Week 1 NFL Picks: Packers over Bears, Pats over Steelers

The 2015 NFL season is finally here. The Green Bay Packers open up at Soldier Field on Sunday afternoon, as the oldest rivalry in the NFL renews once again. This year, the Packers have a chance to tie up the all-time series if they can win both games against Chicago, a remarkable feat considering the Bears' commanding lead 20 years ago.

First up, however, is the NFL's kickoff game on Thursday night, which pits the defending Super Bowl Champions against a key AFC rival. The Patriots and Steelers get our season underway, and although the teams have their share of key players missing (with Le'Veon Bell, Martavis Bryant, and Legarrette Blount all suspended), there should be plenty of star power and firepower to go around.

The first week of the season also means it's our first chance to pick the results of real football games, and nine APC writers will be submitting our predictions this season. Here's how we voted in week one.

Author	Tex	Jason	Aron	Brendan	Kris	Paul	Matt	Adam	VCF	Consensus
PIT @ NE	NE	NE	PIT	PIT	NE	NE	NE	NE	NE
IND @ BUF	IND	IND	IND	IND	IND	IND	IND	IND	IND
GB @ CHI	GB	GB	GB	GB	GB	GB	GB	GB	GB
KC @ HOU	KC	HOU	KC	KC	HOU	KC	KC	KC	KC
CAR @ JAX	CAR	CAR	CAR	JAX	CAR	JAX	CAR	CAR	CAR
CLE @ NYJ	NYJ	NYJ	NYJ	NYJ	NYJ	NYJ	NYJ	NYJ	NYJ
SEA @ STL	SEA	SEA	SEA	SEA	SEA	STL	STL	SEA	SEA
MIA @ WAS	MIA	MIA	MIA	MIA	MIA	MIA	MIA	MIA	MIA
NO @ ARI	ARI	ARI	NO	ARI	ARI	NO	NO	ARI	ARI
DET @ SD	SD	SD	SD	SD	DET	DET	SD	SD	SD
BAL @ DEN	DEN	DEN	DEN	DEN	DEN	DEN	DEN	BAL	DEN
CIN @ OAK	OAK	CIN	CIN	CIN	CIN	CIN	CIN	CIN	CIN
TEN @ TB	TB	TB	TB	TB	TEN	TB	TB	TEN	TB
NYG @ DAL	DAL	DAL	DAL	DAL	DAL	NYG	DAL	DAL	DAL
PHI @ ATL	ATL	PHI	ATL	PHI	PHI	PHI	PHI	PHI	PHI
MIN @ SF	MIN	MIN	MIN	MIN	MIN	MIN	SF	MIN	MIN

This week we have just four unanimous picks among our nine writers: the Colts, Packers, Jets(!), and Dolphins.

As for your predictions for the Packers-Bears game, hit up the APC predictions widget below and be part of the discussion about the final score.