NFL insiders predict Week 1's best games, including Giants-Cowboys

ESPN senior writer Mike Sando kicks off the 2016 NFL season by asking league insiders to pick winners in selected games. Three personnel evaluators took the challenge in Week 1. (All game times are ET.)

Carolina Panthers at Denver Broncos

Thursday: 8:30 p.m., NBC | Point spread: Panthers by 3

Two of the three league insiders are picking Carolina to win the game. They see two teams with strong defenses. They know what to expect from Cam Newton and the Panthers' offense, and they aren't sure what to expect from Broncos quarterback Trevor Siemian in his first NFL start.

"I think Cam becomes more of a factor in this game than he was in the Super Bowl," a personnel director said. "In the Super Bowl, he didn't do what he normally does. He didn't take over a game. He didn't run [enough]. I almost think that stage was so big that those guys became a little bit too conservative. Here, they just go play and they pull off a better performance."