Week 1: Washington Commanders vs Jacksonville Jaguars 9/11/22 NFL Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Washington Commanders and Jacksonville Jaguars do battle Sunday afternoon in week 1 NFL action at FedExField in Florida. The Jacksonville Jaguars are coming off 3 wins and begin the Doug Pederson era. The Washington Commanders are coming off 7 wins and enter the third year under coach Ron Rivera.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have their third different coach in the last 3 years, and they hope they can finally make some progress. Of course, a lot comes down to the growth of quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who had an underwhelming rookie year. The additions of wide receivers Christian Kirk and Zay Jones should open help his improvement. Defensively, the addition of Folorunso Fatukasi should improve a Jags run defense that wasn’t good last season, while rookie Travon Walker has a chance to form an above average linebacker group along with Josh Allen. The cupboard isn’t bare in Jacksonville, but constantly changing coaches and having a young quarterback does raise questions of just how long this project needs to get rolling.

The Washington Commanders managed to win 7 games last year with a ridiculously tough schedule and Taylor Heinicke at quarterback. This year, Washington is rolling with Carson Wentz under center, who is the team’s most exciting quarterback since RG3. Defensively, the Commanders have nowhere to go but up as the front seven has first round picks in Daron Payne, Jonathan Allen, Montez Sweat and Chase Young. There’s no excuse as to why the Commanders aren’t one of the better defenses in the league this season. While everybody is talking about the Eagles and Cowboys in the NFC East, the Commanders are a team to pay close attention to.

The Jaguars are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 road games and 1-7 ATS in their last 8 games overall. The Commanders are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games as a favorite and 6-2-1 ATS in their last 9 games overall. The under is 12-4 in Jaguars last 16 games overall. The under is 9-3 in Commanders last 12 games overall. The Jaguars are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 meetings.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have some showing and proving to do before you can trust them against any respectable team, especially on the road. The Washington Commanders are an NFC East contender, even if they don’t get the same love nationally as the Cowboys and Eagles. The Commanders won 7 games last year with a backup quarterback and a brutal schedule. The Commanders are a team everybody should be watching closely, as there’s legit potential here. You could argue this line should be steeper. Give me the Commanders and the reasonable chalk.