Lions vs Eagles NFL Football Spread/Handicapping
The Lions desperately needed a week off after a tough start to the season. Unfortunately while they were licking their wounds things were getting even tougher with the Vikings winning again and the Eagles losing a nail-biter to Pittsburgh that has to have them pretty mad.
Detroit Lions (1-3) vs Philadelphia Eagles (3-2)
Sunday October 14
Lincoln Financial Field – Philadelphia, PA
Time
Moneyline: Philadelphia -200, Detroit +180 at Bookmaker
Spread: Philadelphia -4
O/U: 47.5
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Detroit
The Lions are seeing their season slipping away and desperately need this one before a trip to Chicago.
Hopefully the underdog role will suit them.
Detroit has the top passing offense in the NFL. If they could actually stop somebody then they would be in business.
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Part of their challenge is due to injury, there are no fewer than 6 defensive players questionable for Sunday. Without much defensive support there is a lot of pressure on QB Matt Stafford to be perfect and he hasn’t been. It all falls on him with the Lions showing no consistency in the running game.
Those who questioned the Lions coming into the season should be feeling pretty good right now. Not only are they 1-3 but even the one they won could have gone the other way.
Last year they thrived in an underdog role so perhaps this will loosen them up a bit.
They have failed to cover in any game this year but the one they came closest was the one time they were not favoured this season.
Philadelphia
The Eagles hung tight but in the end couldn’t hold on for the victory against Pittsburgh – losing on a FG as time expired. The Steelers saw their season hanging by a thread and made the plays they had to.
The game was probably closer on the scoreboard than it really was with the Steelers outgaining Philly by about 100 yards. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
The Eagles put the ball on the ground too many times to expect the victory.
QB Mike Vick was solid throwing the ball but coughs it up too many times when he is running or trying to extend the play. He is likely to never the master the art of throwing the ball away. The Steelers did an excellent job hemming in running back LeSean McCoy, other than a TD pass he was a non-factor (although that is likely to change against Detroit).
Philly is still struggling to make plays in the passing game with just one going for more than 20 yards against Pittsburgh.
This past week at Pittsburgh was the one time the Eagles have covered the spread all season long. They have gotten some wins under their belt but Mike Vick’s lack of ball security can make leads disappear in a hurry to kill the team from the outset.
Against a team that can move the ball like Detroit it is hard to take a large number and not worry about the back door.
Spread Pick: Detroit +6
O/U Pick: Over
Score Prediction: Detroit 31 – Philadelphia 30
