We have a potential Super Bowl preview in Week 2 of the preseason as the Detroit Lions travel to take on the Kansas City Chiefs. Patrick Mahomes is set to start, along with the rest of the Kansas City offense.
Let's preview the game and dive into my Lions vs. Chiefs prediction, which focuses on the first half since the full-game spread has continued going up.
I'm betting on Kansas City's starters against what might be Lions backups for potentially the entire first half. That will be an especially big mismatch for the Chiefs offense, led by Mahomes.
Lions vs. Chiefs Odds
| Lions Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+9.5 -110 | 39.5 -110o / -110u | +320 |
| Chiefs Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-9.5 -110 | 39.5 -110o / -110u | -400 |
The spread opened at Chiefs -3.5 but went higher and rose to +9.5 on Saturday afternoon, as did the total after starting at 37.5.
Lions vs. Chiefs Betting Trends
- 49% of bets and 52% of the money are on the Lions to cover the spread.
- 47% of bets and 67% of the money are on the over.
All data via Action Network's public betting percentages and as of Saturday morning.
Sam Farley's Lions vs. Chiefs Preview
It's very hard to know exactly what we're going to see from the Lions on Saturday.
Against the Giants, we saw the starters rested with the likes of Jared Goff nowhere near the field, a game that ended as a 14-3 defeat. Normally, we'd expect Goff and the first-stringers to remain on the sidelines but with reports of the Chiefs playing starters, you have to question whether the competitive Dan Campbell will want to match them.
As of now, we have no indication of what Campbell will choose. In all likelihood, though, he won't let the Chiefs alter his plans.
That would mean more of Nate Sudfeld and Hendon Hooker at quarterback. Sudfeld went 13-of-24 against the Giants, getting picked off in the process. He didn't look good but neither did Hooker, who went 5-of-9 for 36 yards.
The team will want to see more from Hooker this time out and he will likely outperform Sudfeld, who will be up against the Chiefs starters.
On Thursday, we got the most important piece of news regarding this game with Andy Reid confirming that his starters will play the first half against the Lions. That's said to include Mahomes, although there's a high chance that the quarterback won't play the entirety of the first two quarters.
The Chiefs lost big to the Jaguars last week, 26-13. We saw Mahomes, but only briefly. Ian Book and Chris Oladokun got the majority of work with Book going 8-of-9 and Oladokun going 7-of-10.
We might see more of backup Carson Wentz against the Lions, with the veteran going 4-of-4 in his brief time on the field against Jacksonville.
Lions vs. Chiefs Start Time, Channel, Location
Lions vs. Chiefs will be broadcast on NFL Network and available to stream on NFL+. Lions-Chiefs is scheduled to kick off at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday afternoon at Soldier Field in Chicago.
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My Lions vs. Chiefs Prediction
With limited knowledge of what Campbell's plans for the Lions are, we have to lean into what we actually know and take Reid at his word. With him saying that the he'll give the starters the first half, we'll take the Chiefs -4.5 in the first half.
The Lions defense was shocking last season so even if they match with their starters, we could see Mahomes (and most likely some of Wentz) take them apart. If it's the Lions backups playing against Mahomes, we'll feel even better about this.
Lions vs. Chiefs Pick: Chiefs 1H -4.5 (+100, DraftKings)
