New Orleans
Saints
NO
Last 5 ATS
W/L1-4
ATS2-3
O/U3-2-0
FINAL SCORE
30
-
31
Detroit
Lions
DET
Last 5 ATS
W/L3-2
ATS2-3
O/U5-0-0
Last 5 ATS
1-4
Win /Loss
3-2
2-3
Spread
2-3
3-2-0
Over / Under
5-0-0
SPREAD
MONEYLINE
OVER/UNDER
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Goff completed 19 of 30 passes for 271 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions while adding a one-yard touchdown on his only rush attempt in the Lions' 45-21 win over the Cardinals on Sunday. He also committed a fumble recovered by Detroit.
LaPorta brought in all five of his targets for 88 yards and a touchdown in the Lions' 45-21 win over the Cardinals on Sunday.
St. Brown secured six of 11 targets for 69 yards and committed two fumbles that remained with Detroit in the Lions' 45-21 win over the Cardinals on Sunday.
Williams brought in two of four targets for 47 yards and two touchdowns in the Lions' 45-21 win over the Cardinals on Sunday.
Gibbs rushed 25 times for 151 yards and two touchdowns while bringing in five of six targets for 56 yards in the Lions' 45-21 win over the Cardinals on Sunday.
White suffered a broken forearm during Sunday's 45-21 win over the Cardinals, Eric Woodyard of ESPN.com reports.
Johnson brought in four of five targets for 16 yards in the Saints' 23-13 loss to the Vikings on Sunday.
Vele secured four of six targets for 26 yards in the Saints' 23-13 loss to the Vikings on Sunday.
Kennedy (knee) left Sunday's 45-21 win over the Cardinals on crutches, Richard Silva of The Detroit News reports.
White (forearm) has been ruled out for the remainder of Sunday's contest against Arizona.
What I’m not about to do is pick against the Lions, at near-full health, home in Detroit to open the season – especially not against a Saints team that should be improved from 2025 but still has plenty of questions to answer. Even if New Orleans keeps it close early, there’s a real chance Jared Goff, Jahmyr Gibbs (getting a full workload) and the Lions’ dynamic pass catchers blow this open in the second half. Dan Campbell is going to have Detroit foaming at the mouth in Week 1 after underachieving in 2025, and I’m grabbing the last 6.5 on the board, even if we’re paying a bit of a price for it.
Saints QB Tyler Shough hit over 240 passing yards in his last four and six of his last seven games last season and should be operating in a negative game script as 7-point dogs. The Lions defense was 20th against the pass last year and still has some holes that Shough should find.
You don't give a guy $52 million in free agency and then not give him the ball at the goal line. Louisiana native Travis Etienne is the unquestioned new No. 1 in New Orleans. Alvin Kamara is old, banged up and will have a minor role apparently. This is trending as potentially the highest-scoring game of Sunday. Between rushing and receiving, the model gives Etienne a 66% shot of finding the end zone.
The FanDuel price suggests we're basically buying the hook to lay 6.5 instead of 7 and we're good with that. The upstart Saints surged to a 4-1 finish last season but all the wins came against losing teams. Detroit's defense, primarily its banged-up secondary, has some issues but this high-powered club is still well suited to run away from New Orleans in a shootout on its home turf.
It's an ideal situation for Devaughn Vele in Detroit this week as he'll likely be operating from a negative game script during portions of the game and he's up against an average Lions secondary. Vele steps in as the WR2 due to the Jordyn Tyson injury, but he's already built some trust with QB Tyler Shough. After the Rashid Shaheed trade last year, Vele had a 4 game stint of 37, 93, 40 and 69 yards (on 26 total targets) before a shoulder injury ended his season. I expect him to be leaned upon in the pass game along with Olave and Juwan Johnson and to clear this receiving total. You can get the 38.5 over at BetMGM.
Yes the Lions didn’t make the playoffs last year. But they had so many costly injuries, especially on defense, we’re offering a rare mulligan. They added key off-season pieces on defense and the offense should be in the 30-plus scoring potential each week, especially with Sam LaPorta back from his own season-ender. The Saints stuck with Tyler Shough at QB which is fine, but there’s just too much on the other side, and on the road no less. Detroit scored 34+ in four of its first five last year. I don’t see New Orleans keeping up on the road in Week 1.
I'm in the camp that thinks the Saints will be contenders in the NFC South this year. However, New Orleans has a tough opener against a salty Lions team coming off a disappointing season. The Saints are an exciting, young team, although they are far from a finished product. I expect them to get better as the year goes on. Look for Dan Campbell's squad to get back to being physical and dominate this game in the trenches, especially in the second half. I like Detroit at home laying less than a touchdown.
The Lions are hoping for a rebound season despite injury issues on defense, and I see this as a good matchup to have a positive opener. The team has good depth to address their safety issues, and with Jordyn Tyson sidelined, it should be easier to contain the Saints offense by primarily focusing on Chris Olave. The Saints defense will certainly test rookie right tackle Blake Miller but Jared Goff is a veteran who should be able to lead several scoring drives while playing around the potential weakness. I have this line at 8.5.
