Packers vs. Lions: The official Week 3 prediction
By Tim Muma
After putting up 39 points on the road in Week 1, Detroit tallied less than half that amount at home last Sunday. Which offense will the Packers face?
A lot of the Lions’ success and failure was determined by the teams they faced in each game.
The Indianapolis Colts may have one of the worst defenses in the NFL and the Lions took advantage in the opener by racking up 448 yards of offense and 28 first downs. Matthew Stafford threw for over 300 yards, while the run game collected 116 more.
Last week, against a more formidable Titans’ defense, Detroit scored just 13 offensive points. They only put up three points in the second half, including a big zero in the fourth quarter to allow the Titans a comeback victory.
The Lions should have a fair amount of success through the air and flirt with 300 yards passing…
Stafford has looked good in the first two games, perhaps even better without Calvin Johnson as a crutch to throw to consistently.
Golden Tate, Marvin Jones and Eric Ebron could pose problems for the Packers as a unit, though none should scare them individually.
Tate totaled 12 catches for 115 yards against Green Bay last year as the second wideout.
Considering the injury to Abdullah, the Packers’ stout run defense, and Shields absence, I’d expect the Lions to feature a heavy passing game. They’d be smart to focus on a short, quick attack early to set up bigger plays later in the game.
The Lions should have a fair amount of success through the air and flirt with 300 yards passing, but the key for them will be avoiding turnovers and turning drives into touchdowns, not field goals.