Week 1 Preview and Prediction: Eagles (-4) at Lions
NFL football is back, and the Eagles will fly to Detroit for their regular season opener against the Lions on Sunday.
This Eagles team is getting more preseason hype and “buzz” than maybe any team since the 2015 Chip Kelly debacle, but this time it is potentially for good reason. Howie Roseman has constructed a well-rounded and relatively young roster designed to maximize Jalen Hurts’ capabilities without crippling the long-term foundation of the roster (in fact adding even more to it than there previously had been). On paper, there are no glaring holes anywhere in the starting lineup, and if Hurts can take a step forward with his passing deficiencies, this team should probably be considered as the runaway favorite in the NFC East and perhaps even as a dark horse Super Bowl contender in a weak NFC.
The Lions, meanwhile, are still in the midst of their umpteenth rebuild, but they could potentially be building something intriguing with former Rams executive Brad Holmes and fiery lunatic head coach Dan Campbell running the show. The Lions took Heisman finalist pass-rusher Aidan Hutchinson second overall, and then traded up 20 spots in the first round to take explosive speed demon wide receiver Jameson Williams with the 12th pick. Williams will not play on Sunday as he continues to rehab from his January torn ACL, but the point stands that Detroit could mercifully be trending in the right direction for once. Realistically, however, they are still not close to playoff contention quite yet.
The Lions were the first victims to the Eagles’ run-heavy identity last year, as they got run (no pun intended) off the field 44-6 in Week 8 in a game that was honestly never even competitive. Hutchinson is there now, but this is still an extremely weak and inexperienced defense on all three levels. Frankly, the Eagles really should not have any trouble moving the ball on this team, so long as they can shake the rust off.
Detroit’s offense has some nice, young pieces, even without the aforementioned Williams. Running back D’Andre Swift and tight end T.J. Hockenson are two of the better young players at their respective positions, in my view. The Lions also have 2021 fourth-round pick Amon-Ra St. Brown, a reliable slot receiver who broke out at the end of last season. Add in an above average offensive line (even with Super Bowl champion Halapoulivaati Vaitai being on Injured Reserve), and this is a pretty decent test for the Eagles’ new, revamped defense, despite Jared Goff not exactly possessing the most intimidating right arm.
It would be hard for the Lions to play worse against the Eagles than they did last year, and I doubt that they will. They are healthier and more talented than they were at that time, Ford Field will be loud, and the one thing they will always have going for them is that Campbell’s players would run through a brick wall for him. This has been a “trendy” team because of their Hard Knocks appearance and fun head coach, but the overall talent disparity between the two rosters is huge, and an upset would just really surprise me. The Eagles start out strong entering the home opener for the second consecutive year.
Prediction: Eagles win 34-22, and cover the spread.
Photo: Rey Del Rio/Getty Images
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Categorized:Eagles