NFL WEEK 3 SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL BETTING

New England Patriots at Detroit Lions Sunday, Sept. 23rd – Ford Field – 8:20pm ET Odds: New England -6.5 (42.5)

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Lots of drama in in NFL Week 3 Sunday Night Football betting when the New England Patriots head to Detroit to battle the Lions. Not only are the Lions searching for their first win this season, but Detroit head coach Matt Patricia learned his craft from New England head coach Bill Belichick. The two face each other for the first time with both teams coming off of sour losses.

Patriots Offense vs Lions Defense New England bolstered the wide receiver position earlier this week by trading a 5^th Round Pick to Cleveland for Josh Gordon, who angered the Browns by showing up with a hamstring issue that they believe occurred during a photoshoot. Cleveland’s anger led to New England’s gain because the Patriots absolutely needed a top wide receiver. Gordon should play, but we don’t know how effective he'll be with such little time to prepare. How much Gordon plays shouldn’t affect the Patriots offense on Sunday night. Patricia’s defensive genius hasn’t translated to Detroit yet and there's an obvious miscommunication between the coaching staff and the players. How else to explain the Lions allowing 347.5 yards and 39 points per game on average? Until the Lions can execute Patricia's master plan, the edge is going to go to any offense this defense plays.

Edge: Patriots   

Lions Offense vs Patriots Defense Although San Francisco beat Detroit 30-27 in Week 2, Lions fans had to like how quarterback Matthew Stafford bounced back from a horrible Week 1 performance. Stafford threw for 347 yards and 3 TDs without an interception. The Lions also rushed for 98 which signals Detroit has a more balanced offensive attack this season than they had last year. That balance shouldn’t go to waste against a soft Patriots’ defense. The Pats allowed Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles to throw 4 TD passes in Jacksonville’s 31-20 win. While the Lions have been unremarkable offensively, the Patriots have proven to be too vulnerable while defending. I’m going with the offense again when it comes to this NFL Week 3 Sunday Night Football betting matchup.

Edge: Lions

Patriots at Lions Betting Analysis and ATS Prediction The spread opened NE -7 and went up to NE -7.5 before diving to NE -6.5. The line should settle somewhere in this neighborhood because nobody trusts Detroit at all. People are equally wary about New England, but more so long term. They have a nasty habit of killing bad NFL teams during the regular season.

Scoring points against the Lions defense shouldn’t be difficult for Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels to accomplish. McDaniels has spent years studying Matt Patricia’s defensive schemes as the two worked side-by-side for so many seasons. You could say that the opposite is also true, and that Patricia has insider knowledge of the Patriots, but that's a stretch at this point. Detroit has not lived up to any sort of potential so far.

While Detroit will score points, the Lions should be well behind their opponents for most of the game, if not the whole thing. And if Josh Gordon actually proves to be useful, this game is over. Patriots all the way.

NFL Week 3 Sunday Night Football Betting Free Pick: Patriots -6.5