Los Angeles Rams vs Detroit Lions Prediction, 9/8/2024 NFL Picks, Best Bets & Odds Week 1

Game: Los Angeles Rams at Detroit Lions

Date: Sunday, September 8, 2024

Location: Ford Field in Detroit, MI

TV: NBC

Odds/Point Spread: Lions (-3.5)

Total/Over-Under: 50.5

Ford Field is the site where the Detroit Lions (12-5 last season) will try to defeat the Los Angeles Rams (10-7 last year) on Sunday. Los Angeles opens as 3.5-point dogs. The total is set at 50.5.

The Los Angeles Rams finished the season having a 10-7 mark. The last time they stepped on the gridiron, the Rams played against the Lions and ended up losing by a score of 24-23. Matthew Stafford finished 25/36 with 367 yards passing and 2 touchdowns. He had a QB rate of 120.9 and walked away from the contest without throwing a pick. Kyren Williams was the leader on the ground for the Rams with 13 attempts for 61 yds (4.7 yards per attempt). Puka Nacua held an average of 20.1 yards per reception by recording 181 yards on 9 catches. The Los Angeles Rams ended up running the ball 17 times and had 68 yards, which is an average of 4.0 yards per attempt. Overall, they had 55 plays which totaled 425 yards. Los Angeles gave up 22 pass completions on 27 tries for 255 yds, and a completion rate of 81.5%. Against the rush, the Rams conceded 79 yards on 25 attempts, which calculates to 3.2 yards per rush allowed.

Regarding scoring, the Los Angeles Rams held an average of 23.8 points per game. As a unit they maintained an average of 120.3 yds on the ground, giving them a rank of 11th in the league. The Rams earned 6,108 total yards last season. Los Angeles had 206 1st downs as an offense, and they committed 89 penalties for 720 yards. They surrendered the football 18 times (13 interceptions and 5 fumbles lost). Los Angeles earned 26 passing touchdowns and 18 rushing touchdowns.

The Rams ranked 19th in the NFL regarding the opposition scoring, allowing 22.2 PPG. They gave up 4.2 yards per rushing attempt and 106.8 yards on the ground per contest for the previous season. For the season, they gave up 1,816 yards via the ground game in 17 outings. Concerning yards through the air, the Rams allowed 3,928 yards which ranked them 20th in the NFL. In their 17 games played, they yielded 231.1 yards per contest via the pass in addition to relinquishing a completion percentage of 60.8%. They surrendered 337.9 yards/game which ranked them 20th in the league.

Get all of our NFL Picks

The Lions wrapped up their year holding a 12-5 mark. In their last game, the Lions went home defeated by a final of 34-31 against the 49ers. David Montgomery ran the ball 15 times for 93 yards, finishing the contest with 6.2 yards per carry for Detroit. Sam LaPorta was a featured target for the Lions, snagging 9 footballs for 97 yards (10.8 yds per catch). Jared Goff (1 TD) walked away from the contest with 273 yds on 25/41 through the air while his quarterback rate was 88.8. He didn't toss any picks and his avg yards per attempt was 6.7 yards. Detroit relinquished 33 run attempts for 155 yds (4.7 yds per rush). The Lions passing defense allowed a completion percentage of 64.5%, surrendering 258 yards on 20 out of 31 through the air. The Lions finished the contest with 442 yards while running 72 plays (6.1 yards per play). Detroit ran for 6.3 yards per tote, finishing the game with 182 yds on 29 attempts.

The Detroit Lions averaged 394.8 yards per game which had them ranked 3rd in the league. They had an average of 135.9 yards per game on the ground and ran for 2,311 yards for the year. They threw 12 interceptions while allowing opponents to recover 11 fumbles and they obtained 228 1st downs. The Detroit offense racked up 843 yds of penalties on 97 infractions, which was good for 17th in the league in terms of helping out the other team. Throughout last season, the Lions threw for a total of 4,401 yards through the air along with averaging 258.9 passing yards per contest, giving them a rank of 2nd in the NFL. In relation to their ability to score points, the Lions had a ranking of 5th in the league by scoring 27.1 points per outing.

The Lions surrendered 23.2 points per game, which had them in 23rd of all teams in the NFL. They yielded 28 touchdowns via the pass in addition to 247.4 yards per contest, which put them in 27th out of all teams. Detroit conceded a total of 1,509 yards on the ground (88.8 yards per outing) and 15 touchdowns by way of the ground game last season. The Lions defense was on the field for 1,037 plays, which had them sitting 6th in football. They earned 23 turnovers (7 fumbles recovered and 16 picks) in the previous season. In total, they relinquished 395 points in total.

Who will win tonight's Rams/Lions NFL game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take the Rams +3.5

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here