Guess the Lines Week 1, Plus Favorite NFL Futures With Cousin Sal

Bill Simmons and Cousin Sal kicked off their 20th season of "Guess the Lines" with a packed episode that also featured their annual futures draft, a new teaser promotion with FanDuel, and a preview of the biggest Week 1 storylines. The episode was recorded as an emergency pod ahead of the NFL's return, with Simmons noting the league's new Wednesday-Thursday kickoff schedule and his own packed slate of shows for the week. The conversation ranged from the Rams' controversial travel plans for their Australia game against the 49ers to the mystery of Jerry Jones's uncharacteristic silence this offseason.

Week 1 Lines and Key Matchups

The core of the episode was the 20th installment of "Guess the Lines," where Simmons and Sal compete to predict point spreads without seeing them first. They tied 10-10 for Week 1, with several notable disagreements. The biggest disparity came on the Titans-Jets game: Sal had Tennessee favored by 2.5, while Simmons guessed Jets -1.5, a gap that Simmons called his worst miss of the week. On the Ravens-Colts game, both had Baltimore favored, but Simmons hated the 3.5-point hook, calling it a "classic" trap line.