New York at Detroit

The New York Jets have good balance across the board, but are a big dog in this opener. QB Sam Darnold gets the nod after a good preseason, the No. 3 overall pick in this year's draft. They have balance on offense bringing in a power back Isaiah Crowell, while the defense is terrific up front and solid in the secondary. The Jets are on 9-4-1 spread run, including 9-2 ATS on FieldTurf. They face a Detroit Lions squad that has a new coach in Matt Patricia. The Lions looked like a rebuilding team in preseason going 1-3 allowing 111 points. That's a major concern as Detroit was #27 defensively in the league in yards allowed last season and #21 in points surrendered. They're not used to being this big a favorite. Only once last season did they have a line this high, and that was against the winless Browns, giving up 24 points. They still have a weak offensive line on a group that was dead last in rushing a year ago as Matt Stafford was sacked a career-high 47 times. Detroit is 31-51 ATS as a favorite of 3.5 to 9.5 points, and this shapes up as a close one. Play the New York Jets.