It's time to get the train rolling on "Monday Night Football." As has become the custom, the NFL and ESPN have a scheduled doubleheader for opening weekend.
In the opener, the Texans travel over the Bayou to face Drew Brees and the Saints, who are out to prove they should have been in last year's Super Bowl. The night cap is a divisional confrontation with Denver visiting Oakland, as both teams celebrate their 60th season as franchises in the NFL's 100 years of doing business.
Here is a betting breakdown of both contests.
MORE: Get the latest NFL odds at Sportsbook Review
Houston Texans at New Orleans Saints
Monday, Sept. 9, 7:10 p.m. ET
Going into the season, there are two ways to look at New Orleans. The Saints are either angry about being jobbed by the officials in last season's NFC title game and are on a mission, or they feel cheated and might let it hang over their heads for the first couple of weeks of the season.
The oddsmakers have Brees and his teammates as touchdown favorites against Houston, and while the spread appears correct by most power ratings that include home-field advantage, the Saints have been sinners, at least to their backers. Coach Sean Payton's team has lost its last five openers and has not covered the spread a single time (1-9 SU and ATS the first two games of the season since 2014).
Last November, the Cowboys stuffed the box to stop the Saints' running game and double-teamed receiver Michael Thomas. Payton's offense went from 36.9 points per game after 11 contests to 17.2 PPG in the Saints' next seven tries. Houston will no doubt look to deploy similar tactics until Brees can prove he can carve up the Texans.
Houston has issues of its own after firing general manager Brian Gaine on June 7 and going with a group huddle management from that point. The recent trade of outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney sent the wrong signal to the players about wanting to win now, but the upside was it allowed them to trade for left tackle Laremy Tunsil to protect quarterback Deshaun Watson's blindside.
The Texans come into this southern-style confrontation 6-2 ATS the last two years as non-division road underdogs. Contrast that with Who Dat's 6-10-1 ATS since 2015 as a non-division home favorite, and taking +7 with Houston is tempting.
Pick: Texans +7 (-110)
MORE: Get the latest NFL odds at Sportsbook Review
Denver Broncos at Oakland Raiders
Monday, Sept. 9, 10:15 p.m. ET
The last game of Week 1 featues two teams with a long history of success. Those making NFL picks have decided who they prefer and flipped the visiting Broncos from two-point road dogs to -1 point favorites over the Raiders.
There are two areas of advantage those bettors are seeing for Denver. It starts with a Broncos defense that is riding on its reputation more than actual results. Make no mistake: The Denver offense was pathetic a season ago, and its inability to move the ball placed the defense on way too many short fields. But the Broncos were 22nd in total defense, which suggests they could not step up at the right times.
The other aspect that stands out is the perpetual circus that is the Raiders. Be it Brown, GM Mike Mayock or coach Jon Gruden with his crazy talk, it's tough for a bettor to back a team with all the characters.
Denver has the better defense, but look for Derek Carr to outperform Joe Flacco in the battle of quarterbacks. From a handicapping standpoint, it's impossible to overlook that divisional home underdogs in Week 1 are on an 18-4 ATS run (through 9/7) and the Da Raiders will find a way not to lose.
Pick: Raiders +2 (-110)