After brutal opening week loss, can the Lions recover to get first NFL win?

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For fans of the Detroit Lions, the 2020 season was supposed to be one of new hope.

But after Week 1 of the NFL season, many are already feeling shell shocked, after the Lions fell into a terrible trend that repeated endlessly throughout the 2019 campaign.

There Detroit was Sunday, coming into the game against the Chicago Bears as a slight favorite at home, taking it to the visitors for three quarters. The Lions looked like world beaters through 45 minutes, taking a 23-6 lead.

Then, just like in the 2019 season opener, and so many times after that, the wheels fell off the wagon.

Chicago rallied for three fourth quarter touchdowns, the last set up by a Matthew Stafford interception, to take a 27-23 lead inside the final two minutes. Remember, this is the same Detroit team that had an 18-point lead over the Arizona Cardinals last year on opening day, then settled for a tie after the Cardinals posted a furious rally.

But the 2020 season was supposed to be different for the Lions. And it looked like it would be, as Stafford led his team down the field in the final minute, into scoring position as the clock wound down towards zero. He threw a perfect pass to rookie running back D’Andre Swift that looked to be the game-winning score, only to see the ball fall out of his hands somehow. The replays had already shown the staff on the sideline cheering the winning catch, only to be denied.

So the Lions fell to 0-1, and have now lost 13 of 14, and 10 in a row, after that 2-0-1 start to 2019.

How does it all change from here? Well, Adrian Peterson had 93 yards rushing, and the Lions looked like a better team for three quarters. But they now have to head to Green Bay, which Michigan betting experts and oddsmakers have installed as a six-point favorite heading into Week 2.

Should Detroit fans be confident that their team can go on the road and beat a team that just threw up 43 points on the VIkings?

Maybe. The Packers also gave up 34 points to Minnesota, and almost 400 yards of offense. But Green Bay posted 522 yards, which would worry me against the fragile Detroit defense that was shredded in the final 15 minutes against the Bears.

I think I would be on the over 47.5 points with William Hill in this contest, thinking that both defenses will probably struggle once again to stop the opposing offenses. As the game sets closer, there will probably be some decent prop bets as well, with both quarterbacks (Aaron Rodgers and Stafford) probably dueling it out here.

Prediction:

I like the Packers at -6, as long as the line stays under a touchdown, and I will also take the over 47.5 points, both -110 with several legal US online sportsbooks.

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