49ers vs. Lions 2021 Predictions: Visitors to win whoever starts at QB

It is likely to be a tough year up in the Motor City and with the 49ers coming into town in Week 1, Neil Monnery doesn't like their chance to get the season started well...

It is fair to say that not much is going to be expected of the Detroit Lions this upcoming NFL season. With Matthew Stafford traded away and Jared Goff replacing him, that is a clear downgrade at the Quarterback position.

Dan Campbell is the new Head Coach having come over from the New Orleans Saints where he was the Assistant HC and Tight Ends Coach. He knows he is walking into a relatively sparse cupboard in terms of talent so it is going to take a while to build this team back up. They are particularly lacking in the Secondary and the 49ers should be able to take advantage of this on Sunday afternoon.

The one position where the Lions do look like they have some real talent is Running Back. D’Andre Swift may have only rumbled for 521 yards last year but as the campaign went on, he started to look more and more like a player who can be more than serviceable at this level. His problem this year is opposition defenses know he’s the top talent and will surely dare Goff to beat them with his arm.

Jimmy Garoppolo looks set to start the season at QB but the franchise did select Trey Lance with the #3 overall pick and the rookie out of North Dakota State is creating plenty of buzz. The 29 year-old veteran has had plenty of injury issues throughout his career and he must know he needs to hit the ground running otherwise he’ll be losing his job.

I do like what the 49ers have at the skill positions. Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel and Mohamed Sanu Jr. are a pretty strong trio of receiving talent. George Kittle is one of the true elite Tight Ends in the league and is their version of Travis Kelce. So whoever is under Center, they will have dudes to throw the ball to.

Spread:

I’m genuinely surprised that the line is only set at San Fran-7.5. I just do not think Detroit are going to be any good and the 49ers have every opportunity to be a pretty darn good straight out of the box. I’ll take the 49ers even with a 7.5pt handicap.

Straight-up/Moneyline:

The 49ers are -333 and that is too short to play this market.

Over/Under Points Totals:

The over/under number has been set at 44.5 and I’m struggling to see the home side clear 17 points so the question is do I see San Fran getting 28 or fewer? I think that is about the right number so I’ll say San Fran 27-13 is my pick and that is under the 40 point mark.