Vegas Play of the Day: Here are 3 winners in the NFL for Week 1

By Las Vegas Sun Staff (contact)

Sunday, Sept. 7, 2014 | 8 a.m.

Football is finally here.

After a grueling summer piecing together the Play of the Day column using baseball games and women’s professional basketball, the NFL has come to the rescue. Welcome, back.

To celebrate, each of the Sun’s three sports writers will make a selection for Week 1. We’ve agreed to wager $440.

We might not be celebrating come mid-morning today, though. The NFL is the hardest league to handicap, and even the industry’s best handicappers are lucky to pick winners at a 60-percent rate.

We started the daily feature last winter with a fictional $10,000 bankroll. We take our lines from the South Point.

Taylor Bern — Tennessee Titans vs. Kansas City Chiefs, Total Over 44 : Both teams have decent offenses and will look to move quickly against mediocre defenses.

Case Keefer — Atlanta Falcons plus-3 vs. New Orleans Saints: I already loved this side before learning that more than 90 percent of the money was on New Orleans. It's an instant cause for concern when that many people back a road favorite on week 1.

Ray Brewer — Minnesota Vikings plus-3 at St. Louis Rams : Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson, who is arguably football’s best running back, will put on a show. Minnesota is by far the superior team. Sure, St. Louis has a great defense. But will the Rams be able to score? Great spot to take the points.

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If you want more of our selections, here's our weekly contest where we each select six games against the spread. And Keefer loves this time of year — he’s handicapped each game. Good luck. See everyone at the betting window cashing tickets.

Standings: Bern (45-33-1, $13,827), Keefer (39-42, $9,912), Brewer (33-44-3, $3,200)