The reigning Super Bowl champions will come to Motor City for Week 1 of the 2019 NFL preseason. That means head coach Matt Patricia will take on his former team again, this time in a less serious setting, however. Still, beating the Patriots, regardless of the setting, will always be a moral-booster, so expect the Lions to be all pumped up for this game. The Pats are +600 to win Super Bowl 54, while the Lions are +1000 to win the NFC North.
Tom Brady is 42 and will need some extra care for his aged body. In other words, any hope that he’ll play against the Lions this coming Friday should all be snuffed out by now. While Brady rests, he’ll hand the keys to the offense to backup Brian Hoyer and rookie Jarrett Stidham. Hoyer needs no introduction to football fans. Stidham, on the other hand, will showcase for the first time in a competitive setting what he’s got. The Patriots selected the former Auburn Tiger star in the fourth round of this year’s NFL Draft to add depth to their QB slot. Brady can also get to watch some of his new weapons in action. Among them are wide receiver and rookie N’Keal Harry and running back Damien Harris. On defense, the Patriots will feature rookie cornerback JoeJuan Williams, whom they selected in the second round. New England had no pressing need in their secondary prior to the draft, but that it picked up a cornerback in the second round appeared to suggest that Williams has some serious talent.
The Patriots are 3-1 against the spread (ATS) in their last four preseason games.
Betting on Detroit Lions (0-0)
The Lions beat New England back in Week 3 of the 2018 NFL season. Now, they have to double down on their mastery of the reigning Super Bowl champs. Matthew Stafford is still the Lions’ franchise quarterback, but he’ll step back for this matchup with the Patriots to give way to Tom Savage and David Fales. Detroit’s offense will get a nice look at rookie tight end TJ Hockenson, who is being hyped up after the Lions selected him 19th overall in this year’s draft. The Lions are hoping that Hockenson will have an immediate impact unlike the last tight end they picked in the first round in the form of now Indianapolis Colts TE, Eric Ebron. The leaky pass defense in 2018 also forced Detroit to upgrade its stop unit via the draft by getting safety Will Harris. Harris is now part of the same secondary that features Darius Slay and Quandre Diggs.
The Lions are 3-0 in the Lions’ last three preseason home games.
