New Orleans Saints vs Detroit Lions Prediction, 9/13/2026 NFL Picks, Best Bets & Odds Week 1

Game: New Orleans Saints vs Detroit Lions

Date: Sunday, September 13, 2026

Location: Ford Field in Detroit, MI

TV: FOX

Odds-Point Spread: Lions -7.0

Total-Over-Under: 49.5

The New Orleans Saints (6-11 last year) are traveling to Ford Field on Sunday where they will try to beat the Detroit Lions (9-8 last season). Detroit opens this game as 7-point favorites from Vegas oddsmakers. The over-under has been set at 49.5.

The New Orleans Saints culminated the year having produced a 6-11 mark. When they last stepped on the football field, the Saints played the Atlanta Falcons and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 19-17. Tyler Shough went 23-35 with 259 yards through the air and 1 touchdown. He had a quarterback rating of 85.3 and finished the contest with 1 pick. Audric Estime was the leader on the ground for the Saints with 21 carries for 63 yds (3.0 yds per attempt). Juwan Johnson held an average of 20.3 yards per reception by accumulating 61 yards on 3 receptions. The New Orleans Saints ran the ball a total of 26 different times and totaled 108 yards, earning them an average of 4.2 yards per attempt. When all was said and done, they tallied 61 plays which converted into 340 yds. New Orleans gave up 18 completions on 32 attempts for 159 yds, and a completion percentage of 56.3%. Against the run, the Saints conceded 49 yds on 25 attempts, which calculates to 2.0 yds per run allowed.

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The Saints earned 5,331 total yards last season. New Orleans had a total of 183 first downs offensively, and they were called for 118 infractions for 920 total yards. New Orleans compiled 19 passing TD's and 9 rushing TD's. They gave the ball to the opposition 24 times (12 picks and 12 lost fumbles). As a unit, they had an average of 94.3 rushing yds, which had them ranked 28th in the NFL. If you're looking at putting points on the board, the New Orleans Saints averaged 18.0 points per outing.

If you examine pass yards, the Saints granted 3,046 total yards which was 4th in the NFL. They allowed 179.2 yards per contest through the air, and conceded a completion rate of 63.5%. Altogether, they allowed 2,050 yards on the ground through 17 games last season. They conceded 25 TD's through the air, along with 12 by way of the ground game. Overall, they conceded 299.8 per game, which had them ranking 9th in pro football. They gave up 4.0 yds per running attempt and 120.6 rushing yards per game for last season. The Saints sat 16th in the NFL when examining the opposition scoring, surrendering 22.5 points per outing.

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The Lions culminated the season having amassed a 9-8 record. The last time they stepped on the football field, the Lions walked away with a victory by a final of 19-16 against the Chicago Bears. Jared Goff (1 TD) ended the contest with 331 yds on 27-42 passing while his QB rate was 86.5. He threw 1 pick and his avg yards per attempt was 7.9 yds. Jahmyr Gibbs carried the rock 19 times for 80 yards, walking away from the game with 4.2 yds per attempt for Detroit. Amon-Ra St. Brown was the leading receiver for the Lions, grabbing 11 throws for 139 yards (12.6 yds per reception). Detroit rushed for 4.5 yards per attempt, finishing with 122 yards on 27 carries. The Lions finished the game with a total of 433 yds while running 69 plays (6.3 yards per play). The Lions pass defense gave up a completion rate of 60.6%, relinquishing 205 yards on 20 for 33 passing. Detroit relinquished 18 run attempts for 65 yards (3.6 yds per rush).

When analyzing the points being put on the board, the Lions sat 5th in football, holding an average of 28.3 PPG. During the previous year, the Lions threw for a total of 4,303 pass yds and held an average of 253.1 pass yds per contest, which had them ranking 3rd in football. They held an average of 120.1 rushing yds per outing, and toted the ball for 2,041 yds. The Detroit Lions held an average of 373.2 total yards per game, which was 5th in football. The Detroit offense conceded 718 yds by way of 104 violations, which had them ranking 19th in pro football with reference to making mistakes. They relinquished 8 picks while relinquishing 7 lost fumbles, and earned 224 first downs as a unit.

They surrendered 31 touchdowns by way of the pass and 217.4 passing yds per contest, which had them ranked 20th in the NFL. Detroit conceded a total of 1,947 rushing yds (114.5 yds per game), as well as 16 touchdowns via the ground game for last year. Their defense amassed 19 turnovers (6 fumbles forced and 13 picks) for last season. On the whole, they allowed 413 total points. The Lions defense participated in 1,050 plays from the line of scrimmage, which ranked them 17th in professional football. The Lions yielded 24.3 points per contest, which had them ranking 22nd in pro football.

Who will win tonight's Saints-Lions NFL game against the spread?

Parlays Pundit's Pick: Take the Lions -7.0 and over 49.5

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