Baltimore Ravens (1-1) at Detroit Lions (0-2)

The Ravens started their season with a loss in Las Vegas against the Raiders, but that was a tough spot travelling cross country for a night game in what was the Raiders’ first game in Las Vegas in front of fans, obviously an emotional high for them. The Ravens then turned around and looked a lot better in an upset victory over the Chiefs last week. However, the Ravens are back in a bad spot this week, as they could be flat after finally beating the Chiefs and now taking on an 0-2 Lions team that is undoubtedly among the worst teams in the league.

On top of that, the already shorthanded Ravens will be missing several key players due to COVID and contact tracing and, making matters worse, several of the players play the same position, including edge defenders Jaylon Ferguson and Justin Houston and interior defenders Justin Madibuike and Brandon Williams, leaving the Ravens very thin in the front seven. Given that, this line is a little high at Baltimore -8. 

I would need Trey Flowers to play for the Lions to be worth betting, as he’s arguably their best defensive player and is very questionable after not practicing all week, but the Lions should be the right side for pick ‘em purposes regardless. Even if the Ravens lead by multiple scores for most of the game, the Lions seem like they could be a good backdoor cover team this year, so they could still find a way to keep this within one score when all is said and done.

Baltimore Ravens 23 Detroit Lions 17

Pick against the spread: Detroit +8

Confidence: Low