Atlanta Falcons vs Detroit Lions Prediction, 8/12/2022 NFL Picks, Best Bets & Odds Preseason Week 1

Game: Atlanta Falcons vs Detroit Lions

Date: Friday, August 12, 2022

Location: Ford Field in Detroit, MI

TV: NFL League Pass/NFL Network

Odds/Point Spread: Lions (-2.5)

Total/Over-Under: 32

The Atlanta Falcons (7-10 last year) are hitting the road to Ford Field on Friday where they will go up against the Detroit Lions (3-13-1 last season). Detroit opens this game as 2.5-point favorites from oddsmakers. The over/under comes in at 32.

The Atlanta Falcons wrapped up their season having a 7-10 record. In their last contest of last season, the Falcons played against the Saints and took a loss by a score of 30-20. Matt Ryan went 20/33 with 216 yards passing and 1 TD. He had a QB rate of 77.3 and walked away from the game with 1 pick. Mike Davis was the rushing leader for the Falcons with 6 totes for 30 yards (5.0 yards per attempt). Russell Gage had an average of 14.0 yards per catch by earning 126 yards on 9 receptions. The Atlanta Falcons ended up rushing 12 times and accumulated 62 yds, which is an average of 5.2 yards per attempt. When the final whistle blew, they ran 48 plays which converted into 257 yds. Atlanta relinquished 16 completions on 24 attempts for a total of 174 yards, and a completion percentage of 66.7%. When it came to stopping the run, the Falcons conceded 195 yds on 46 tries, which is an average of 4.2 yds per rush allowed.

The Falcons earned 5,164 yards in total for the prior season. Atlanta earned 196 1st downs as a unit, and they were hurt by 92 penalties for 753 yards. Atlanta compiled 20 passing touchdowns and 11 touchdowns on the ground. They turned the ball over 26 times (15 interceptions and 11 fumbles lost). As a unit they had an average of 85.4 yards on the ground, which had them sitting 31st in the league. When talking about scoring, the Atlanta Falcons had an average of 18.4 PPG.

The Falcons ranked 29th in the league when it comes to team defense, allowing 27.0 points per contest. The opposition ran for an average of 4.3 yards per rush and 131.9 yards on the ground per game for the prior season. Over the course of last year, they gave up 2,242 running yards through 17 games. In terms of yards via the pass, the Falcons allowed 3,952 yards which had them ranked 18th in the NFL. Over the course of their 17 games played last year, they conceded 232.5 yards per contest via the pass as well as allowing a completion percentage of 67.8%. They allowed 364.4 yards per outing putting them at 26th in the league. They relinquished 31 passing touchdowns in addition to 19 running touchdowns.

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The Lions wrapped up their season holding a 3-13-1 record. When they last stepped on the field last year, the Lions took home the win by a final score of 37-30 when they played the Packers. Jared Goff (2 TDs) finished the contest with 238 yds on 21/30 passing while his QB rate was 115.7. He didn't throw any interceptions and his average yards per pass attempt was 7.93 yards. Jamaal Williams ran the ball 13 times for 43 yards, ending the contest with 3.3 yards per carry for Detroit. Amon-Ra St. Brown was one of the featured targets for the Lions, snagging 8 throws for 109 yds (13.6 yards per catch). Detroit ran the ball for 3.8 yards per carry, finishing with 99 yds on 26 attempts. The Lions finished with a total of 404 yds while running 59 plays (6.8 yards per play). The Lions passing defense allowed a completion percentage of 68.6%, relinquishing 256 yards on 24 out of 35 through the air. Detroit allowed 27 rushing attempts for 122 yds (4.5 yds per carry).

The Detroit Lions had an average of 322.6 yards/outing which was good for 22nd out of all teams in the NFL. They held an average of 110.9 rushing yards per game and toted the ball for 1,886 yards in total. The Detroit offense racked up 824 yds of penalties on 105 infractions, which had them ranked 15th in the league in terms of giving up free yards. They threw 14 interceptions while surrendering 9 fumbles and they obtained 193 1st downs. Last season, the Lions had a total of 3,598 yards through the air together with an average of 211.6 throwing yards per contest, which ranked 18th in the NFL. When it comes to the points being put on the board, the Lions were ranked 25th in the league averaging 19.1 points per game.

Detroit conceded a total of 2,296 yards on the ground (135.1 yards per contest) in addition to 19 touchdowns rushing over the course of last year. They gave up 31 touchdowns via the pass as well as 244.7 yards per outing, ranking them 24th in the league. Their defense compiled 19 takeaways (8 fumbles and 11 picks) in the prior season. Last year, they conceded 467 points in total. The Lions defense was on the field for 1,092 plays, which had them ranked 21st in football. The Lions surrendered 27.5 PPG, which had them in 31st in football.

Who will win tonight's Falcons/Lions NFL game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take the Falcons +2.5

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