Welcome to your weekly NFL Sunday night preview series. It is finally Week 1 in the NFL, and the inaugural 2024 Sunday nighter is a clash of two NFC playoff-probable teams—the Detroit Lions and the Los Angeles Rams.
The Detroit Lions held a drone show over Ford Field on Saturday night, a day before the much-anticipated season opener against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night #Lions #DetroitLions #Detroit #NFL #football #onepride #grit #jaredgoff #stafford pic.twitter.com/hC1LpuexgB
— WXYZ Detroit (@wxyzdetroit) September 8, 2024
The Rams will travel to Detroit as 4.5-point underdogs, eager to administer payback for the 1-point loss in the NFC wildcard game last year. Both teams have dangerous offensive weapons—with players surely drafted in the first round of your fantasy drafts. Last season, they both presented middle-of-the-pack defenses with top-10 offenses—so what is something we can focus on?
Last time the Rams and Lions met, Detroit won their first #NFL playoff game since 1992.
One week from now, the two teams go head-to-head on Sunday Night Football. pic.twitter.com/bIDW7y1djH
— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) September 1, 2024
I’m looking at the run game. Last season, Detroit had a +0.9 average yards per run more than their opponents, with LA netting +0.1. The Rams’ starting RB, Kyren Williams, has injury concerns. It would appear that number two on the depth chart is rookie Blake Corum. The Detroit Lions have their choice of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs, both of whom hit double-digit TDs last season for Detroit.
5th in rushing yards, 2nd in rush defense last season.
The @Lions look more than ready to feast on the Rams.
Who you got winning – drop your scores below! pic.twitter.com/KjydrMMHC3
— Bushleague Sports (@SportBushleague) September 7, 2024
This should be a great game, but it certainly didn’t make my locks of the week segment.
Howe Fresh
of Fresh Takes Sports Podcast