Thursday open thread: Make your 2018 Super Bowl predictions! It’s Thursday and that means the NFL officially returns tonight. The Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles will open the 2018 season hosting the prior NFC champions Matthew Stafford Jersey , the Atlanta Falcons.Both bird teams figure to be part of the equation in the conference’s playoff picture come December, and that means we should be treated to a pretty solid season opener on Thursday night.So as the season begins, it’s time to show off your prediction chops. Want a chance to look like the smartest person in the room? Time to make your 2018 NFL predictions. Today’s Question of the Day is:Who will play in Super Bowl LIII and who will win?My answer: It’s incredibly boring and I’m sure it’s going to be one of the more popular picks among analysts, but give me Patriots over Vikings.I know including the Vikings is going to make some Detroit Lions fans sick, but that team is just stacked. The biggest concern is their offensive line, but it was the same scenario last year, and they managed to be perfectly fine on offense despite having a guy like Riley Reiff protecting the blindside. Elsewhere Da’Shawn Hand Jersey , the Vikings are just loaded with talent. They’ve got an impressive backfield with tons of potential, one of the best receiving duos in the league, and just try to find a weakness on their defensive roster. You can’t.Nothing fancy about my pick for the Patriots. The AFC is soft yet again, and New England has breezed their way through it in three of the past four years. The Jaguars are probably the only real team that could give them trouble, but even after last year’s playoff run, I just can’t get behind a team led by Blake Bortles. Your turn.Tweets from https://twitter.com/Prid...oit/lists/lions-coverage Cowboys receiver Cole Beasley made a potentially inflammatory comment earlier this week, regarding the team’s much-maligned wideouts getting open. The implication was that someone else (i.e. Jarrad Davis Jersey , the person throwing the ball) had been failing to get the ball to them.So what did quarterback Dak Prescott think of what Beasley said?“I hadn’t seen that comment,” Prescott told me by phone after the 26-23 win over the Lions. “I missed all of it.”Prescott missed all of it because he is committed to staying away from social media in all forms. (Even though Beasley’s comments were made in the locker room and reported in the local newspaper, the fact that Prescott didn’t see it because he’s staying away from Twitter says everything anyone needs to know about how the younger demographic currently consumes news.)The receivers definitely were open on Sunday, along with the team’s top running back. Indeed, the leading producer in the passing game on Sunday was running back Ezekiel Elliott, who had four catches for 88 yards and a touchdown. The score came from a screen pass, but it was Elliott lined up in the slot that provided an eventual 34-yard chunk on the game-winning drive.Prescott told PFT that he knew based on the coverage that Elliott would be the primary receiver Teez Tabor Jersey , after a linebacker walked out to cover him man-to-man. Prescott said the Cowboys have had a lot of success with that play in practice, which culminated with an over-the-shoulder catch by Elliott.Practice ended up being a very important ingredient in the game-winning drive. Specifically, Thursday practice. That’s when they focus on practicing two-minute offense and working on development the kind of confidence necessary to produce when those opportunities arise during games. When the opportunity arose on Sunday, Prescott said that he spent time on the sidelines talking to his teammates — face-to-face and one-by-one — about what needs to be done.“I want those moments,” Prescott said. “I want them to not even blink.”Moving forward, Prescott thinks that the offense can continue to click like it did today, if it can continue to execute in all aspects. He said that Kenny Golladay Jersey , in the first three games, it was often “little things” that would disrupt the flow.“There’s no excuse in not executing,” Prescott said, making it clear that his focus going forward will be to ensure that all plays, especially in the passing game, are properly executed by all players.Execution will be aided by confidence in his receivers. Asked to put a number from one to 10 on his confidence in his receivers, Prescott declined to apply a specific digit. “I have a lot of confidence in them Jalen Reeves-Maybin Jersey ,” he said.Prescott did plenty to inspire confidence on Sunday, and it helped to have Elliott churning up 152 yards rushing and a total of 240 yards from scrimmage.