On Thursday night, the NFL betting campaign finally kicks off! After months of waiting to finish celebrating, the New Orleans Saints will get to raise their banners from their first ever championship on Thursday at the Louisiana Superdome, and that is the first of 16 games to be played from then through Monday night. Check out the trends that you need to know before making your NFL picks for Week 1 of the season!

Thursday, September 9th, 8:30 PM ET: Minnesota Vikings @ New Orleans Saints
Trends of Note
-Minnesota is 6-2 ATS in its L/8 games played in Week 1
-The Vikes are 7-3-1 ATS in their L/11 games overall
-New Orleans is just 2-5 ATS in its L/7 games at home

Series History
The Vikings saw their four game winning streak in this series against the Saints come to a close last year in the NFC Championship Game. Still, there was no shame in losing 31-28, as the defeat was good enough to cover the four point spread. That marked the fifth straight cover for the Vikes in this series. The Vikings had covered and won their three previous trips to the Bayou before the NFC title game in January.

Sunday, September 12th, 1:00 PM ET: Carolina Panthers @ New York Giants
Trends of Note
-The Giants are just 2-7 ATS in their L/9 games played in conference
-New York is only 2-9 ATS in its L/11 overall
-The Panthers have covered eight straight NFL spreads against the NFC

Series History
This is going to be the third straight time that the Panthers and Giants have met up in the Big Apple, as New York hasn’t made a trip to Carolina since 2006. These two teams met last December, with the Panthers issuing a huge 41-9 beat down on the hosts. The road team is 3-1 both SU and ATS over their L/4 meetings, not including preseason clashes.

Sunday, September 12th, 1:00 PM ET: Miami Dolphins @ Buffalo Bills
Trends of Note
-Miami is 7-1 ATS in its L/8 against the AFC East
-Buffalo is only 3-10 ATS in its L/13 games at Ralph Wilson Stadium
-The Bills are 6-2 ATS in their L/8 September clashes

Series History
The Bills have dominated this series of late, going 8-3-1 ATS over the L/12 NFL betting affairs with the Fins. Miami did win and cover three straight from the end of ’08 til the beginning of ’09, but Buffalo scored a 31-14 victory in this fixture last November. The previous trip to Buffalo resulted in a 16-3 win for the Dolphins, but they have not historically played well at all in Orchard Park.

Sunday, September 12th, 1:00 PM ET: Atlanta Falcons @ Pittsburgh Steelers
Trends of Note
-The Falcons have covered ten of their L/12 opening games to start the season
-Pittsburgh is 0-6 ATS in its L/6 September NFL betting duels
-Pittsburgh is 0-3-1 ATS in its L/4 games at Heinz Field

Series History
These two teams have only met twice since 2000, and my, were both shootouts! The Falcons covered both spreads as underdogs, winning 41-38 in overtime in 2006. 2002’s 34-34 duel in Pittsburgh, the last time these two teams met here, was a classic game. Atlanta hasn’t been favored in a game in this series like it is now since 1993.

Sunday, September 12th, 1:00 PM ET: Detroit Lions @ Chicago Bears
Trends of Note
-The Lions are just 1-5-2 ATS in their L/8 games played away from Ford Field
-Detroit is only 8-20-2 ATS in its L/30 games against the NFC
-Chicago is 2-7 ATS in its L/9 games overall

Series History
These black and blue division rivals hate each other, to say the least. The underdog has gone a solid 15-7 ATS over the L/11 years of meetings of these foes. The Bears have won four straight dating back to 2007 against Detroit, but they can’t feel confident having gone just 3-4 ATS over their L/7 meetings.

Sunday, September 12th, 1:00 PM ET: Indianapolis Colts
Trends of Note
-Indy is 7-1 ATS in its L/8 road games
-The Colts are 12-5-1 ATS in their L/18 games overall
-Houston is just 1-5 ATS in its L/6 games played in Week 1

Series History
Houston has never been favored in a game in this series, and this is as close as it has ever come to being such. The Texans only have one lifetime win against QB Peyton Manning and the Colts from 2006, a 27-24 victory on Christmas Eve. Still, they are a solid 4-3 ATS since that win in ’06 and should be considered a very dangerous foe in Week 1 for the defending AFC champs.

Sunday, September 12th, 1:00 PM ET: Cleveland Browns @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Trends of Note
-Cleveland is only 1-9-1 ATS in its L/11 opening games in the NFL betting campaign
-Tampa Bay is just 1-10 ATS in its L/11 home games
-The Bucs are 5-16 ATS in their L/21 games played on grass

Series History
There have only been two all-time meetings of these teams in the regular season, and the Bucs have proven triumphant both times both SU and ATS. Tampa Bay sprung a 22-7 upset in 2006 as 3.5 point underdogs and won 17-3 against a seven point spread in 2002.

Sunday, September 12th, 1:00 PM ET: Cincinnati Bengals @ New England Patriots
Trends of Note
-The Bengals are 11-5 ATS in their L/16 games played in September
-Cincinnati is 1-5 ATS in its L/6 games in conference

Series History
The Pats are a hard team to put an ATS read on, but one thing is for certain, and that’s that they have dominated Cincinnati in recent years. Dating back to 2001, the Bengals are winless SU (0-3) and are just 1-2 ATS, needing a 10.5 point boost in 2004 to stick in front of the number. The Patriots have scored at least 34 points in all three meetings as well.

Sunday, September 12th, 1:00 PM ET: Oakland Raiders @ Tennessee Titans
Trends of Note
-The Raiders are only 1-4 ATS in their L/5 Week 1 contests
-On the contrary, Tennessee is 6-2 ATS in its L/8 played in Week 1
-The Titans are 9-2 ATS in their L/11 games played in September

Series History
Oakland has been the dominant team in this series in recent years, winning games outright against the Titans in 2004 (40-35) and 2005 (34-25). The silver and black came up just a tad short in 2007, losing 13-9, but they had the seven point spread covered the whole way. The Raiders are 5-1 ATS dating back to 2001 against the Titans.

Sunday, September 12th, 1:00 PM ET: Denver Broncos @ Jacksonville Jaguars
Trends of Note
-The Broncos are 7-3 ATS in their L/10 games played in Week 1
-Jacksonville is 9-2 ATS in its L/11 opening contests of the year
-The Jags are just 3-13 ATS in their L/16 played at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium

Series History
The Jags have gone into Mile High and walked out victories in each of their L/2 visits in 2007 and 2008. The road team has won three straight both SU and ATS. Pups have actually scored four straight outright wins, including Jacksonville’s 7-6 win in September 2004.

Sunday, September 12th, 4:15 PM ET: San Francisco 49ers @ Seattle Seahawks
Trends of Note
-The Niners are a rock solid 12-5-4 ATS in their L/21 NFL wagering wars
-San Fran is 7-3 ATS in its L/10 against the NFC
-Seattle is 7-3-1 in its L/11 tussles at Qwest Field

Series History
The home team covered the spread and won outright in both meetings last year of these divisional foes. The two teams have alternated wins and covers in this series in each of the L/5, insinuating that it would be San Fran’s turn to shine. This is historically a lower scoring series as well, as six of the L/8 have stayed ‘under’ the number.

Sunday, September 12th, 4:15 PM ET: Arizona Cardinals @ St. Louis Rams
Trends of Note
-The last time a rookie starting quarterback that began the season lost his first start at home was in 1993 (Drew Bledsoe)
-The Cards are 9-4 ATS in their L/13 divisional games
-The Rams are 1-8-1 ATS in their L/10 opening games of the year

Series History
It’s been all one way traffic for Arizona since the Greatest Show on Turf was broken up. The Cards have won seven straight with the Rams dating back to 2006, and they are 5-2 ATS to show for it. St. Louis hasn’t broken 20 points in a game in this rivalry in its L/5 tries.

Sunday, September 12th, 4:15 PM ET: San Francisco 49ers @ Seattle Seahawks
Trends of Note
-The Niners are a rock solid 12-5-4 ATS in their L/21 NFL wagering wars
-San Fran is 7-3 ATS in its L/10 against the NFC
-Seattle is 7-3-1 in its L/11 tussles at Qwest Field

Series History
The home team covered the spread and won outright in both meetings last year of these divisional foes. The two teams have alternated wins and covers in this series in each of the L/5, insinuating that it would be San Fran’s turn to shine. This is historically a lower scoring series as well, as six of the L/8 have stayed ‘under’ the number.

Sunday, September 12th, 4:15 PM ET: Green Bay Packers @ Philadelphia Eagles
Trends of Note
-The Packers are 7-1-1 ATS in their L/9 overall
-Green Bay is 20-8-1 ATS in its L/9 games played away from Lambeau Field
-Philly is 5-2 ATS in its L/7 pro football betting affairs in September

Series History
Though the Packers won the most recent meeting of these two teams in 2007 both SU and ATS, they would probably rather forget that the Eagles ever existed. The Pack are just 2-7 ATS over the L/9 duels of these conference foes, and they haven’t won a game in the City of Brotherly Love since the 1980s, covering just one spread since then as well. The home team has won five straight SU and four straight ATS.

Sunday, September 12th, 8:20 PM ET: Dallas Cowboys @ Washington Redskins
Trends of Note
-The Redskins are 3-11 ATS in their L/14 contests played in Landover
-Washington is 5-2-1 ATS in its L/8 overall
-The Cowboys have started the year off well, going 4-1 ATS in their L/5 Week 1s

Series History
You might not find two teams that hate each other more than these two. Dating back to 2005, the Redskins are 7-3 ATS in spite of the fact that they are only 5-5 SU. In fact, the underdog has done quite well, going 19-7 ATS over the L/26 between these divisional foes. The ‘under’ cashed in both meetings last year and in three straight overall.

Monday, September 13th, 7:00 PM ET: Baltimore Ravens @ New York Jets
Trends of Note
-The Ravens have covered six straight spreads in September
-The Jets are 5-1 ATS in their L/6 against the AFC
-New York is 5-2-1 ATS in its L/8 games played in Week 1

Series History
Baltimore keeps on finding a way to get the best of the Jets, but Rex Ryan can say that he is dominant in this series if he beats his former team on Monday night. Baltimore has won three straight SU and is 2-1 ATS against the Jets in the L/3 meetings.

Monday, September 13th, 10:15 PM ET: San Diego Chargers @ Kansas City Chiefs
Trends of Note
-The Chargers are an amazing 24-10-4 ATS in their L/38 games against the AFC West
-Kansas City is just 7-18-1 ATS in its L/26 home games
-The Chiefs are only 1-5 ATS in their L/6 games played in September

Series History
San Diego has trampled the Chiefs a number of times since becoming the dominant team in this division, including victories of 43-14 and 37-7 last year. The Bolts have won five straight in this series, but dating back to the end of 2005, Kansas City owns a 5-4 ATS lead.