The NFC North kicks off with a Week 1 matchup between the Minnesota Vikings and the Detroit Lions. The Lions are the home team in this game, which gets underway at 1pm ET on Sunday afternoon with coverage on Fox.
- When:
Sun., Sept. 8th, 2013 @ 1:00pm ET
- Where:
Ford Field, Detroit, MI
- Who’s Favored?
Lions by 5 ~ 49 o/u @ BetOnline
- More Info:
While the Vikings were in the playoffs last season, the hype surrounding both of these teams likely leans to the side of the Lions.
Detroit made the offseason move to bring in running back Reggie Bush, who fits in perfectly into this system. Quarterback Matthew Stafford will definitely incorporate Bush into the flow of the offense, utilizing him as a dump off receiver in many instances. Bush’s presence on the field warrants attention, which takes attention away from Calvin Johnson. Sometimes, there aren’t enough players on defense to cover Johnson, or so it seems like.
The real story in this game might be the matchup between the defensive line of Detroit, and Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson. Coming in off a 2,000+ season, Peterson is ready to go out and do it again. And who better to do it against than a NFC North rival?
Peterson might need to run at the pace of 2,000 yards in this matchup, because quarterback Christian Ponder remains unproven. For Minnesota to be a championship contender, Ponder must take strides forward in 2013, and alleviate some of the pressure on Peterson with teams stacking eight and nine players in the box.