire during the second half of the last season. San Francisco is a loaded football team and they certainly have all the tools to make another run back to the NFC Championship Game or even the Super Bowl this season as well. They will have a huge opportunity to make a statement victory in the opening game of the season. When they travel across the country to Pittsburgh to play the Steelers in one of the hardest venues in the league. 

The Pittsburgh Steelers come into the opening game of the season with perhaps the hardest game on the schedule. They face off against the likely favorites in the NFC West and one of the favorites to win the NFC and the Super Bowl as well. Pittsburgh will be looking to improve upon a rough season last year and they will have to pull off an upset in the season opener here at home. Unfortunately for the Pittsburgh Steelers, I don’t see that happening as I look for the San Francisco 49ers to pick up the season opening victory on the road in Pittsburgh here on Sunday afternoon after a close, and competitive contest between the Steelers and the 49ers.

Las Vegas Raiders @ Denver Broncos – 4:25PM ET

Tony Battalio

The Las Vegas raiders come into the opening game of the season with a brand new quarterback under center in the second year of the Josh McDaniels experiment. It will be Jimmy Garoppolo leading the charge for Las Vegas this season after they shipped Derek Carr off to New Orleans following last year. They will be looking to open up their season with a huge divisional win over the Denver Broncos here on Sunday afternoon on the road in Denver. They will have to bring their best game, and they will certainly have to be hydrated and ready to go playing in the thin air of Denver, Colorado. They will certainly have to improve upon their 6-11 record last season. Otherwise McDaniels can find himself on the hot seat at the end of the year.

The Denver Broncos come into the opening game of the season hoping the second year of the Russell Wilson experiment at quarterback goes a lot better than last season did. They will have Sean Payton coaching his first season in a couple years after he retired a few years ago and stepped away from the New Orleans Saints. Russell Wilson will have a healthy Tim Patrick and Courtland Sutton to throw the football to while Jerry Jeudy recovers from a slight injury he suffered in the preseason. Denver certainly has all the tools to be a competitive football team this season, but it awaits to be seen if they can put it all together and find success on the field. However, I do expect them to pick up a victory here on Sunday afternoon against Las Vegas to open up the season.

Miami Dolphins @ Los Angeles Chargers – 4:25PM ET

Tony Battalio

The Miami Dolphins have aspirations of winning the AFC East division coming into this season. The biggest factor that will determine the success of this Miami dolphins season is the health of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, because if he cannot stay on the field, then this team is going to suffer from lackluster quarterback play throughout the season. Miami and Tua himself will be hoping his concussion problems are behind him and he can go a full season this year and lead the Miami Dolphins to the postseason. Mike McDaniel will be looking to make a second consecutive playoff appearance in his second year at the helm of the franchise but hopefully they can avoid the late season collapse that they suffered last season as well.

The Los Angeles Chargers will be looking to get the season off on the right foot with a victory at home over the Miami Dolphins here on Sunday afternoon. Los Angeles has a competitive football team that has some of the best running back play and quarterback play in the league as long as Austin Ekeler and Justin Herbert remain healthy throughout the regular season. Both of them could leave this team to new heights, and they could find themselves competing for an AFC championship at the end of the year as long as things go the way they should throughout the regular season. In the end, I expect Los Angeles to open up the season with a victory after a close and competitive game. 

If you need more news, information and predictions, head over to our NFL hub page for all your football needs!

*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.