Oct 31, 2021; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Lions running back D’Andre Swift (32) is tackled by Philadelphia Eagles middle linebacker T.J. Edwards (57) in the first quarter at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: David Reginek-USA TODAY Sports
The Detroit Lions will open the season Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles, and here are betting odds and a prediction.
A Week 8 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles was a turning point in the 2021 season for the Detroit Lions, as an embarassing 44-6 defeat with a bye week to follow could easily be.
The Lions will have a chance to avenge that loss to open the 2022 season, as they’ll again welcome the Eagles to Ford Field. It’s not a reach to say both teams are better than they were in last week’s game.
The Lions will look to carry “Hard Knocks” buzz into a season that should be a solid next step in the rebuild. Simply being more competitive with the Eagles would be considered a nice start.
Via FanDuel Sportsbook, let’s look at the odds for the Lions-Eagles matchup.
Detroit Lions vs. Eagles Week 1 Odds
Point Spread:
Eagles: -3.5 (-114)
Lions: +3.5 (-106)
Moneyline:
Eagles: -198
Lions: +166
Over/Under (48.5):
Over: -110
Under: -110
Detroit Lions vs. Eagles Week 1 Prediction
There will be a sell out, standing room only crowd at Ford Field on Sunday, though it’s worth wondering how well Eagles’ fans will travel and how much green will be in the seats.
Prior to last year’s blowout, the Lions won their previous three games against the Eagles–in 2015, 2016 and 2019. Of course the teams were very different during that streak. Recency bias as well as the expectations around the Eagles makes it easy to predict another one-sided game on Sunday, but the point spread doesn’t really back that up.
What is at times a three-point tilt to the home team in a point spread isn’t easy to apply to the Lions, so the location of the game isn’t telling in respect to that 3.5-point spread with the game being in Detroit and not Philadelphia.
Prediction: Eagles win, and cover the 3.5 points (but not by much), and the over on the 48.5-point total hits