The NFL season is finally here. The Lions-Chiefs game opened the season on Thursday and gave way to a series of great and intriguing Week 1 matchups on Sunday. Plenty of division foes square off this weekend, including the Green Bay Packers taking on the Chicago Bears, the Dallas Cowboys facing the New York Giants, and the New York Jets kicking off the Aaron Rodgers era against the Buffalo Bills. There is another divisional matchup that doesn't boast as much intrigue, however. The Los Angeles Rams travel to Seattle to take on the Seattle Seahawks.

This season already projected to be a transitional season for the Rams. They dismissed a series of veterans last season and continued this season when they got released Bobby Wagner and traded Allen Robinson in cost-cutting moves that saved them around $5 million with each move. That means the Rams will field a very young team in 2023, which could result in growing pains. Those growing pains could and likely will begin as early as Week 1 against a playoff team from a year ago. That's one prediction. There are more bold predictions to be made about this game that might not look as bold after the fact.

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2) The Rams fail to score more than 10 points

Cooper Kupp being injured to start the season is a massive blow to the Rams. He pulled a hamstring early in training camp but aggravated roughly a week ago. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that Kupp went to Minnesota to see a specialist specifically for his hamstring injury.

The Rams need Kupp badly. Despite playing in only nine of a possible 17 games, Kupp still led the Rams in receptions (75), receiving yards (812), and receiving touchdowns (6). Of course, a year prior, Kupp had one of the best seasons a wide receiver has ever put together when he caught 145 of 191 targets for 1,947 yards and caught 16 touchdowns.

It's hard for anybody to replicate that type of production, but especially so among the Rams' crop of pass catchers. There aren't many great options. Tyler Higbee is a fine tight end, but their wide receiver core outside of Kupp is barren. Van Jefferson is a solid player but he's registered at least five targets in 18 of a possible 44 games. Tutu Atwell has 13 career receptions through two seasons. Puka Nacua is a rookie. Ben Skowronek was used as a fullback last season. Demarcus Robinson is on his fourth team in three seasons if his training camp stint with the Raiders last season is included. It's a pedestrian bunch. Without Kupp, it will be hard for the Rams to move the ball.

1) The Rams will lose by at least two touchdowns

If the Rams' offense features plenty of unknowns, their defense might feature even more. Aaron Donald is still Aaron Donald, but the defense around him is largely unrecognizable. That is especially true in their secondary. The Rams plan to start Cobie Durant, a fourth-round sophomore drafted in 2022 out of South Carolina State, and Trevius Hodges-Tomlinson, a sixth-round rookie out of TCU. The Rams did find a sixth-round gem in Jordan Fuller to man one of their starting safety spots, but their other safety spot will likely go to Russ Yeast, a seventh-round pick a year ago.

As if it weren't daunting enough to trot a series of young, day-three picks in a secondary, that challenge intensifies greatly this week going up against one of the best wide receiver duos in the NFL in DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. If Jaxon Smith-Njigba can get past his wrist injury to play in this game, then the challenge gets even more difficult.

The Rams are five-point underdogs against the Seahawks this week. That should be even higher. The Seahawks should win and cover that spread. They could cover the spread by much more than is required, too.