The NFL saved arguably the biggest game of Week 1 for last, depending on how you viewed Chiefs–Ravens, which opened the season this past Thursday.
By the way, I successfully picked the Chiefs -3 in that one.
Now, the first Monday night game of the season features the reigning NFC champion San Francisco 49ers hosting the Aaron Rodgers-led New York Jets.
It will be Rodgers’ return to action after missing the entirety of last season with a torn Achilles, suffered in the first series of the Jets’ first game last season.
Let’s get into my pick for tonight.
New York Jets @ San Francisco 49ers (8:15 p.m. ET, ABC)
The 49ers offense could be sluggish with the return of all their missing pieces from training camp. Left tackle Trent Williams is back. So is receiver Brandon Aiyuk. Running back Christian McCaffrey will play after missing time recently with a lower leg injury. He might be limited tonight, but he’s a go.
How quickly can this group gel without any preseason reps against a good Jets defense?
On the other side, the same applies.
Aaron Rodgers hasn’t seen game action in a year. The Jets have two new tackles who haven’t played with Rodgers. It’s basically a new offense, and we saw offenses that did not play in the preseason struggle to score on Sunday.
PICK: Jets–49ers first-half Under 21.5 (-115)
Geoff Schwartz is an NFL analyst for FOX Sports. He played eight seasons in the NFL for five different teams. He started at right tackle for the University of Oregon for three seasons and was a second-team All-Pac-12 selection his senior year. Follow him on Twitter @GeoffSchwartz.
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