Packers at Bears opens NFL’s 100th season Thursday. Here’s why this old rival will win | Opinion
The NFL’s 100th season launches in step with our 29th year of NFL picks in the Miami Herald, and we enter 2019 knowing what Patrick Mahomes feels like. No, hear us out. Mahomes had a phenomenal 50-TD MVP season in 2018. Even his most rose-colored fantasy drafters must expect a falloff; it’s a matter of how much. I had a Mahomes-ish year for prognosticating, with career-best winning percentages both straight-up (.705) and against the point spread (.582). Can I do even better, or is it a question of how hard I fall? Join me for the ride and let’s find out together starting right now!
NFL WEEK 1
GREG COTE’S THURSDAY PICK
PACKERS (0-0) at BEARS (0-0)
Line: CHI by 3.
Cote’s pick: CHI 24-20.
TV: 8:20 p.m. Thursday, NBC.
Get your naps in, Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth. King Sport starts it up with a huge rivalry and what should be a game that reminds us why we can’t stop loving the NFL. There are ample reasons to think hard about an outright upset here in the 18th annual iteration of prime-time Thursday kickoffs. One is that Aaron Rodgers after zero preseason snaps and with a sore back is still more trustworthy than Mitchell Trubisky. Another is that Green Bay has sort of owned this traditional rivalry between cities a 35-minute flight apart, including wins in eight of the past nine meetings at Soldier Field. (You know it’s coming, though, right? The but). But Gee Bees missed the playoffs last year and changed coaches (switching to rookie Matt LaFleur) largely because they were god-awful on the road, and simple odds are that the Bears are due to reassert at home. Chitown’s defense — even losing coordinator Vic Fangio and a few key pieces -- remains really stout led by game-changer Khalil Mack. And Bears rookie running back David Montgomery could be a fantasy find. No result would surprise here, but, when the slightly better team also is the home team, that’s almost always the safest play.
[Note: Picks for remainder of Week 1 games will appear online Thursday] .
This story was originally published September 4, 2019 at 11:53 AM.