Atlanta Falcons at Detroit Lions - 8/12/22 NFL Picks and Prediction

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The Atlanta Falcons and Detroit Lions face off on Friday in an NFL preseason showdown at Ford Field. When these two teams faced off in December of 2021 it was the Falcons that won 20-16. 

The Lions were disappointing during the 2021 season finishing with a 3-13-1 record but the hope is that the second season under Dan Campbell will be better. It sounds like the starters in this game will be playing around a quarter, which means that Jared Goff should get a couple of series. Behind Goff is Tim Boyle and David Blough and both of these guys should get plenty of playing time after the first quarter. On defense, all eyes are going to be on Aidan Hutchinson who was the team's first-round pick out of Michigan. The defense has a ton of questions, and the hope is that Hutchinson will really help put pressure on the quarterback. I would expect the Lions to try to put a ton of pressure on the Falcons quarterbacks. 

On the other side of this matchup is the Falcons whose team looks a whole lot different than last year. The team has moved on from Matt Ryan who now plays for Indianapolis Colts. The team’s big brought in Marcus Mariota to be the starting quarterback, but he could be just a gap quarterback for a year, as the team decides what they want to do long term. The Falcons drafted quarterback Desmond Ridder and he could be the future under center. Last season the Falcons' offense was 31st in the league, and the hope is that can be improved upon. Cordarrelle Patterson is currently listed as the starter. 

The Falcons are 0-3-1 against the spread in their last four games. The Lions are 4-0 in their last four home games. The under is 4-1 in the Falcons last five games on Fieldturf. 

In the preseason, quarterback depth is important, and the Lions have more of that. I trust Blough and Boyle more than I trust the rookie in Ridder. I also expect Goff and the offense to find success in the first quarter. The Falcons offense will struggle with the quarterback play, and they don’t have a strong running game to lean on. Back the Lions against the spread. 

The pick in this article is the opinion of the writer, not a PickDawgz site consensus.

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