NFL 2018: Top 3 NFL Matchups for Week 1

#1 Houston Texans at New England Patriots

After a tough Superbowl loss to a Nick Foles-led Eagles team, Patriots will begin the 2018 season against a familiar foe in Houston. Last year, in a high flying matchup between these two, the Patriots and Tom Brady came back to beat the Texans in the final seconds.

The Patriots will bring back Brady and Gronk, but will still miss Julian Edelman who lost 2017 due to injury and is now suspended for the first four games. The WR core is a major concern for the Patriots with Chris Hogan, Phillip Dorsett and Cordelle Patterson as the starters. None of those players instill confidence.

They also lost LeGarrette Blount and Nate Solder to Free Agency. The running back position is still a question mark. Patriots drafted Sony Michel in 2018 but he is dealing with an injury of his own. Rex Burkhead is supposed to start the season with James White helping out in the passing downs.

On the defensive side of the ball, Patriots have lost many key playmakers and also their defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, who left to become the head coach of the Detroit Lions. This season could prove tough for the Patriots especially when facing a high powered offense like the Texans.

Speaking of Texans' offense, they get back Deshaun Watson, the number 12 overall pick from 2017 Draft who took the league by a storm by passing for a record 19 touchdown passes in just 7 games. With Watson back, the Texans offense should be as electrifying as it was last year in Foxboro. De'Andre Hopkins is set to resume where he left off last season. He scored a league-high 13 touchdowns last year and with Fuller healthy as his side-kick Hopkins will look to replicate that success.

The Houston defense should be the most improved group this season. With the return of Watt and Mercilus in the front seven and Clowney also back from Knee surgery the defensive line should create terror for many offenses. With Nate Solder out at LT, Brady will now have to look out for defenders coming from his blindside. Addition of Tyrann Mathieu at Safety is going to help bolster the back end of the defense which ended up 26th in 2017 from number 1 in 2016.

Fantasy Outlook

Must Start:

Rob Gronkowski: Duh!

All the Texans Skill position starters: No brainer to start Watson and Hopkins who tore apart the Patriots defense last year in Foxboro or any team they faced as a matter of fact. Will Fuller is also a must-start. Lamar Miller is also another must start because of Houston's dynamic Run-Pass offense and a revamped O-Line which will help open up lanes for the RB.

Under the Radar Players:

In PPR leagues, James White, Patriots RB, is virtually a must start with a very weak WR option. White could see more targets than any Wide Receiver in the team, so he should be a better WR2 or a flex starter.

With the return of Watt and Mercilus and addition of Mathieu, Houston's defense could be back to its 2016 form and with Patriots taking a backseat this offseason in WR position and losing Nate Solder, it should help the Texans DL to get their hands on Brady and force turnovers.

Prediction

Last year in Foxboro, leading by 5 points, with a minute and a half left, Bill O'Brien decided to give the eventual MVP Tom Brady and the Patriots offense a chance to come back instead of going for it on 4 and 1. That decision cost the match for the Texans not once but twice last year.

But, this time, O'Brien will go for it on 4 and 1, for a deep TD pass from Watson to Fuller to seal the game for the Texans and open their season with a W against the defending AFC Champions.

Score: Texans 34, Patriots 20