The wait is finally over.

For as unlikely as it would have seemed just a couple of months ago, the 2020 National Football League season has arrived on time and with a full 13-game slate for the first Sunday of the year.

If it crept up on you, you’re not alone.

The good news is that The TSN Edge staff has already done the work to get you ready this weekend’s action.

Here are our best bets for Week 1.

Chris Amberley: Seahawks at Falcons – Over 49.0

This game has one of the highest totals on the slate, but there’s a strong argument to be made that it’s not high enough. Both of these teams had a bottom-14 defensive grade from Pro Football Focus last season, and neither did enough to significantly improve their glaring defensive weaknesses.

Seattle did add safety Jamal Adams, but did little to fix its lifeless pass rush issues. The Seahawks generated pressure at the league’s third lowest rate in 2019 and could be even worse this season after the departure of Jadeveon Clowney.

Give Matt Ryan time to throw and he’ll pick you apart. Matty Ice completed 73.9% of his passes in a clean pocket in 2019, racking up 3,152 yards and 18 TD. Seattle was abysmal at covering perimeter receivers last season, and Ryan just happens to have two of the league’s top wideouts (Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley) at his disposal.

The Seahawks meanwhile, reportedly plan to unleash Russell Wilson this season, which is bad news for the Falcons. Seattle averaged 25.3 points in games where Wilson threw at least 30 passes in 2019, and Atlanta lacks the secondary talent to shut down the Seahawks receivers. Tyler Lockett racked up six catches and 100 yards in their only meeting last season, while DK Metcalf hauled in two scores. The Falcons had PFF’s eighth worst coverage grade in 2019, and parted ways with No. 1 corner Desmond Trufant in the off-season.

Luke Bellus: Dolphins +7 at Patriots

If you read my AFC East divisional preview, then you already know I’m very high on this Miami team. The Dolphins finished the 2019 season 5-4 over the final nine weeks of the season. And they’ll try to start the 2020 season the same way they ended 2019 - with a win over the Patriots.

New England, led by new quarterback Cam Newton, is favoured by almost a touchdown against the Dolphins at Gillette Stadium. One of the reasons I’m fading the Patriots in Week 1 is due to the turnover on the defensive side of the ball. The team lost five starters to free agency and had a league-high eight opt-outs due to concerns about the coronavirus pandemic, including linebacker Dont’a Hightower and safety Patrick Chung. Add that to the fact that we have never seen Newton play in this offence and I’m just not confident in New England winning this game by more than a touchdown.

Miami on the other hand is opening the season with Ryan Fitzpatrick, who’s shown some early season magic before. Fitzpatrick and wideout DeVante Parker connected for 137 yards on eight catches in that Week 17 win last year. The Dolphins also bolstered their running game after really struggling to move the football on the ground last season.

On the other side of the ball, the Dolphins were busy adding talent in free agency, picking up ex-Pats linebackers Elandon Roberts and Kyle Van Noy, as well as former Dallas Cowboys cornerback Byron Jones.

Tom Brady’s teams went 6-4 against the spread in their last 10 games versus the Dolphins and outscored Miami by almost 13 points per game over that span. But those teams looked much different than this year’s Patriots, while this year’s Dolphins look much different on paper than in recent years.

Domenic Padula: Cowboys at Rams – Over 50.5

If you read my Thursday Night Football preview or you follow me on Twitter, then you know I already went all-in on the Kansas City Chiefs in the season opener. I took the Chiefs at -9.5 and locked them in as both my survivor pool pick as well as my top confidence pool pick for Week 1. Patrick Mahomes is an obvious favourite to win NFL MVP this season. He’s also the consensus fantasy football QB1 for 2020. Lamar Jackson is considered his most likely competition in both categories. I’m focused on another quarterback that I think could potentially challenge Mahomes in both categories: Dak Prescott.

Coming off a career year in which he threw for 4,902 yards and 30 touchdowns, Prescott enters his fifth NFL season with the best supporting cast he’s ever had. Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup and Ezekiel Elliott all return. Rookie wide receiver CeeDee Lamb provides a significant upgrade behind Cooper and Gallup, while tight end Blake Jarwin is in line for a bigger role following Jason Witten’s departure. I also fully expect the Cowboys to play faster and throw the football a lot more under new head coach Mike McCarthy. Prescott is playing for a new deal on the franchise tag this season. He should have all of the support he needs to deliver the best performance of his career in 2020.

Meanwhile, Rams quarterback Jared Goff is coming off a down year in which he threw the fewest touchdowns (22) and the lowest yards per attempt (7.4) since his rookie season. However, it’s important to remember the way he ended 2019. In the final five games of the season, Goff averaged 328.6 passing yards and threw 11 touchdowns compared to just four interceptions. Head coach Sean McVay has had an entire offseason to game plan for this matchup. That should translate to a strong performance from Goff and the LA offence versus Dallas on Sunday.

The Cowboys and Rams have met in each of the last three seasons. The over hit in all three of those games, including in last year’s meeting when these teams combined for 65 points in a 44-21 Dallas win in Week 15. I expect that trend to continue with another high scoring game this Sunday night.