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Washington vs. Detroit Lions Odds and Game Pick (2020)

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Alex Smith is under center for Washington instead of Dwayne Haskins. Washington has seemed to blame their 2019 first round pick for their organizational failings to surround him with any sort of talent outside of Terry McLaurin. Matthew Stafford has dealt with similar issues in Detroit with the team largely ignoring the defensive side of the ball prior to the arrival of Matt Patricia. Now, they just refuse to give him a true 1a or 1b receiver. This may be one of the least watched games of the weekend outside of their home markets, but there is some value to attack for bettors. Let’s dig in. 
+4
-110
o46.5
-110
+160
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-4
-110
u46.5
-110
-189

View consensus picks from experts for Washington at Lions >>

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Overview

Despite the switch to Ron Rivera as head coach Washington continues to be a perplexing organization. They have lost Kyle Allen for the season, but instead of turning back to 2019 first round pick Dwayne Haskins, they have decided to go with Alex Smith, a quarterback that would not start for any other team in the NFL. Rivera says the team wants to win and cited frustration with Haskins giving away games earlier this season, but that was when Washington’s defensive front looked like one that could propel them to the playoffs. However, with the NFC East being the NFC (L)East, even at 2-6, Washington is still firmly in the mix for the automatic playoff berth the winner of the division will stumble into. And so, here we have Alex Smith under center, for an NFL team, in 2020.

The Detroit Lions are still waiting on Matthew Stafford and Jarrad Davis to be removed from the COVID list on Saturday afternoon, and as a result, some books, such as BetMGM, have yet to post the player prop lines for this contest. Detroit is 3-5 on the season, and while the playoffs seem like a longshot. If they can get pull off what should be a win against Washington and get star receiver Kenny Golladay back in time for Carolina in Week 11, they could be at 5-5 at the halfway point of the season. Matt Patricia was an interesting hire, but the team will need to give him more pieces to work with before they can fairly evaluate him as a head coach. 

Trends

  • Washington is 1-5 ATS in their last six November contests
  • Lions are 3-8 ATS in their last 11 contests against teams with a losing record
  • Over is 9-1 in the Lions last 10 home contests 
  • Under is 4-0 in Washington’s last four contests overall

Prop Bets

Terry McLaurin over xx receiving yards
Wait, there are no player prop lines up and you are still taking the over on Terry McLaurin? Yes, yes I am. McLaurin has been nothing short of special during his first two seasons in the league, and the expectation here is that his total for Week 10 is reduced due to the uncertainty of having Alex Smith under center. The books certainly do not want to get smashed by the often sharper under bettors and will adjust to hedge their risk. This means we could get a McLaurin line under the 70 receiving yard mark. Yes, Alex Smith is not so affectionately known as Captain Checkdown, but McLaurin is so much more than just a deep threat and is far and away Washington’s only healthy receiver (playing receiver anyways) with true NFL starter talent. Averaging 86.5 receiving yards per game to this point of the season, expect a big game from McLaurin and if the line is under 73 receiving yards, take the over. If it is higher, reach out to me on Twitter @FantasyContext before placing your action. 

Bottom Line

Predicting which way this game goes before knowing the status of Matthew Stafford seems foolhardy, but if Stafford’s wife is to be believed (on Instagram), Stafford has tested negative and was merely dinged as a close contact to someone who has contracted the virus. This means that Stafford should be cleared sometime on Saturday afternoon. The Lions should be able to steamroll a struggling Washington team, especially with Alex Smith under center. Yes, Trey Flowers is on injured reserve but Romeo Okwara, Everson Griffen, and Da’Shawn Hand are more than enough to create regular pressures and make Smith crumble in the pocket. Detroit would have to give away the game via turnovers for Washington to win, something that is entirely possible, however unlikely. Washington has a terrific defensive front, even with Matt Ioannidis out for the season, and will cause some headaches for Stafford, but if the Lions quarterback is healthy, the Lions will be the play at BetMGM.

Pick: Lions -4.5 (-110)

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Raju Byfield is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Raju, check out his archive and follow him @FantasyContext.