(TNF Open Thread) Best Bets: Detroit Lions at Kansas City Chiefs

We got some real football to watch tonight, so let’s make this our Thursday Night Football Open Thread. Have fun taking about Lions-Chiefs, or anything else you’d like to get into, and keep in mind all our open threads are rated WCG-MA.

I want you to tell everyone we’re back up.

The 2023 NFL season kicks off on Thursday night with the Detroit Lions sacrificed taking on the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. What an interesting matchup the schedule makers gave America as a gift to open the season with. In one corner, the defending Super Bowl champions returning the majority of their impact players against everyone’s favorite upstart squad. We know just about everything we need to know about the Chiefs. For betting purposes, they’re really great on offense and will have no problem putting up points against a Lions defense still looking to find an identity. On defense though, they’ll miss superstar Chris Jones, who is the straw that stirs the drink in KC. Also something to keep in mind, Andy Reid offenses start fast out of the blocks and require little time to knock off rust and “figure it out” so expect the over to be live.

The Lions offense was one of the most efficient units in the league last year. However, they lack the truly explosive play elements that can keep an underdog like the Lions in a shootout like the Chiefs want to play. The best chance for the Lions in this one will be playing old school time of possession football, but they’ll need their defense to keep it close. I was happy to get the Chiefs at -6.5 and not have to worry about the full seven points for the TD spread. Then, the Travis Kelce news hit the wire and the line started to shrink.

Perfect.

Take advantage of the dwindling line and enjoy the sweet taste of victory on opening night. The Chiefs will still be productive without Kelce. Sure, the Lions could certainly surprise us and keep it close, but I’m not convinced this is a compete team ready to go toe to toe with the best.

Picks: Chiefs -4.5, Over 52.5

(Numbers courtesy of our partners at DraftKings Sportsbooks)

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