Game day: How to watch and things to watch as Lions open season vs. Rams

Game information

● What: Detroit Lions vs. Los Angeles Rams at Ford Field

● When: Sunday, Sept. 8, 8:20 p.m.

● How to watch: NBC/Peacock in the U.S, TSN/CTV in Canada

● How to listen: 97.1-FM The Ticket in Metro Detroit or any number of network affiliates around the state.

● Line: Detroit -4.5

● Last meeting: The Lions beat the Rams, 24-23, in the Wild Card round of last year’s playoffs.

Coverage from the week

● 6 burning questions for Detroit’s defense

● 6 burning questions for Detroit’s offense

● A lot has changed with the Rams since last year’s playoffs

● ‘Pre-practice menace': The new and improved Jamo ready for takeoff

● Rookie Mahogany reveals mono diagnosis derailed first training camp

● UDFA WR shares how OC Johnson’s hard coaching paved path to roster spot

● What an Alim McNeill contract extension could look like

● How Strickland leaned into grit to become unlikeliest man on 53-man roster

● Setting our own over/unders for the 2024 season

● Checking in with newcomers Robinson, Patrick as WR3 search continues

● Fromm’s whirlwind from unneeded insurance police to practice squad job

● Weekly mailbag lookint at a Hutchinson extension and 53rd roster spot

● QB Hooker rediscovering confidence after letting go and having fun

● Lions sign DT off practice squad, elevate a second along with WR Kennedy

Three things worth watching

● On Friday, Dan Campbell was asked about his anticipation to see the team’s retooled defense in action. The Lions coach said he’s “very eager,” “pretty excited” and he “love(s) where our defense is at right now.”

Look, I don’t have the same investment Campbell has in the success of the defense, but I’m highly intrigued with how general manager Brad Holmes’ additions are going to pay off.

There are so many players worthy of extra attention on Sunday. There’s the star power up front, with Aidan Hutchinson and Alim McNeill poised to make a push deeper into stardom. There’s linebacker Jack Campbell, potentially set to make a second-year leap in the second level. And what doesn’t merit a closer look in the secondary, where there are going to be three new starters at cornerback — including first-round pick Terrion Arnold — while Brian Branch is making a switch from nickel to safety.

But quietly, I’m most interested in defensive end Marcus Davenport. He’s a wild card who could potentially push this remix over the top. I understand that’s a wild thing to say about a guy who has tallied just 2.5 sacks the past two seasons, but he’s healthy, the physical gifts are there, and he’s a perfect schematic mesh for the way coordinator Aaron Glenn wants the edge rusher opposite Hutchinson to crush the pocket.

If Davenport is the player I think he can be, it’s going to eliminate some of the escape routes when Hutchinson and McNeill penetrate into the backfield. And if the QB can’t escape, the sack totals and rushed throws are going to go up. Those are metrics that can elevate this unit to the next level.

● After four months of questions, I’m a little fatigued hearing, writing and reading about Jameson Williams’ impending breakout. Now is the time for action. The opportunity is there, the improvements have looked apparent on the practice field, so entering his third season, there are no more excuses for a lack of production.

The Lions need Williams to step up. They’re banking on it with only four receivers on the active roster, including an undrafted rookie who might be a nifty route runner, but his slot-first skill set is redundant to the team’s other pass-catching options.

Williams is supposed to be the playmaker. He’s supposed to be the one who routinely takes the top off the defense, whether that’s catching a bomb or opening up things underneath for his teammates. He’s supposed to be the guy that you get the ball in his hands within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage and he can do the rest because of his elite speed.

We’ve seen flashes of all of that, but a complete lack of consistency. He’s yet to top 70 yards in a game his first two seasons, in no small part due to time missed for injury and suspension.

Williams doesn’t need to come out with a 100-yard outing, or even a 40-yard catch against the Rams. But proving to be a reliable option for quarterback Jared Goff when Amon-Ra St. Brown and Sam LaPorta are taken away by the coverage isn't too big of an ask.

● The last time these teams met, Michael Badgley drilled a 54-yard field goal. That's the longest make in the regular season or playoffs by a Lions kicker in the Holmes and Campbell era, and the conversion proved critical in Detroit’s one-point victory.

Badgley suffered a season-ending injury during this year’s training camp and has been replaced by Jake Bates, an inexperienced option with a monster leg. In the preseason, he converted from 53 and 55 yards. In practice, that range stretched to 64, matching the distance of his game-winner in the Michigan Panthers' season opener this spring.

Bates has tantalizing potential, but also some maddening inconsistency. In addition to his preseason makes, he also missed a 30-yard field goal, as well as an extra point. That tracks with some of the instability we’ve seen in practice.

The Lions are content to bet on the potential, believing the long-term reward outweighs the risk. But what happens if Campbell is faced with a similar scenario to the one he had with Badgley last year? Would the coach trust Bates from 54 yards in the second half of a tight game? What about the choice between a 45-yarder or going for it on fourth-and-2?

Let’s see what level of trust the Lions are going to put into their young kicker out the gate.