The 2023 NFL regular season begins this week with our Detroit Lions vs. Kansas City Chiefs player props for Thursday Night Football based on the best NFL odds.
Opening night for the 2023 NFL season is finally here, and we have the perfect complement for your Lions vs. Chiefs prediction.
The reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs host the Detroit Lions on Thursday Night Football to get it all started. The Chiefs will raise their championship banner in front of their fans at Arrowhead on Thursday making this an even tougher environment for any visiting team.
Last season's league MVP Patrick Mahomes will start his title defense with a young, but hungry receiving corps. Meanwhile, the Lions are hoping to continue to build on their 9-8 record from last season. Detroit finished second in the NFC North last season and look s to move one spot up that ladder this year.
Here is our best Lions vs. Chiefs player props for Thursday Night Football (odds via our best NFL betting sites; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).
Lions vs. Chiefs player props: Thursday Night Football
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Detroit lost not one, but both of their leading rushers from last season. The New Orleans Saints lured Jamaal Williams away during free agency. Williams rushed for more than 1,000 yards last year for the Lions. In addition, Detroit dealt D'Andre Swift to the Philadelphia Eagles. To fill those spots, they acquired former Chicago Bears running back David Montgomery and drafted Jahmyr Gibbs out of Alabama.
It is expected for Montgomery to get a majority of the work this season. However, Gibbs offers a great deal of value as the No. 2 back. In his final season with the Crimson Tide, he averaged 6.1 yards on his 151 carries for a total of 926 yards. In his one preseason appearance, Gibbs gained 19 yards on six carries.
In their Week 1 game last season against the Arizona Cardinals, Kansas City allowed both Eno Benjamin and James Conner to rush for at least 26 yards. In total, the Chiefs allowed two running backs to cross this threshold five times last year.
Since joining the Chiefs in 2021, Jerick McKinnon has become a reliable target for Patrick Mahomes in the passing game. He was the fourth most targeted player last season behind Travis Kelce, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. With those targets, he surpassed this prop total in 10 games during the regular season. McKinnon takes on a Lions team that allowed five running backs to gain at least 26 yards through the air.
Something else that will help this prop hit could be the absence of Kelce in this game. The star tight end suffered a knee injury in practice and may miss the season opener. On top of that, Smith-Schuster has departed for the New England Patriots. That vacates 153 targets from last season. Expect McKinnon to benefit from this, giving him a much easier path to this total.
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This prop hinges on the health of Kelce. Should Mahomes be without his favorite touchdown target, field goals could be the order of the day for the Chiefs. Kansas City's big leg registered four games during the 2022 regular season over this mar k. He also cleared this total in all three of his postseason appearances, including eight points in the Super Bowl.
Detroit surrendered at least eight points to opposing kickers eight times last season. That included allowing Jake Elliott to convert five extra points on top of a successful field goal attempt in Week 1.
Lions vs. Chiefs player props for Thursday Night Football made Wednesday at 10 a.m. ET
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