Monday Night Football: Can the Lions Roar Against the Raiders?

MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL: CAN THE LIONS ROAR AGAINST THE RAIDERS? – The Detroit Lions (5-2) host the Las Vegas Raiders (3-4) at Ford Field for just the second Monday Night Football game in the stadium since 2014.

The Lions got off to a quick start going 5-1 through their first six games before being handed a savage beating by the Baltimore Ravens last week.

Likewise, the Raiders are coming off their own embarrassing loss to the Bears, making undrafted rookie quarterback, Tyson Bagent, look like an All-Pro.

Which team is poised to bounce back this week?

The Odds

Kickoff

When: Monday, 8:15 pm EST, October 30, 2023

Where: Ford Field, Detroit, MI

TV: ABC/ESPN

Public Bets: Detroit, 82%

Public Money: Detroit, 96%

Odds courtesy of DraftKings, as of October 30, 2023

Goff Needs to Find His Rhythm at Home

Typically, Jared Goff can be counted on to do his best work in the comforting confines of his home dome, Ford Field. This will be especially true given the injuries to running back that the team is currently dealing with.

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Early season fantasy stud, David Montgomery, is still nursing a rib injury. Meanwhile, Jahmyr Gibbs has a tweaked hamstring and it remains to be seen how much of a load the staff wants to put on the rookie. Craig Reynolds is the only truly healthy option for them, so it remains to be seen how effectively this team with be able to balance their offense.

The Raiders have sneaky good secondary stats, allowing only 187.4 receiving yards per game, good for 7th in the NFL. On the other hand, the Raiders have lost some pretty lopsided games this season to good teams that didn’t need to pass against them very much. I’m not terribly intimidated by a unit accruing those stats against some fairly mediocre quarterbacks.

Are the Raiders a Bad Team?

I think so, yeah. They’ve managed three wins this season, and their record is better than I expected thus far in the season. But those wins were in close games against other bad teams. They’ve won three games by a combined nine points against New England, Green Bay, and Denver. In their losing efforts, they’ve been outscored by a combined 73 points against the Bears, Chargers, Bills and Cowboys.

While the record may have the look of a mediocre team, I think it’s probably a mirage. They are among the bottom of most major categories on both offense and defense.

Losing on the road against the Bears playing an undrafted rookie is pretty unforgivable. The defense looked completely lost and unable to adjust to the Bears game plan.

If the Bears can embarrass this defense, I feel pretty good about Jared Goff being able to get this offense some numbers, with or without a running game.

The Difference-Makers

Handsome Jimmy should be in action tonight for the Raiders. He can’t be any worse than Brian Hoyer was last week for the Raiders, but to say he’s been good this year would be a pretty big stretch. At any rate, it boosts them from being unwatchably bad, to a sort of annoyingly bad team.

On defense, the Raiders only real threat is Maxx Crosby at defensive end. The Bears spent most of their time trying to neutralize him, and letting the other defensive players step up. It did not work well for the Raiders last week. I suspect the Lions do likewise, but the results will be more devastating.

Jared Goff typically performs better at home, and I’m sure he’ll be looking forward to the raucous crowd in primetime.

The Pick

I just can’t wrap my head around any other outcome than an absolute blowout. In my mind, this should probably be -10. But the loss last week for the Lions has probably dropped the line a little.

The Raiders are not a good team from talent-level all the way through to management. I don’t see a way for them to slow down a determined Detroit team that is seeking to get right after a blowout loss. The NFC North is wide open for them after the Kirk Cousins injury in Minnesota. They will be focused.

This one feels like a Monday night blowout.

Lions destroy the Raiders 35-10 in a laugher.