Football is finally back in action this weekend and we have a fantastic slate on tap for us for Week 1. We have a marquee matchup in Detroit where the Los Angeles Rams come to town to take on the Detroit Lions in a matchup that many have circled for Week 1.

We couldn't ask for a better matchup for Sunday Night Football, let's take a look at our Rams-Lions prediction and pick.

(Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)

Why The Los Angeles Rams Will Cover The Spread

The Los Angeles Rams will be looking to kick off the new season on a high note. However, they will be without future Hall of Fame defensive tackle Aaron Donald as the new-look defense of the Rams will look to keep this high-scoring Lions offense in check on Sunday.

• The Los Angeles Rams finished their 2023 season 10-7 with a 5-4 record on the road.
• The Rams are 6-3 ATS in their last 9 meetings against the Lions.

The Rams still boast one of the elite offenses not only in the NFC but in all of the NFL. With Mathew Stafford at the helm, he's got Puka Nucua who was one of the top wideouts in his rookie season, a healthy Cooper Kupp, and a 3-down runningback Kyren Williams who will keep this Lions defense on their heels throughout this game.

It will be in the Rams' best interest to use the clock to their advantage to keep their defense off the field as much as possible.

The Rams defense is a shell of its former self and without Donald holding down the front seven they are going to have a tough time in this matchup.

This game will be high-scoring and it will be up to Matthew Stafford and company to go blow for blow with the Lions if they want to walk away with the upset victory and cover the spread in Week 1.

Why The Detroit Lions Will Cover The Spread

The Detroit Lions are coming off a devastating end to their 2023 season where they lost in the NFC Championship by 3 points to the San Francisco 49ers after a great first half.

The 49ers were able to come back and take it to the Lions down the stretch to get the win and make their appearance in the Superbowl.

The Lions boast one of the top offenses in the NFL and will be looking to finally get over that hump this season and it starts with taking care of business this weekend against the Los Angeles Rams.

• The Lions finished the 2024 season with a 12-4 record and a dominant 6-2 record at home.
• Jared Goff finished second in the league with 4,575 yards last season.

The Lions have one of the best quarterback-wide receiver duos in the league as Goff has his number one receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown fully healthy ready to go this season by storm.

• Also you can't forget the two-headed monster that they have in the backfield with Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery giving this Lions team one of the most balanced and elite offenses in the league.

Defensively they tend to give up some big plays as they did in the NFC Championship game but expect them to be better this season with additions of Carlton Davis III, Amik Robertson, Terrion Arnold, and Ennis Rakestraw Jr in the secondary.

This game is an expected shootout between these two prolific offense, if the Lions can just get a couple of stops defensively they could come away with the big opening day victory as they have their eyes set on the Super Bowl.

NFL WEEK 1 BETS: LOS ANGELES RAMS vs DETROIT LIONS FANDUEL ODDS FOR SEPTEMEBER 8TH

MONEY LINE

• LOS ANGELES RAMS: +176
• DETROIT LIONS: -210

SPREAD

• LOS ANGELES RAMS: +4.5 (-115)
• DETROIT LIONS: -4.5 (-105)

OVER/UNDER (TOTAL)

• OVER 52.5 (-110)
• UNDER 52.5 (-110)

BEST ODDS FOR LOS ANGELES RAMS vs DETROIT LIONS

• The Detroit Lions are the favorites in this Week 1 marquee matchup. Caesars Sportsbook currently offers the Lions with the best odds at -4.5 (+100)
• The Los Angeles Rams are the underdogs as they open up the new NFL season on the road. DraftKings currently offers bettors with the best odds at +4.5 (-110)
• BetRivers currently offers the best odds for the game total, which has the total 52.5 (-109) for the over, and (-112) for the under

LOS ANGELES RAMS vs DETROIT LIONS INJURY REPORT

LOS ANGELES RAMS INJURY REPORT INJURY REPORT

1. R. HAVENSTEIN - QUESTIONABLE - ANKLE

DETROIT LIONS INJURY REPORT INJURY REPORT

1. D. READER - QUESTIONABLE - QUAD
2. I. MELIFONWU - DOUBTFUL - ANKLE
3. L. STRICKLAND - OUT - THUMB

FINAL RAMS-LIONS PICK & PREDICTION

This is a great matchup to kick off the first Sunday Night Football action of the season between the Los Angeles Rams and the Detroit Lions.

This should be high-scoring game right from the get-go where stops are going to be a premium however, the Lions should maintain control of this game with their ground attack and by doing so they should be the ones having the longer possessions and chipping away the clock as they come away with their first victory of the season and cover the spread.

FINAL RAMS-LIONS PICK & PREDICTION: DETROIT LIONS -4.5