Detroit Lions vs Kansas City Chiefs Prediction, Preview and Odds - 09/07/2023

Game Time: 8:20 pm ET, Thursday, September 7, 2023

Venue:  GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, MO

Where to Watch:  NBC

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Lions +6.5, Chiefs -6.5; Over/Under:  54 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Lions +6.5, Chiefs -6.5; Over/Under:  54 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Lions +6.5, Chiefs -6.5; Over/Under:  54 points

Detroit Lions:  0-0 (NFC North)

Kansas City Chiefs:  0-0 (AFC West)

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Detroit Lions:  N/A

Kansas City Chiefs:  N/A

The Lions finished last season with a 9-8 record overall and they were 5-1 in their division games too. They had a 5-4 record in their home games and had a 4-4 record in their road games where they will be in this game. Last season, their offense was averaging 26.6 points per game and their defense was allowing an average of 25.1 points per game. Their offense was also averaging 380 yards per game and their defense was allowing an average of 392.4 yards per game. Jared Goff led the team in passing yards with 4438, Jamaal Williams led the team in rushing yards with 1066, and Amon-Ra St. Brown led the team in receiving yards with 1161.

The Chiefs finished last season with a 14-3 record overall and they were 6-0 in their division games too. They had a 7-1 record in their home games and had a 7-2 record in their road games where they will be in this game. Last season, their offense was averaging 29.2 points per game and their defense was allowing an average of 21.7 points per game. Their offense was also averaging 413.6 yards per game and their defense was allowing an average of 328.2 yards per game. Patrick Mahomes led the team in passing yards with 5250, Isiah Pacheco led the team in rushing yards with 830, and Travis Kelce led the team in receiving yards with 1338.

The current betting odds have the Chiefs listed as a 6.5 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Chiefs finished last season with a 14-3 record overall and they went all the way to the Super Bowl which they won. Now they are playing this 1st game of the season on Thursday night and the Super Bowl winners usually do have a hangover to start the season, but this Chiefs team is really loaded still on offense and they have a really good coach that will find ways for them to win this home opener. The Lions improved a lot last season with their 9-8 record overall and they look to improve even more this season with Dan Campbell now in his 3rd season as head coach. The Lions do have a lot of talent on their team and they are going to continue to improve this season with the NFC North now up for grabs, but this is still a really tough game for them on the road to start the season against the Super Bowl Champions and they don't have the talent that the Chiefs have on offense and defense. The Chiefs may get out to a slower start in this game but they will be rolling once again by the 2nd half and they are going to make the Lions struggle a lot in this road game to open up the season. The best way to place a bet here is on the Chiefs to cover the spread in this game. 

Lions Chiefs Prediction:  Our NFL Pick for Thursday, September 7, 2023 (8:20 pm ET start time) is Chiefs 38 Lions 27.

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Detroit Lions: 23-11 ATS in all games. 12-4 ATS as an underdog of 3.5 to 9.5 points. 9-2 ATS in all games where the total is greater than or equal to 49.5. 6-3 UNDER as a road underdog of 7 points or less. 7-3 UNDER in non-conference games.

Kansas City Chiefs: 0-6 ATS as a home favorite of 3.5 to 7 points. 18-27 ATS in a home game where the total is greater than or equal to 49.5. 9-4 UNDER in a home game where the total is greater than or equal to 49.5. 14-8 UNDER in home games.

Detroit Lions:  N. Sudfeld (QB) I-R - Knee. C. Gardner-Johnson (DB) Out indefinitely - Knee. S. Zylstra (TE) I-R - Knee. H. Hooker (QB) Out indefinitely - Knee. J. Williams (WR) Elig Week 7 - Suspension.

Kansas City Chiefs:  C. Jones (DT) Out indefinitely - Holdout. J. Fortson (TE) I-R - Shoulder. K. Toney (WR) Prob Week 1 - Knee. C. Omenihu (DE) Elig Week 7 - Suspension. N. Johnson (S) I-R - Knee. T. Wharton (DT) Ques Week 1 - Knee.

“For me, it was always going to be about — the nature of the way we practice. We’re pretty physical, I think relative to most teams in the league. And we had two joint practices, two teams that we had joint practices with that were going to be pretty physical.” - Dan Campbell on not playing his starters in the preseason.

“I saw some good things. There are a couple things we need to work on. We had obviously too many turnovers and they cost us points so you can’t have that – for sure. But there were some good things in there, too.” - Andy Reid on his backup QB’s in the preseason. 

WR Reynolds, Josh 

WR JONES JR., MARVIN 

WR St. Brown, Amon-Ra 

TE LaPorta, Sam 

QB Goff, Jared 

RB Montgomery, David 

FB Cabinda, Jason 

WR Valdes-Scantling, Marquez 

WR Toney, Kadarius 

WR Moore, Skyy 

TE KELCE, TRAVIS 

QB Mahomes, Patrick 

RB Pacheco, Isiah 

Passing: N/A

Rushing: N/A

Receiving: N/A

Touchdowns: N/A

Passing: N/A

Rushing: N/A

Receiving: N/A

Touchdowns: N/A

Coaches:

Detroit Lions: Dan Campbell (3rd season)

Kansas City Chiefs: Andy Reid (11th season)