Detroit at Indianapolis Winning Predictions For 2016 NFL Week 1

Before a ball is kicked or thrown in an NFL season, we all have predictions about how well each of the 32 teams will do in the upcoming year. Those predictions ae based on the starting squads of each of the teams, but if you know anything about football, you know that injuries can play a major role in how a team actually ends up performing. The Indianapolis Colts went into last season as one of the betting odds favorites to come out of the AFC, but having QB Andrew Luck go down for an extended period of time essentially put an end to that dream. The Detroit Lions are coming into training camp with everyone fit and healthy, but they still have one notable player missing from the ranks. Calvin Johnson announced in the offseason that he would be retiring essentially throwing a spanner in the works of the Lions offense. They may be in for a long season without Megatron, and they certainly have a tough start to things by having to travel to Indianapolis to face the Colts in Week 1.

A Closer Look At The Lions at Colts Winning Predictions For 2016 NFL Week 1

When: Sunday, September 11 at 1 PM EST Where: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis TV: TBA Radio: TBA NFL Odds: TBA    

Why bet on the Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions finished the season pretty well last year, but still ended up limping home with a 7-9 record. The improvements in the second half seemed to bode well for this season, but the retirement of Calvin Johnson at the age of 30 seems to have killed a lot of the enthusiasm in the Motor City. There simply isn’t any way to replace his numbers, but if you look at the bright side of things, Matthew Stafford is going to have to get a little more generous with the rest of his. How well it goes for this team will depend on how well those guys step up to the plate.

Why bet on the Indianapolis Colts

If you had known nothing about last season, and were told that the Colts were missing Andrew Luck for 9 weeks, you might have guessed that this team would have finished way down in the standings. They did well to finish at 8-8, but not good enough to get into the postseason. This is a team that is a whole lot better with Luck under center, and they will once again be considered one of the top teams in the AFC, assuming of course that Andrew can get a little luck and stay healthy for the entire season. There are still questions at running back, but that part of the Colts game has always been second best to Luck’s arm.

Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction

These teams don’t meet very often, but when they do, it’s the Colts who come out with the win. Dating back to 2000, these teams have hooked up 4 times, with the Colts winning all of them. I expect that trend to continue in Week 1.

Detroit Lions 17 Indianapolis Colts 28