Week 1 NFL odds: Detroit Lions big favorites over Jets after draft

When the 2018 NFL schedule dropped and it was announced the Detroit Lions would open at home against the New York Jets on “Monday Night Football,” the oddsmakers were pretty heavily favoring the home team. Per ESPN, the Lions were a full six-point favorite over the Jets, who finished the 2017 season with a disappointing 5-11 record.

Since then, the Jets added Sam Darnold, a player who they hope will be their franchise quarterback of the future, with the third overall pick. The Lions got themselves a center and a running back in the first two rounds.

So how has that affected the Week 1 line for the season opener? Apparently, oddsmakers think the Lions should be even more heavily favored, as the line has now jumped to a full touchdown, per Bovada.

Believe it or not, that’s not all that big of a line for the Detroit Lions as of late. Per Vegas Insider, the Lions were also 7-point favorites during Week 17’s game against the Packers last season. Detroit was 10-point favorites over the Browns earlier in the year, too. They covered both times.

This is, however, most the Lions have been favored in Week 1 since 2012, when Detroit opened up against the Rams as a 7.5-point home favorite. Detroit didn’t cover that time, but they still eked by with a narrow 27-23 victory at Ford Field. Here’s a look at their Week 1 odds over since 2002 (thanks to Kyle Yost for the graph!):

We’re still four months away from the season opener, but right now the money appears to be on the Detroit Lions coming away with a convincing victory over Sam Darnold and the Jets to welcome in the Matt Patricia era.