Patriots vs. Lions Point Spread: NFL Pre-Season Week 1 Odds, Prediction
Of course, New England’s head coach is future Hall of Famer Bill Belichick, who might go down as the greatest in NFL history with his six Super Bowl rings (and counting?). There have been several Belichick disciples to become head coaches in the league and more often than not, for whatever reason, they tend to fail.
The jury is still out on Detroit’s Matt Patricia. The former Patriots defensive coordinator took over the Lions last year and things didn’t go well on the field or sometimes off it with rumours that Patricia lost the locker room at times with his some of his curious decisions. He’s definitely on the hot seat entering 2019.
The Patriots are short road favourites for this one at Sports Interaction.
NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis
New England visited Detroit in Week 3 of the regular season last year and the Lions played probably their best game of the year in a 26-10 upset. Patricia seemed to know what was coming from that Patriots offence as they totaled 12 first downs and 209 yards. Tom Brady threw for only 133 yards.
These teams last met in the pre-season in 2017 and New England won 30-28 in Detroit. The Lions have covered the spread in four of the past five pre-season meetings. Belichick is 43-35 straight up in exhibition games with the Patriots, while Patricia went 1-3 last year.
New England Patriots
Belichick actually plays his veterans more than one would think in the pre-season, but it would be an upset if Brady plays in this one – he didn’t play Week 1 last year. Don’t expect to see No. 1 running back Sony Michel at all in the exhibition slate as he’s coming off a knee issue. Top receiver Julian Edelman is dealing with a broken thumb and probably also sits out all the games that don’t count.
The biggest question in camp is who replaces the retired Rob Gronkowski at tight end this year. Ben Watson was signed this off-season but he’s 38 and will be suspended the first four games of the regular season. Early reports are the leader in the clubhouse to start is Matt LaCosse, he of 27 career NFL receptions and in his first season with the Pats.
Detroit Lions
The Lions signed three former Patriots this off-season in receiver Danny Amendola, cornerback Justin Coleman and defensive end Trey Flowers. Clearly, Patricia is trying to bring the same culture and winning attitude to the Motor City. Flowers had off-season shoulder surgery and isn’t likely to play much at all this pre-season. Recently, the Green Bay Packers released former Pro Bowl defensive tackle Mike Daniels, and the Lions pounced by signing him to a one-year deal.
One minor surprise in camp was the team releasing running back Theo Riddick, who had been an excellent receiver out of the backfield the past few years. However, the Lions needed his salary to help sign Daniels. Rookie first-round tight end T.J. Hockenson has been one of the early stars of camp.
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