The NFL season is finally upon us and what a great TNF game to start the season. We have the Detroit Lions, who are up and coming, against the defending Super Bowl Champions in the Kansas City Chiefs. This is the start of the NFL season that the fans are excited for. Two teams that will be exciting to watch for the season matching up on opening night. Here is the preview and my best bets for this TNF spectacular.
The Matchup
We start off looking at the defending Super Bowl champions who will be without First-Team All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones and possibly without superstar tight end Travis Kelce. Kelce got hurt in practice on Tuesday and has a chance of missing their season opener. This offense does, however, run through Patrick Mahomes the two-time Super Bowl MVP. Mahomes is entering year seven and he is getting ready to go for yet another Super Bowl in 2023. Kansas City is going to put up points with or without Kelce in this matchup.
For the Lions, they have a lot of hype around them coming into this season. They had a great run through at the end of the season and people are expecting that to carry over this year. Jared Goff and this offense is ready to take a step forward and NFL Coach Of The Year favorite Dan Campbell is hopeful to get this team back to the playoffs this year. This is the test to see if they are ready to go to the next level. Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jahmyr Gibbs, and company are ready to put the league on notice.
PLAY OF THE GAME:
Lions +5.5 -110
Detroit at this line is a no doubter to me. The public is going to be all over the defending Super Bowl Champions and I think that the Lions either lose by a field goal or they could even win this game outright. Kansas City’s defense is going to take a step back on opening night and the Lions will take advantage of it. Take the Lions with the points anywhere from (4.5 to 6.5), but the Lions with the points is a one unit play for me.
CAN’T Miss Player Props
-Kadarius Toney Anytime Touchdown +140
-Skyy Moore Over 36.5 Receiving Yards -114
-Jared Goff Over 256.5 Passing Yards -114
When Kadarius Toney is healthy he is a threat to get in the end zone. He will start off with a touchdown in his first game of 2023 and at +140 odds is a great bet to take for your first prop. Your second prop should be to take Skyy Moore’s over receiving yards. Last regular season he hit over this number only one time, but in his second year in this offense he will get the targets to get over this number in game one of the 2023 season. The final prop to take is Jared Goff’s passing yards over. Goff’s passing numbers were great last season and I think this offense has gotten better. Goff starts the season off on a good note and goes over his passing yard total on TNF.
Final Thoughts
The start of the NFL season will be entertaining. This TNF matchup will be exciting and we’ll hit all of our bets. Three props and a spread play is just what the doctor ordered to start the 2023 season. I had success last season as you can see below and that was without props. Ride with the Don and let’s start the 2023 season off on a good note.