The Detroit Lions are entering their second season with Matt Patricia at the helm and he\u2019s already on the hot seat. However, he should be able to deliver a win against the Arizona Cardinals, who are starting a rookie at quarterback and have a rookie head coach. That\u2019s probably part of why the lines have moved up from a PICK to Lions -2.5. Are they the best bet in this game? Let\u2019s take a closer look. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Lions know that Kyler Murray is talented but they also know he is inexperienced. Whatever happens in the preseason has no real connection to what happens in the regular season. The defenses are no longer vanilla, the first-string players on a roster stay in a game for all four quarters and there are no backups to feast on. Everything is different. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Lions have a head coach, Matt Patricia, who has won a Super Bowl as a defensive coordinator. He has coached at the highest level of the sport and he\u2019s had plenty of time to study game film of Kyler Murray in preparation for this season opener. Whereas the Lions\u2019 subsequent film studies of future opponents will have regular-season film to work with, Patricia will be studying preseason film plus plenty of film from Murray\u2019s days at the University of Oklahoma. In the chess match between Murray and Patricia, expect Patricia to come out on top. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The other factor here is that the Lions have a really strong run defense. How will the Cardinals win if they put the game on Murray\u2019s shoulders?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the other side of the ball, the Lions should have good matchups with an offense that\u2019s been replenished. Matthew Stafford will have added weapons like T.J. Hockenson and Danny Amendola to abuse a Cardinals defense that\u2019s without it\u2019s top two corners, Patrick Peterson and Robert Alford.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Cardinals know what everyone else in the NFL also knows: the Detroit Lions struggle to run the ball. Detroit really hasn\u2019t recovered since Barry Sanders left the franchise as they simply have not been able to generate a balanced offense. That\u2019s why Stafford is constantly under pressure and has not had the career many people expected of him. The Lions\u2019 offensive limitations are going to continue to haunt them until they can truly show they have changed their identity and have developed more versatility in their offensive approach. They throw a lot of short passes as extended handoffs, but that means Stafford is taking too many dropbacks and is at risk of too much punishment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the Lions are traveling and can\u2019t run the ball, they\u2019ll be challenged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As for the Cardinals\u2019 offense, nobody really has a book on it yet. If the Cardinals can spread the Lions out and protect Murray on his dropbacks, he should be able to pick apart one of the weaker secondaries in the NFL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Lions\u2019 lack of a consistent running game and Murray\u2019s inexperience create a simple recipe for a low-scoring game. The Cardinals offense won\u2019t be able to find their balance and they\u2019ll sputter early on. Meanwhile, the Lions will do some damage but this won\u2019t be a shootout by any stretch of the imagination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n