The Detroit Lions are hoping to right the ship this week as they head to Washington this week to take on the Commanders.
Last Sunday, Detroit fell 27-24 to the Minnesota Vikings at home—have they ironed
out some kinks, proving last week to be a fluke?
At Pride of Detroit, we’ve got Commanders’ offensive and defensive scheme breakdown s from Erik Schlitt, a bold prediction from Brandon Knapp, and a new edition of “On Paper” from Jeremy Reisman.
Once you’re done with that, I compiled some predictions, thoughts, and score predictions from national NFL analysts and writers.
CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco: Lions 35, Commanders 23
“The Commanders will be without quarterback Jayden Daniels, which means Marcus Mariota starts. That’s not their biggest issue. The defense is bad. The Lions weren’t as good on offense last week in the loss to the Vikings, but that will change here. Jared Goff will light up the Commanders.”
Sporting News’ Bill Bender: Lions 31, Commanders 17
“The Commanders’ season took a nose-dive with the loss of Jayden Daniels (elbow). The Lions are coming off a loss, too. It’s a bad recipe for Washington, which ranks 29th against the pass this season. That could mean a huge game for Jared Goff, who averages 222 passing yards with seven TDs and one interception in four road games this season.”
Pro Football Talks’ Mike Florio: Lions 30, Commanders 13 and Chris Simms: Lions 38, Commanders 20.
“It will be much easier for the Lions to avenge the playoff loss than it would have been if Jayden Daniels was available.”
NFL.com’s Ali Bhanpuri: Lions 31, Commanders 17
“Let’s say the Commanders are able to keep Jared Goff & Co. below their season averages … Can they also rely on Marcus Mariota to lead multiple TD drives (probably at least three) against the NFL’s eighth-ranked defense? I guess it’s possible. But getting that level of complementary ball has been rare for the Commanders this season. Then there’s the fact that the Lions lost last Sunday, too, which makes me that much more confident in them this week. Why? Because Detroit hasn’t dropped back-to-back regular-season games in more than three years — the longest active streak in the NFL. Not only do the Lions rebound fast under DC, but they tend to punish folks after an L, winning by an average of 16.6 points.”
There were four media outlets with contributors that all picked the Lions—all three writers at For The Win, all six analysts on USA Today’s sports staff, the entire Monday Morning Quarterback staff of seven, and all 11 NFL experts who were polled at ESPN.
And onto the rest of your notes.
- Heading to the Lions game on December 4? Heads up:
- Your Fan of the Year has been announced! Or should I say *fans*? Their screams of joy are so pure.
- FOX 2’s Dan Miller sat down with Jamo to touch on some important topics.
- Sad news. Marshawn Kneeland was a Grand Rapids native who played for Western Michigan.
