The Detroit Lions will kick off their 2023 season with a game against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1. Ahead of Detroit's clash with the Chiefs, here are a few bold Lions Week 1 predictions.

The Lions come in looking to make the postseason for the first time since 2016 after barely missing out last year. By comparison, the Chiefs are the defending Super Bowl champions. While this may seem like a mismatch on paper, Detroit improved this offseason, while the Chiefs may have gotten weaker, especially with a major defensive holdout raging on.

Either way, this game should be a high-scoring affair, as it pits the No. 1 (Chiefs) and No. 5 (Lions) scoring offenses from last season against each other. So, let the fireworks fly in Kansas City!

With an exciting game coming to open this new NFL year, let’s move on to our bold Lions Week 1 predictions.

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3. Jahmyr Gibbs and the Lions run game shows up

The story of this Lions-Chiefs opener may be about who is there for Detroit and who isn’t there for Kansas City.

For the Lions, the team drafted Alabama running back Jahmyr Gibbs No. 12 overall. This led to much ridicule from the NFL intelligentsia, who hate drafting running backs that high. Still, Gibbs is now on the team, and his explosive big-play ability could take the Lions offense to a new level.

On the Chiefs’ side, All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones is still not there, and may not be on Thursday. The superstar defender is holding out for a new contract, and there seems to be no end to the dispute in sight.

A Gibbs-led rushing attack going against a Jones-less defense could mean big things for Detroit. That’s why the bold Lions Week 1 prediction here is that Gibbs goes for over 100 rushing yards in the game and helps Jared Goff and company score more than 30 points.

2. The Lions D bends but doesn’t break

The Lions defense also improved this offseason, thanks in large part to the No. 18 overall pick, MLB Jack Campbell (which also made NFL hipsters’ heads explode). This may not make the Lions D — which gave up the third-most points in the league last season — a top-10 defense. However, the unit should be much improved over last season.

And either way, we’ll know whether they are or not right off the bat, as Patrick Mahomes and company are one of the best offenses in the NFL.

Chances are, the Lions D isn’t going to shut down the Chiefs’ O. No defense in the NFL does. That said, what Dan Campbell’s unit has to do is bow up when it matters most, get big stops in crucial moments, and force field goals when a touchdown looks certain.

Lions Week 1 prediction two is that the Lions defense does just that. Aidan Hutchinson and James Houston are pass-rush monsters and should have some luck against the Chiefs’ revamped offensive line. Detroit also upgraded their secondary this offseason, adding defensive backs like Cameron Sutton, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, and Emmanuel Moseley in free agency and drafting Brian Branch.

Meanwhile, the Chiefs lost leading wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster from an already unspectacular WR corps.

Look for this to help the Lions defense get some crucial wins vs. Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and the Chiefs offense.

1. Lions 35, Chiefs 31

The last of the bold Lions Week 1 predictions is that Dan Campbell’s crew will shock the football world on Thursday and beat the defending champs on their own turf.

This is a matchup of the Nos. 1 (Chiefs) and 5 (Lions) scoring offenses last season, so we know there will be points scored when the two teams meet. This game should come down to the last few possessions, and the team that can score TDs and not FGs late should take the game.

Yes, the Chiefs have proven time and time again that they are that team. However, after three Super Bowl appearances and two titles in four years, KC’s Week 1 game holds little interest to a team that knows they don’t have to fully turn it on until the playoffs.

Conversely, this is the biggest Lions tilt in years. A win cements the team as true playoff contenders in 2023. A loss doesn’t knock them out by any means, but the whispers of “same old Lions” will absolutely start if the Chiefs run them out of the building.

This is much closer to a must-win game for the Lions than it is for the Chiefs, and that’s why they will walk away with the W.