The Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings will kick things off in 2013 with an important NFC North showdown at Ford Field on Sunday, Sept. 8.
NFL picks and predictions, Vikings vs. Lions: Detroit expected to win
Minnesota is looking for a road win while Detroit is trying to snap an eight-game losing skid from last season.
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Minnesota is coming off a storybook season in which it went 10-6 and made the playoffs as a wild card before losing to the Green Bay Packers. Adrian Peterson is trying to become the first running back ever to have consecutive 2,000 yard rushing campaigns after falling nine yards shy of Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record in 2012.
Detroit is one of the hardest teams to predict. The talent is there on offense with Matthew Stafford, Calvin Johnson and Reggie Bush, but the defense leaves something to be desired -- especially in the secondary. Outside of Louis Delmas, no name really jumps off the page. A rebound from a 4-12 season is expected by most in the Motor City, though.
Over at CBS Sports, five of the eight experts are taking Minnesota to cover the 5.5-point spread, but six of them expect Detroit to win. Of the four ESPN analysts who picked, all of them went with the Lions to start 1-0.
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