Few teams were as impressive in Week 1 of the preseason as the Detroit Lions. They'll take on another 1-0 team in Week 2 on Thursday, as they hit the road to battle the Washington Redskins.
ODDS ANALYSIS
The implication is there that Detroit is the better of these two teams, but Washington is the favored side. The Redskins are -2.5 on the NFL preseason betting lines along with a rather non-descript total of 40.
QUARTERBACK ROTATION
Matt Stafford only played one drive against the Jets last week, but the two passes he threw were fantastic. He went 2-for-2 for 57 yards and a TD.
Stafford isn't expected to play all that much in this one either, perhaps even just one drive again. We suspect that Kellen Moore and Dan Orlovsky are going to play most of the rest of this game, while Garrett Gilbert will probably mop up once again.
The Redskins were basically split in their ways in their first preseason game. Kirk Cousins played a little longer than either Robert Griffin III or Colt McCoy, but all three had substantial time on the field. Expect to see the same here on Thursday.
COACHES' MOTIVATION
Jay Gruden knows that he needs to win this year to keep his job even though he's only in his second year. He is now 4-1 SU and 3-2 ATS in the preseason in his young career, and he's clearly going to be the more motivated of these two coaches.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"Right now, Robert's our guy, and we're happy with his progress." – Redskins head coach Jay Gruden affirming that RG3 is his starting quarterback for the time being
POSITION BATTLE TO WATCH
We're really interested in these Lions running backs. Joique Bell is on the PUP list, and the battle behind him is raging on in the preseason.
Theo Riddick had a strong showing last week with eight carries for 35 yards. Rookie Ameer Abdullah stole the show though, ripping off a 45-yard run as a part of a day in which he had seven carries for 67 yards.
Keep a close eye as well on rookie Zach Zenner, who had 13 carries in the second half last week.
INJURIES
Niles Paul was last for the season last week for Washington, a terrible injury which the Redskins won't easily overcome. We expect to see more work out of Jordan Reed, but beyond him, there are nothing but undrafted players on the depth chart at tight end.
Washington badly needs to find a replacement in an offense which does call for a lot of work out of its tight ends.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
For our money, Washington should be the clear favorite in this game. The Redskins are the more motivated of the two sides, and outside of when Stafford is on the field, they'll have the better of the quarterback rotation as well.
Detroit is going to be more interested in running the ball time and time again in this one, while we suspect we'll see a more innovative Washington offense. That's enough for us to believe that the Lions are in trouble in their first road game of the year.
Washington 23, Detroit 10
The NFL lines for this Thursday contest first surfaced at BookMaker, and the Washington Redskins were positioned as 2.5-point favorites with a total of 40. Gamble on the game between every commercial break with BookMaker's live betting feature. Along with an adjusted in-game moneyline, you can wager on what will happen on the next play or how many points will be scored in the next quarter. Live betting is the most exciting way to play!
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