49ers vs. Lions Week 1 NFL injury report, odds, spread: D'Andre Swift will play; San Francisco has been horrible bet as at least touchdown favorite

The Detroit Lions are expected to be the worst team in the NFC this season if not the entire NFL, but they figure to at least be interesting under incredibly intense old-school head coach Dan Campbell, in his first season in the Motor City. Campbell announced Tuesday that promising but injury-prone young running back D'Andre Swift should be ready for Sunday's home opener against the San Francisco 49ers, who at -7.5 on the NFL odds are the co-biggest Week 1 favorites at Caesars Sportsbook.

Swift, a 2020 second-round pick out of Georgia, clearly is a talented player but has had trouble staying healthy in his brief NFL career. Last year in 13 games, he rushed 114 times for 521 yards (4.6 ypc) and eight scores while catching 46 passes for 357 yards and two more TDs. Swift clearly took over as the featured back in the back half of the season.

Alas, he missed this entire 2021 preseason and a ton of practice time with a groin injury that originally had Swift in some doubt for Week 1, but Campbell said Tuesday that Swift "should be ready to go." On Monday, Campbell said Swift was "in a better place" than he was the previous week from a health standpoint.

That being said, don't be expecting 20 carries or something from a Fantasy perspective as the Lions signed former Packers running back Jamaal Williams this offseason and the coaches have raved about him. There will be some sort of timeshare.

Sunday will also be the Lions debut of QB Jared Goff, with the former No. 1 overall pick acquired in the offseason from the Rams in the Matthew Stafford trade. Goff has a personal four-game losing streak against his former NFC West-rival Niners with six turnovers and six sacks taken in those four combined. However, he is 4-0 straight up and against the spread in Week 1 in his career.

Jimmy Garoppolo will start at quarterback for the 49ers, and it's not clear if rookie No. 3 overall pick Trey Lance could see a few snaps as he suffered a chip fracture on his right index finger Aug. 29. General manager John Lynch has said the team will be cautious with its quarterback of the future.

San Francisco will be just the 11th team this century to be favored by at least a touchdown on the road in Week 1 and just three of the previous 10 covered the spread. It's the first time the Niners have been at least -7 in Week 1 since 1998.

Rather crazily, the 49ers have covered just once in their past 13 games as at least 7-point favorites. That was last September in a 31-13 win at the Jets. Garoppolo is 1-5-1 ATS as a TD favorite with the team. Since acquiring Jimmy G in 2017, the Niners are 24-9 straight up with him starting (including playoffs) and 7-27 with someone else under center.

The status of starting 49ers receiver Brandon Aiyuk is trending up. He didn't suit up for the team's exhibition finale due to a minor hamstring issue but was back at practice Monday so that bodes well. Stud defensive end Nick Bosa, among the Defensive Player of the Year favorites, is good to go after tearing his ACL early last season. 

Who wins every NFL game? And which teams will sink your bankroll? Join SportsLine now to get NFL picks every week, all from the model that simulates every game 10,000 times and is up almost $8,000.