The Los Angeles Rams and Detroit Lions fill the first Sunday Night Football time slot of the NFL season with kickoff scheduled for 8:20 p.m. ET at Detroit’s Ford Field and NBC on the broadcast. The Lions opened as three-point favorites on the spread, and the game had the over/under line (51) on the Week 1 slate. The Lions have taken enough action for several books to move the Rams up to +3.5.
When these teams met in the wild card round of last season’s playoffs, the Lions squeaked out a 24-23 win at home. Matthew Stafford passed for 367 yards against the franchise that drafted him No. 1 overall back in 2009. The Rams traded Jared Goff for Stafford two years ago in the first exchange of top overall picks since 1978.
Goff has found success behind a Detroit offensive line that is the best unit in the league per consensus rankings. Offensive Coordinator Ben Johnson is back this season instead of taking a head coaching job after helping Detroit reach the NFC title game. The Lions have the fourth-shortest odds to win the Super Bowl this season, and the Rams are at around even money (-110) to make the playoffs with +350 odds to win the NFC West.
We’ll break down this matchup further below and highlight one of the welcome bonuses available for new sportsbook customers as the NFL season gets underway in September.
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Lions favored over the Rams in Sunday Night Football opener
How the Lions could win and cover the spread
Where the betting line has moved across the key number of three, the Detroit Lions will need to win by more than a late field goal to cover. The team’s path to a comfortable victory likely lies in the trenches. The Lions will field a top-rated offensive line against a Rams defensive line that lost Aaron Donald to retirement and is ranked 23rd by Pro Football Focus entering the season.
The Los Angeles offensive line struggled at times last season, and Detroit’s pass rush could present problems with Aidan Hutchinson leading the way. Goff has been notably better throughout his career when playing indoors and when playing at home. The Rams have few defensive backs capable of handling Amon-Ra St. Brown and Sam LaPorta in single coverage.
How the Rams could cover the spread or win
Sean McVay is one of the sharpest coaches in the NFL, with an 18-14-2 record against the spread as an underdog. McVay knows Goff’s strengths and weaknesses as well as any opponent, which helped the Los Angeles Rams stay close in their wild card matchup against Detroit in January.
Puka Nacua demolished Detroit’s secondary to the tune of 181 receiving yards in that game, and now he’ll be complemented by Cooper Kupp, who is reportedly 100% healthy for the first time in years. The Rams are coming off a postseason loss, and before that they got off to a horrible start in the 2022-23 season, potentially providing additional motivation.
