One of my favorite Week 1 pastimes is picking against the team featured on “Hard Knocks” as that team has usually engendered a lot of love from the public. Unfortunately, this year, that’s being countered by the public’s infatuation with betting on the Eagles, which has bumped this line more than it should to no-man’s land at 5.5. What has not changed this offseason, despite the addition of Aidan Hutchinson, is that the Lions have one of the worst defenses in the game. Still, this will be a hard-fought battle in the trenches. The Eagles are at full strength, and Jalen Hurts should eat with A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith causing havoc at the boundaries. Again, pickings are slim in Week 1. This was far more attractive at -4 but still worth a wager here.

The Lions covered the spread in seven of their last nine games. The Lions have also won three of their last four meetings with the Eagles. Lions quarterback Jared Goff looked very good in the Lions final five games as he had the third best passer rating across those five weeks. The Lions drafted Aiden Hutchinson second overall which will help their defense immensely. The Eagles were able to run the ball all over the Lions last year, but that shouldn't happen in this game. I'm surprised this spread is this high. Take the points.

The Eagles should have a potent, up-tempo offense and the Lions are plenty capable of allowing points. Detroit upgraded its defense in the draft but the unit that yielded nearly 28 points per game still has some voids. Also, the Lions will contribute their share as they showed they have some capable weapons and scored plenty while chasing points in losses last season.

The Lions boast one of the NFL's top offensive lines, but due to injuries Detroit will be shuffling that group as it prepares to face of the NFL's top defensive fronts (Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave, Brandon Graham, Josh Sweat and impressive rookie Jordan Davis, not to mention pass rusher Haason Reddick). Lions starting right guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai injured his back in the preseason finale and is out. His replacement, Tommy Kraemer, sat out Wednesday with his own back issue. The Lions were considering using backup Evan Brown at center and moving Pro Bowl center Frank Ragnow to right guard, but Ragnow has been limited with a groin injury. Now they're looking at moving Penei Sewell inside and starting backup Matt Nelson at right tackle. Look for Jared Goff to be under pressure as the Eagles -- who won 44-6 last year in Detroit -- win and cover.

The Detroit offensive line is ranked No. 3 at Pro Football Focus and the Lions have very talented skill players at RB, WR and TE. Jared Goff is very capable and once put up 50-plus points in primetime. The Lions drafted well on defense and should improve in Year 2 under Dan Campbell. In Week 1, you want to play on teams that missed the playoffs against teams that made the playoffs from the previous year -- that's a strong angle. The Lions should be focused knowing the Eagles crushed them 44-6 in Detroit last Halloween. Take the home dog!

Last year the Eagles turned their season around against the Lions, thanks in part to a dominant ground game. While the Lions have gotten better up front with the addition of rookie DE Aidan Hutchinson, the Eagles have gotten better in the passing game as well with the addition of WR AJ Brown. Where the Eagles are significantly better is on the defensive side of the ball, which will be able to give Jared Goff fits all game long.

The Eagles capped off a great offseason by acquiring a safety upgrade in C.J. Gardner-Johnson last week, and their talent on all three levels of the defense should make things difficult for what I think is an underrated Lions offense. The other side of the ball should be dominated by Philadelphia, whose O-line is built to handle the Lions' upgraded pass rush and give Jalen Hurts time to exploit a poor secondary, who would have a difficult time covering any one of the Eagles' top three options (A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert) if he was a No. 1 in this offense. Expect a bunch of points on the Eagles side and a defensive performance that stops the Lions from keeping pace.