The Kansas City Chiefs' defense of their Super Bowl title will begin on Thursday, September 7 when they host the Detroit Lions in the 2023 NFL Kickoff Game. Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce will reportedly be sidelined with a knee injury. Kickoff from GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium is set for 8:20 p.m. ET. Kansas City is a 4.5-point favorite and the over/under for total points scored is 53 in the latest Chiefs vs. Lions odds.

Before making any Lions vs. Chiefs picks of your own, you NEED to check out the NFL predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model.

The model, which simulates every NFL game 10,000 times, is up more than $7,000 for $100 players on top-rated NFL picks since its inception. The model enters the 2023 NFL season on an incredible 163-113 run on top-rated NFL picks that dates back to the 2017 season. It also is on a 17-6 roll on top-rated NFL picks since Week 7 of last season.

The model also ranked in the top 10 on NFLPickWatch four of the past six years on straight-up NFL picks and beat more than 94 percent of CBS Sports Football Pick'em players four times during that span. Anyone who has followed it is WAY UP.

The model knows Kansas City beat Philadelphia in Super Bowl LVII in February. Patrick Mahomes was named Super Bowl MVP for the second time in his brief career after leading the NFL with 5,250 passing yards and 41 touchdown tosses en route to his second regular-season MVP Award. The 27-year-old has thrown at least three TD passes in a league-record five consecutive season-openers.

The model also knows Detroit got off to a 1-6 start in 2022 before winning eight of its final 10 contests. Quarterback Jared Goff was red-hot down the stretch, recording 15 touchdown passes without an interception over his last nine games. The 28-year-old finished the campaign with 324 consecutive pass attempts without being picked off, the fifth-longest streak in NFL history.

Now, the model has set its sights on Chiefs vs. Lions. We can tell you the model is leaning Under the total, and it also says one side of the spread cashes in well over 50% of simulations! You ABSOLUTELY need to see it before locking in any NFL picks.

Who wins Chiefs vs. Lions in the 2023 NFL Kickoff Game? And which side of the spread hits well over 50% of the time? ... Join SportsLine right now to find out which side of the Lions vs. Chiefs spread is a MUST-BACK, all from the model on a 163-113 roll on NFL picks!