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The National Football League’s 2012 regular season begins this week, and this year really snuck up on me since the opening game is being played on Wednesday night. There are always surprises that take place on the opening weekend, and it’s generally the hardest week to pick winners. I haven’t posted on this blog in awhile, but I do have a few “drafts” of posts started, and now that the NFL season is here, I’m sure I’ll find the time to post more frequently. There will be a Buffalo Bills season preview coming later in the week. For now, here are my selections for this week’s games:

Dallas at New York Giants – seriously, the Giants of the past few seasons have got to be the most inconsistent multiple Super Bowl winners of all time. Then again, Dallas may be even more inconsistent. I’ll take the G-men to post a big opening night win.

Buffalo at New York Jets – the Bills started out strong last year before fading badly, but the Jets have had their number for a couple of years now. I’m not sold on Mark Sanchez as a quality NFL quarterback, but I also don’t think the Bills’ new revamped defense is a cohesive enough unit yet to stop the Jets. New York opens at home with a win.

Indianapolis at Chicago – the Colts are officially rebuilding and the Bears are going to be a sleeper team in 2012. The Andrew Luck era begins with a loss as Chicago’s defense dominates at home.

Philadelphia at Cleveland – the Eagles were a major disappointment in 2011 and I believe they’ll be on a mission to prove last season was a fluke. Philly wins a close contest over a developing Browns’ squad.

St. Louis at Detroit – the Lions’ defense should smother the Ram offense at home, and I believe they’ll win this game, but because new coach Jeff Fisher will have his players prepared, the game will be a lot closer than expected.

Miami at Houston – the Dolphins drew a tough opponent to open the season against. Wade Phillips’ Texan defense will keep Miami rookie QB Ryan Tannehill in check, and Houston will win big.

Atlanta at Kansas City – the Chiefs, a playoff team in 2010, started the season miserably last year as injuries and bad losses derailed them and cost coach Todd Haley his job. Romeo Crennel righted the ship enough to earn a shot at coaching the team for at least a full season, and K.C. will be competitive all year in the AFC West. However, the Falcons will pull out a close win on the road here.

Jacksonville at Minnesota – neither of these teams is going to contend in 2012, but one of them will excite their fan base with an opening day win. I believe that team will be the Vikings at home, with QB Christian Ponder playing a decent game.

Washington at New Orleans – even with all the Bountygate distractions and suspensions, the Saints, on paper, are a much better team than the Redskins. But I’ll take Washington to pull off an opening day upset.

New England at Tennessee – look for Titans’ RB Chris Johnson to have a big game on the ground, and for the Patriots to cruise to an opening day win behind Tom Brady.

Seattle at Arizona – both of these teams have aspirations of stealing the the NFC West division crown away from the 49ers. The Seahawks actually have a shot at meeting those aspirations, and will open the 2012 season with a big division road win here.

San Francisco at Green Bay –  the 49ers probably play better defense than the Packers, but there’s no way Alex Smith outduels Aaron Rodgers at Lambeau Field on opening day. Green Bay wins handily.

Carolina at Tampa Bay – I expect both of these teams to be competitive in a tough NFC South this year. In this game, I also expect Cam Newton to light it up and lead the Panthers to a big win.

Pittsburgh at Denver – Tim Tebow led the Broncos to a huge playoff upset over the Steelers last year, then was unceremoniously dumped in favor of Peyton Manning. So there’s a lot of pressure on Manning to at least match what Tebow did. I think he’s up to it, and the Broncos will win a close game at home.

Cincinnati at Baltimore – the first game of an opening weekend Monday Night doubleheader. Both of these teams are competent and coming off playoff years, but the Ravens are at home and have much more experience in the big game spotlight, so I’ll pick them to win.

San Diego at Oakland –  an old AFL rivalry matchup to wrap up the first regular season weekend. Oakland is improving, but the Chargers are a better team at this point and will win a hard fought contest here, with Philip Rivers outdueling Carson Palmer.