NFL Preseason Predictions: Will Patriots vs. Lions be low-scoring? 8/25/17
Will the Patriots beat the Lions and cover the point spread tonight when the teams meet in Detroit?
The Matchup: Patriots vs. Lions, 7:00PM ET, Ford Field
According to oddsmakers, the Patriots are now 2.5-point road favorites versus Detroit tonight at Ford Field. New England opened as a 1-point favorite but the line jumped to 2.5. As for the total, the number hit the board at 45.5 but has been bet down to 43.5.
New England Patriots
The Patriots are 0-2 in preseason play, losing 31-24 to the Jaguars and 27-23 to the Texans. In that loss to Houston, Tom Brady completed 6-of-9 passes for 67 yards and a touchdown while Dion Lewis rushed seven times for 34 yards. Brady’s backup Jimmy Garoppolo also had a solid game, throwing for 145 yards on 15-of-23 passes. He threw a touchdown but also had a pick.
Detroit Lions
The Lions improved to 2-0 in preseason play with their 16-6 victory over the Jets. Matthew Stafford found Marvin Jones for a 5-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter as the Lions took a 10-0 lead. Detroit built that lead to 13-0 before half time and the team’s backups hung on for the win in the second.
Our Prediction
Taking the Patriots and laying the 2.5 is tempting but I think there’s more value in the total. Nate Solder isn’t traveling with New England. That means Brady’s blindside will be protected by Cameron Fleming. Even if Brady plays a full half against the Lions tonight, chances are they’ll protect him as much as possible by keeping this relatively conservative.
The Lions, meanwhile, didn’t exactly light up the scoreboard last week against the lowly Jets. Granted, they did get into the 20s two weeks ago in their first preseason game but I don’t see that happening again tonight. I like the under.
NFL Preseason Prediction: Patriots/Lions under 43.5
