New Look Lions

+ there's a new highest paid player in NFL history

September 08, 2023

Good morning everyone! What an exciting way to kick off the season it was for the NFL last night. Don’t worry, we’ll be diving in deeper on all the happenings from TNF’s shocker.

Here's what news we ✨snagged✨ for you around the world of football today:

🏈 TNF Recap
💰️ Shiesty Got Paid Paid
🚀 ...and much more!

Let's get into it.

👑 Main Character

The Lions won. I repeat, the Detroit Lions won the football game.

Many thought it was possible, and many were riding on the Lions’ hype train heading into their Week 1 matchup, but getting a win against the defending Super Bowl Champs? That would be some story wouldn’t it…

Well, that’s exactly what happened. I don’t want to be the guy to make excuses for the Chiefs, saying that the win deserves an asterisks due to All-Pro players Travis Kelce and Chris Jones not being on the field, but regardless of who was on the field, going into Arrowhead and getting a win is nothing short of remarkable for any team, let alone the Lions.

It was a solid team-win for a team that has been so used to losing in their arduous franchise history. Nothing on offense really stood out for Detroit, but Jared Goff was efficient enough, racking up 250+ yards and a passing score to his favorite target of the night, Amon Ra St. Brown. The use of the running backs was strange, with their 15th overall pick Jahmyr Gibbs only getting 1/3 the carries that veteran David Montgomery got despite averaging 6 yards per carry. Definitely something to keep a close eye on going forward.

The big play of the game though came from a dropped passed from Chiefs’ receiver Kadarius Toney (wow, what an awful, awful opener from him) that rookie DB Brian Branch snagged out of the air and returned for a six. Yes, that picture is of the play the Lions returned an interception for a touchdown. Like I said, an awful game for ol’ yellow-gloves Toney.

Luckily for the Chiefs, they won’t be without Kelce and Jones forever. Once those two return, the defending champs should be able to pick back up right where they left off. There was no real glaring issue in last night’s game for the losers. Mahomes had a solid game, the defense only let up 14 points; they just couldn’t do the usual Chiefs things when they needed to do them.

Now that football is officially all the way back, settle in for the remaining 18 Sundays of NFL action we still have left. It’s a glorious time to be a football fan.

Note: Monday’s edition of Snagged Sports is going to be HUGE. Share with friends and family to ensure you get the best football newsletter in America.

🗞️ In Other News…

Joe Shiesty. Joe Cool. Him. Call him what you want, but you can’t call him broke.

The Bengals’ quarterback just inked a deal to make him the highest paid player in NFL history (I have a feeling we will be saying that a lot here soon). The contract includes $219 million guaranteed, with the full contract sitting at 5-years, $275 million total. Cincinnati’s future is secured, now it’s time to show that he can get the job done.

💰 Mr. Covers’ Corner

❌ Lions vs. Chiefs O 54.5 total points

✅ Lions +6

🟡 Titans +3 vs. Saints

🟡 Panthers vs. Falcons U 39.5 total points

About last night…

The Lions spread was never really in doubt.

This game was pretty back and forth and was very clearly the first game of the season as there were a lot of dumb mistakes from both teams. The Lions refusing to use Jahmyr Gibbs even in obvious passing situations would have helped them move the ball more easily. I genuinely don’t know if Kadarius Toney has ever caught a football before. Rarely is it that easy to blame a single skill position player for a loss but the pick-six for the Lions hit him in the middle of his hands. He also had a drop on the Chief's last drive of the game that would have put them in, or at least close, to field goal range.

I think the Lions looked good but hard to discount the fact that the Chiefs were without Travis Kelce and Chris Jones. You know what isn't discounted? Football. We are so back.

Friday’s Picks

🏈 NFL: Dolphins vs. Chargers O 51 total points

Crack. That’s what this game is going to be on, crack.

These were two of the best offenses in the league last year, (as long as Skyler Thompson wasn’t starting for the Dolphins) and I bet they will continue to be this year. As much as I did not like Kellen Moore in Dallas, he will definitely be an upgrade from Joe Lombardi at OC for Justin Herbert.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy some (all) the points!

🏈 CFB: Alabama -7 vs. Texas

I have gone back and forth so many times this week as to who I like more to win this game.

I finally settled on this spot because I believe in Nick Saban always in everything. Texas’s offensive line wasn’t as dominant against Rice as it should’ve been, and now they are going up against a classic Alabama front that will be punishing. Last year in this game, Bama’s defense had 3 sacks and 7 tackles for loss. As much as I loved Texas at the beginning of this year, I don’t see this game being as close as it was last year given this game is in Bryant Denny Stadium.

Going Forward

As a reminder, here is the format for the NFL this year will be as follows:

  • Monday I will talk about the weekend games and give out picks for MNF.

  • Tuesday I will talk about MNF and what games I'm looking at for the entire week.

  • Wednesday will be the same in terms of what games I LIKE but not necessarily games I have placed wagers on (when I place a wager, y'all will know).

  • Thursday I will be giving any official TNF picks that I haven't given out already.

  • Friday will be final picks for the weekend and will include college football as well.

Get it? Got it? Good.

🎒CFB season record: 5-5-0

⭐️ NFL season record: 1-1-0

🥊 Quick Hits

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