Lions vs. Saints Pick
Will the New Orleans Saints and Detroit Lions find themselves in a shootout when the two teams meet up Sunday at 1PM ET?
According to the oddsmakers at BetDSI, the Saints are favored at home, as they are getting odds of -6 points against the Lions. The over/under total for the game is listed at 53.5 points. The Lions have won two straight against the Saints and the two have hit the over in their last three meetings.
The Lions have won six of their last seven games to get to 7-4 on the year and move into first place in the NFC North. Detroit is 7-4 with the under, hitting that in five straight games. After a slow start for the defense, the Lions have actually shown some improvement, holding opponents under 20 points in three straight games and five straight to 20 or less. For the season, Detroit is giving up just 21.6 points and 363.9 yards per game. Darius Slay has led defense with a pair of interceptions and 10 pass deflections. He had the key INT in the final minute of last week’s win over the Vikings. Offensively, Detroit is putting up 22.5 points per game but averaging just 342.9 yards per contest. The Lions have one of the worst rushing attacks in the league at just 80.8 yards per game. Matthew Stafford is leading the team with 2,883 passing yards and 19 touchdowns with just five interceptions. Marvin Jones is his leading receiver with 42 catches for 730 yards and four scores.
The Saints are coming off a 49-21 win over the Rams last week to improve to 5-6 on the season. They are 6-5 with the over this year, but have hit the under in four of their last six games. New Orleans has a tremendous offense, as usual, averaging 30.4 points and 445.3 yards per game. Their passing attack is tops in the NFL, averaging 330.6 yards per contest. Drew Brees has thrown for 3,587 yards and 30 touchdowns this season with eight interceptions. Michael Thomas has emerged as his top receiver with 65 catches for 789 yards and seven scores. Mark Ingram is the leading receiver with 721 yards and three scores. Defensively, New Orleans is a bit of a mess. They are giving up 27.9 points and 384.7 yards per game, including 285.6 passing yards per contest. They have managed to force 17 turnovers.
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The early look tells you this game should be a shootout and will push to hit the over once again. But, I think the Detroit defense is improving and will get some stops while the Lions offense will continue to struggle to run the ball and that will allow the New Orleans defense to make some stops as well. I see this game being more of a grind than anticipated.
NFL WEEK 13 PICK: LIONS/SAINTS UNDER 53.5