MLB Best Bets – Free (Wednesday 7/24)
Josh Gross
The Baltimore Ravens pulled out a thrilling 36-35 win against the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday night, and now they turn their attention to a much poorer team in the Detroit Lions in Week 3. Sure, the Lions come into each week with absolutely zero expectations, but Jared Goff has looked … serviceable? Yeah, you read that right. Will he be able to perform against a stout defense? Week 3 will give us an answer.
Baltimore Ravens vs. Detroit Lions Week 3 odds
Date/Time: September 26, 1 p.m. ET
Arena: Ford Field
How to watch: CBS
Opening odds: Baltimore -9 | O/U 49.5 (DraftKings Sportsbook)
Latest Ravens-Jaguars odds
Looking for the latest odds for this matchup? Here are they courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.
- Ravens -9.0
- Total: 49.5
Opening odds – Ravens @ Lions
Simply looking at this matchup on paper, the spread makes sense. The Ravens have far more talent on both sides of the ball, albeit with much of it currently banged up. On the other side, the Lions are in rebuild mode with a shell of a receiver room. That said, the Lions have been able to hang with two of the best teams in the NFC (Niners, Packers) through the first two weeks of the season. We’ve also seen the Ravens bleed points to both the Raiders and the Chiefs on defense through two weeks. While it’s an uneasy feeling, backing the Lions on the opening spread feels like the smart bet.
Quarterback analysis – Lamar Jackson vs. Jared Goff
To say that these quarterbacks are vastly different would be a gross understatement. Lamar Jackson has shown that he remains one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the NFL over the first two weeks, complementing his 474 total passing yards with an additional 193 yards on the ground. He’s added a pair of rushing touchdowns to two total passing touchdowns, and if he hadn’t turned the ball over five total times, he’d be talked about as the most effective quarterback in the league thus far. The Detroit defense simply stands no chance.
On the other side of the game, Jared Goff surpassed 330 passing yards in Week 1 against a supposedly stout 49ers secondary. He started the Week 2 Monday night game with both an effective and efficient drive that ended in a touchdown to Quintez Cephus, but the wheels came off in the second half when the Packers were able to induce some pressure and the Goff of old came to the forefront. He finished with a pair of turnovers in addition to a pair of touchdowns and over 240 yards, showing more downside than Week 1, but still flashing some of the upside that we saw in his previous game.
Latest Ravens betting news & info
Dealing with so many injuries on both sides of the ball, the Ravens have struggled defensively, allowing 34 points per game through the first two weeks. The absence of Marcus Peters has been obvious, as they allowed 435 yards through the air to Derek Carr in Week 1 and 343 to Patrick Mahomes in Week 2. The latter is excusable, as it’s nearly impossible to contain the best QB in the NFL, but it’s worth asking what kind of production they’ll bleed to arguably the worst passing offense in the NFL.
On the flip side of the ball, they’ve been dealt a brutal bill of health in their backfield, but Ty’Son Williams has stepped up in the absences of Gus Edwards, J.K. Dobbins and Justice Hill. He’s rushed for 142 yards through the first two games, adding 45 yards through the air and two total touchdowns. Against a defense that allowed the most rushing touchdowns in the NFL in 2020 (27), he could see continued success if given the touches.
Latest Lions betting news & info
After dropping their Week 2 contest against the Packers as they failed to record a point in the second half, the Lions will look to find the win column in Week 3. The storyline for them on offense, however, has been the passing involvement of the running backs. The two backs (D’Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams) combined for 16 total catches in Week 1 while being two of the three leading receivers in terms of targets on the team. This is obviously attributed to their putrid group of receivers, but these two have the ability to make plays. We saw this ring true again in Week 2 during the final few drives of the game, as Swift was peppered with dumpoffs and turned them into chunk gains after the catch.
They should be heavily involved once again in Week 3 with a low-aDOT quarterback in Jared Goff against a defense that is keen when it comes to stuffing the run, which would be the first type of dual-threat attack the Ravens have seen out of the backfield this season.
Ravens @ Lions – NFL Week 3
As mentioned previously, it doesn’t feel great betting on the Lions. With that said, they’ve shown the peskiness and ability to stick around in games outside of Week 2’s second half, making me feel like this spread is a bit generous in favor of Baltimore, especially given their lack of defensive production through two games.
Here are our betting picks for Ravens @ Lions in Week 3.
FTNBets best bets
- Spread: Lions +9.5 (FanDuel Sportsbook)
- Total: no bet
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