The Los Angeles Rams travel to Detroit to kick off their 2024 season against the Lions. Last year, the Rams’ season ended in Detroit as they lost a wild card game to the Lions. Will the Rams be able to avenge last years’ season ending loss, or will the Lions prevail again?
Let’s find it out with our NFL odds before betting on it at our top-rated sportsbooks!
NFL Pick
- Detroit Lions -3.5 (-105) at Bet365 (check our Bet365 Review)
Los Angeles Rams vs. Detroit Lions
Sunday, September 08, 2024 – 08:20 PM ET at Ford Field
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions were the laughingstock of the league for decades before their most recent turnaround. Led by head coach Dan Campbell, the culture around Detroit has successfully changed and Campbell turned a once-moribund franchise into a group of men fighting to be at the top.
Campbell has resurrected the team on both sides of the ball, installing a tough-minded defense to go with a high-flying offense.
Campbell deserves most of the credit for the defensive improvement, but he leaves the offensive side of the ball to offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. Johnson has been instrumental in resurrecting the career of Jared Goff who once led his opponent, the Los Angeles Rams, to the Super Bowl before being traded for Lions quarterback Matt Stafford. Now the two teams’ quarterbacks face their old teams once again trying to start their season right.
Ben Johnson has worked wonders with Goff but the team has also put the proper people around him. Amon-Ra St. Brown is one of the best wide receivers in football and the Lions have two of the best running backs in the game in Jamhyr Gibbs and David Montgomery. Yet the engine that makes the whole offense go is the Lions’ elite offensive line, arguably the best in the league.
Los Angeles Rams
Behind the Innovative play calling of coach Sean McVay, the Los Angeles Rams will be a team that must be looked at from a fantasy perspective. Will they be able to win games, however? My main concern for this Rams team is on the defensive side of the ball.
The Rams lost one of the best defensive lineman of all time when Aaron Donald retired. Even when Donald wasn’t putting up huge stats he was routinely triple-teamed and made life easier on his teammates. Without Donald wreaking havoc in the middle, how effective will the Rams’ defense be?
The Rams have also had bad luck with injuries to start their year. Three of their five starting offensive linemen have been in and out of training camp due to injuries and this patchwork offensive line comes into the season not at full strength. The Rams also lost defensive back Derion Kendrick to injury. Also, Puka Nacua, the Rams breakout star wide receiver from last season, comes into the game with an injury.
Usually, teams come into the season fresh, but the Rams are looking beat up like a team in the middle of the season to start the year.
Keys to the Game
Rams Defensive Line
How will the Rams fare on the line of scrimmage without Aaron Donald dominating on every snap? Will the Rams be able to do an adequate job of replacing Donald, or will the loss of Donald expose all the weaknesses of the defensive unit that his elite play was able to hide?
This new-look defensive line faces a tough test going against one of the best offensive lines in the league.
Rams Offensive Line
With the Rams’ offensive line not being at full strength, Sean McVay will have to pull out all the tricks in his playbook in order to get the ball out quickly and not allow QB Matt Stafford to take a beating.
The Detroit Lions have a ferocious defensive line, not a good matchup for a patchwork team coming in with multiple injuries. It will be incumbent upon McVay to make sure he calls plays that get the ball out of Stafford’s hands quickly and neutralize the weakness that injuries have created on his offense.
The Pick
While the Rams might be excellent for fantasy football players, this team is going to struggle to win games right off the bat. This team needs to get healthy and develop some cohesion on both sides of the line of scrimmage. While skill position players get all the hype with their fantasy contributions, the game of football is won on the line of scrimmage and Detroit has a significant edge on both sides of the ball. This game will not be as close as last year’s wild card game.
A fully healthy Detroit Lions team will be able to blowout the patchwork Los Angeles Rams that are trying to reclaim their identity. I have projected Detroit to win by 7.5 points, making this an easy bet on the Detroit Lions -3.5.
NFL Pick: Detroit Lions -3.5 (-105) at Bet365
*The line and/or odds referenced in this article might have changed since the content was published. For the latest information on line movements, visit OddsTrader’s free betting odds tool.
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