Eagles vs. Lions Prediction: Did the Lions Really Get Better?
By Josh Yourish
You would be hard pressed to find two more hyped up teams coming into Week 1 -- outside of the obvious Bills and Rams. There are plenty of people in the media picking the Eagles as their Super Bowl darkhorse and plenty more getting swept up by Dan Campbell and picking the Lions to have a winning record or battle for a Wild Card spot.
So who’s hype train will keep rolling and who’s bubble will burst in Week 1?
Eagles vs. Lions Odds, Spread and Total
Eagles vs. Lions Odds Movement in NFL Week 2
Most books opened with the Eagles as 3.5 point favorites, but now almost every book has moved the spread to 4.
Eagles vs. Lions Best Bet and Prediction
If you are willing to believe people in the media who say the Eagles have a Super Bowl caliber roster, then they better be able to beat Detroit in Week 1. They added Jordan Davis to their defensive line, have one of the best offensive lines in the league, and A.J. Brown will expand their offense. The question mark is Jalen Hurts.
We saw how bad Hurts looked last year in the playoffs and he needs to be willing to throw the ball over the middle of the field for this offense to work. If he takes that next step they will be real contenders, but even without it they are much better than the Lions.
Detroit added Aiden Hutchinson at the top of the draft, but other than that this roster is not much different than it was a year ago when they went 3-13-1. Plus we already know what their quarterback can be. There isn’t some next step we are expecting from Goff, he is what he is, so I’m not sure where this improvement will come from.
The Eagles hype scares me some, but I understand it way more than the Lions hype. It’s early in the year, so there won’t be massive favorites. However, I think if this game was being played in Week 5, the Eagles would be favored by a touchdown or more.
Pick: Eagles -3.5 (-114)
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