Another week of action in the NFL 2023 season concludes in the Monday Night Football which this week takes us to Motown for the clash between the Detroit Lions and the Las Vegas Raiders to round out week eight.
Detroit have materialised as one of the better teams in the NFC and will be looking for another win in this primetime clash while already the Las Vegas Raiders season looks to be at something of a crossroads so both will want the win for different reasons here.
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions were going great guns this season when prior to last week they were holding a 5-1 record but they were brought down to earth a little bit by the Baltimore Ravens a week ago when they ran into a bit of a hiding from them. Losing in this league is going to happen but what separates the normal teams to the ones who contend towards the end of the season is how they rebound to a loss. The last time Detroit lost they won their next four and they will be looking for something similar here.
Detroit have been nicely balanced this term. Their offense has generally gone well and when it hasn’t their defence has stepped up and bailed them out but both sides of the ball let them down badly in Baltimore last week. The extra day to recover from what was a pretty significant looking beatdown might not be a bad thing. Detroit certainly haven’t become a bad team overnight but as ever when Jared Goff loses a game in this league the doubters start to circle.
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Las Vegas Raiders
We are still in the first half of the season so it is pointless to say that this match is boom or bust for the Las Vegas Raiders but they can improve their prospects by a good distance were they to head into Michigan and come out with the win. The Raiders were looking like they were getting back on the right track after successive wins but a loss to a Chicago Bears who were utilising their backup, undrafted quarterback last week has the potential to knock them back a bit.
Las Vegas probably needed a bit of a lift after that display so the expected return of Jimmy Garoppolo will be welcome for this match. If he can lead the offense around the field in his typical solid fashion then the Raiders might just be able to get to Goff enough to remain competitive here. The Raiders’ D hasn’t really been the issue, with the exception of last week to be fair, but their offense has misfired much than it should have done.
Betting
The Detroit Lions took a bit of a battering last week but I’m still a little bit surprised that they are giving up less than a touchdown here against a side who are 0-3 on their travels and have already conceded 30+ points to the Buffalo Bills and the Chicago Bears. The latest of those is particularly worrying because Chicago possess nothing like the potency on offense that this Detroit side do and if Jared Goff gets cooking from the start he could seriously smash up this Vegas defence.
It looks as though Vegas will have Jimmy G under center for this one and his return will be a boost but they haven’t exactly been free scoring in the matches that he played prior to his injury and certainly haven’t been since. The Raiders’ struggles have gotten to star receiver Davante Adams who has been critical of their play and you sense if Las Vegas fall behind here the wheels could really come off. I expect Detroit to bounce back here and cover a touchdown if not win much easier than that.
Tips
Back Detroit Lions (-6.5) to beat Las Vegas Raiders for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Coral
