5 NFL Upsets For Week 1

5 NFL Upsets For Week 1

Paul Frederiksen- USA TODAY Sports

The NFL kicked off Thursday in Denver and will begin across the rest of the country on Sunday for the opening week of the season. Upsets don't occur as often in the NFL as they seem to in the college ranks, but they do happen, especially in the earlier weeks where teams are shaking off the rust of the preseason. In a few of these cases I think that it's crazy to put some of these teams as underdogs as Las Vegas has done.

When looking at potential upsets, important factors to look at are home-field advantage, better quarterback play and coaching. When you mix these factors, you can start to get a look into who could potentially end up winning even with the odds stacked against them; then when you mix in gut feelings and Ouija board projections, you really get incredible picks that are fully dependable and reliable. Early season football is truly the wild, wild west when it comes to making selections because very few teams are completely set to come out of the gate at a premium level. All the more reason to take a chance on some upsets.

So take a look at the five biggest potential upsets for Week 1 in the NFL, and if you have any you feel I left out, feel free to comment below or if you disagree with my upsets or my use of a Ouija board to make NFL selections. Oh, and by the way, your Uncle Ray says hello.

Brent Smith is a Detroit Tigers writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @brentweets or add him to your network on Google

#5 Atlanta Falcons Over New Orleans Saints

Daniel Shirey- USA TODAY Sports

The Atlanta Falcons are +3.5 points on the road against the New Orleans Saints, and while it's hard to pick a road team going into New Orleans, Atlanta is the best team in the NFC South and what better way to prove that than Week 1 in their biggest rivals home?

#4 Jacksonville Jaguars Over Kansas City Chiefs

Daniel Shirey- USA TODAY Sports

Picking the Jacksonville Jaguars to win an NFL game is like picking me to find a date. That said, while the odds are generally not in their favor, the Jaguars are at home as just 3.5-point underdogs facing an overhyped Kansas City Chiefs team with plenty of their own holes. I like the Jaguars in a close, ugly game.

#3 New York Giants Over Dallas Cowboys

Stew Milne- USA TODAY Sports

Every year the Dallas Cowboys come into the season hyped to win the NFC East and each year the New York Giants knock them back down to mediocrity. Why Las Vegas continues to bother favoring the Cowboys at home against the Giants every year I will never know, but until the Cowboys deliver on the field, give me the Giants.

#2 Green Bay Packers Over San Francisco 49ers

Denny Medley- USA TODAY Sports

The Green Bay Packers have a lot of revenge on their mind heading into the place where their season ended last season. The Packers lost twice last year to the San Francisco 49ers, but at 4.5-point underdogs, it's a great spot to take a flyer on an Aaron Rodgers-led Packer team hungry for a new start in 2013.

#1 Tennessee Titans Over Pittsburgh Steelers

Bruce Kluckhorn- USA TODAY Sports

The Tennessee Titans are 7-point underdogs on the road and the longest probability of my picks to get the upset, but the Pittsburgh Steelers are no longer the Steelers with a ton of flashy names and big-time talent. The Steelers are very vulnerable this year and I think a loss here is going to set the stage for a very big letdown year for Terrible Towel nation.