NFL Week 1 Lions vs. Eagles odds, pick, predictions: Will Philly run over Detroit once again?

The Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions enter the 2022 NFL season as two of the most hyped teams in the league. One of them will leave Sunday with disappointment.

That’s the reality facing both teams in this season-opening clash, when we’ll finally see whether all the noise around these much-ballyhooed squads will actually pay off. And while early sharp action on Detroit kept this line close, late movement on the Eagles suggest a strong opinion on the road favorites ahead of kickoff.

Here’s how we’re betting Sunday’s contest, which kicks off at 1 p.m. ET on Fox. Odds courtesy of BetMGM.

The last time these two teams shared the field, the Eagles embarrassed the Lions with a 44-6 win that ultimately turned their season around. It also lays the blueprint for another Philly win on Sunday.

The Eagles ran roughshod over Detroit’s beleaguered defense in that Week 8 affair, totaling 236 yards and four touchdowns on the ground in a virtually flawless performance. It was also a pivotal moment for then-sophomore starter Jalen Hurts, who entered that game averaging 34.6 attempts per game with a 2-5 record to show for it. He attempted a season-low 14 passes in that win and averaged just 23.8 attempts in his final eight games, leading his team to a 6-2 record in those contests.

We’ll likely see a different Hurts in his second season as a full-time starter, aided by new star wideout A.J. Brown and arguably the best offensive line in football. Yet even with head coach Nick Sirianni’s desire to improve his team’s passing attack, there’s little reason to shy away from running right at the Lions, who led the NFL in missed tackles (75) last year and didn’t do enough this offseason to quell concerns about their flimsy run defense.

» READ MORE: Our favorite player props for Eagles-Lions in Week 1

Conversely, Detroit is at its best when feeding star rusher D’Andre Swift behind a stout offensive line. That, too, is a concern on Sunday. Starting right guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai (back) will miss the first four weeks of the season, and Pro Bowl center Frank Ragnow (groin) is also iffy to play. Those two injuries are a big deal against a Philly run defense that ranked among the league’s best over the back half of last season.

That puts a lot of pressure on Goff against a team that sacked him six times last year and stocked up again this offseason. The Eagles added elite pass-rusher Haason Reddick and first-round defensive tackle Jordan Davis — who poses a serious issue for Detroit’s O-line if Ragnow isn’t at full strength — while bolstering a secondary that was among this team’s biggest weaknesses a year ago.

Yes, there’s plenty of hype around the Lions, especially after they were featured in HBO’s docuseries Hard Knocks. There are legitimate reasons why sharps have fallen in love with them, too: after facing one of the toughest schedules in the NFL, they face one of the easiest this year, and they’re ripe for improvement in Year 2 under Coach of the Year favorite Dan Campbell.

Still, as it relates to Sunday’s season-opener, Detroit has a long way to go to close the talent gap between these two squads. With the strength of this team hampered by injuries, and its suspect defense still an issue against these run-happy Eagles, this one could get ugly … again.

Eagles -4.5 (-110 BetMGM)

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