College Football week 1 is in the books which means one thing and one thing only… NFL SZN is here.

The NFL did an AMAZING job with the week 1 scheduling, but we will stay focused on the season opener as the Detroit Lions head to Kansas City to take on the reigning champs.

The Lions will look to improve on the amazing second half of the season they posted last year. After starting 1-6, the Lions finished the season at 9-8 and just missed an opportunity to make the playoffs.

The hype for this Detroit Lions team is growing by the day. As a Browns fan, I remember a very similar hype surrounding the Browns after their 2020 season. We all are familiar with how that turned out #RideWith6.

However, I don’t believe the Lions are the Browns. Jared Goff has proven he is more than just a bridge quarterback and the Lions have done a tremendous job of surrounding him with phenomenal weapons. Their offense should be fun to watch all season.

The Chiefs will be the Chiefs. As long as Patrick Mahomes is stepping onto the field, they have a chance to win football games and defend their title.

It’s a fun matchup to start the season. I’ll be providing my prediction on the spread, O/U, and a few player props I like.

Who Covers?

Is the Super Bowl hangover real? The only team to prove that’s the case recently is the Los Angeles Rams who got ran off the field by the Buffalo Bills in 2022 following their Super Bowl victory over the Bengals. I don’t expect the Chiefs to repeat the Rams 2022 showing.

In these early games where teams haven’t had a chance to solidify their identity and iron out the wrinkles, I always find it best to put your faith in the coach and QB. There isn’t a better 1-2 punch in the NFL than Mahomes and Andy Reid.

Even with the spread at -6.5, I like the Chiefs to cover and start the season off with a solid win at home.

*Record scratch*

As I was about to hit post on this article, I received a notification that Travis Kelce hyper extended his knee and is doubtful for Thursday’s contest. That is a massive blow to their offense and takes away a huge part of their game plan. I’m going to officially change my pick to Lions +6.5 but I’d expect that to go down to +4.5 if Kelce isn’t able to suit up.

The Pick: Lions +6.5

Over/Under Pick

I’m not going to go into any crazy detail here. I love points. I’ve always loved points. All I want for Christmas is more points. This matchup has the potential to provide points in bunches.

Give me the over or give me death.

The Pick: Over 53.5

Player Prop Pick

This game features a few player props that I really like. I won’t bore you with any mumbo jumbo around my reasoning.

Something I will traditionally do on player props is adjust my betting amount. I like to do half units on player props and sprinkle a few in on every game. It makes each pass, catch, run, TD all more exciting. I’m putting .5 unit on each of the below…

Jahmyr Gibbs Over 73.5 Rushing + Receiving -115

Sky Moore Alternate Receiving Yards – 50+ +140

David Montgomery U13.5 Receiving Yards -120

Jared Goff O1.5 Passing TDs -115

In Conclusion

I’m just happy. College Football is amazing, but there is nothing like NFL football, in my eyes. I look forward to every Monday, Thursday, and Sunday game. I look forward to the sadness that the Browns will inevitably bring me (this is actually our year though). I love the summer, but I love football more.

Let’s have ourselves a season.

Till next time,

Matty Blogs