The Detroit Lions will come out of a bye in Week 5 to face fellow one-win team Jacksonville Jaguars this Sunday. Given the number of coaches who’ve been fired the past week, Matt Patricia can’t afford to lose this game if he wants to still be the head coach of the Lions in Week 7. Meanwhile, the Jaguars are looking to end a four-game losing streak.
The Lions headed into their bye in Week 5 off of a 35-29 home loss to the New Orleans Saints. Obviously, that was a bad taste in the mouth of the Lions, which outscored the Saints, 14-7, in the first quarter before getting letting New Orleans score 21 unanswered points in the second period. Matthew Stafford passed for 206 yards and three touchdowns against an interception on 17-of-31 completions. The Lions’ passing attack has enough talent downfield to break Jacksonville’s soft secondary. Kenny Golladay is a walking mismatch often because of his size, and he’ll be counted upon to have a field day against the Jaguars’ defense that’s fourth-worst in the NFL with 280.2 passing yards allowed per game. Even Jacksonville’s run defense is bad, with 136.6 rushing yards allowed per game. Even for a non-elite rushing team like Detroit, that kind of defense is just too tasty for the likes of Adrian Peterson and D’Andre Swift not to try breaking through. The Jaguars have lost their last three games to previously winless teams, so with a well-rested Detroit team with a coach on the hot seat, it appears that the Jags are in trouble this Sunday — again.
The Jaguars are still searching for their second win of the season. Since upsetting the Indianapolis Colts in a 27-20 home win back in Week 1, the Jags have gone 0-4, their latest loss was a 30-14 drubbing at the hands of the erstwhile winless Houston Texans one the road last week. Gardner Minshew could only do so much for the Jagsa in the Texans game, as he passed for 301 yards and two touchdowns without an interception on 31-of-49 completions. Minshew will not stop passing the ball, as the bulk of the Jags’ offense relies on his arm. In fact, Jacksonville is tops in the NFL with a 60.08 passing play percentage. However, Jacksonville should be able to get things going on the ground better against Detroit than in previous games. The Lions own the most atrocious run defense in the NFL, as it’s allowing 170.2 rushing yards per game. Undrafted running back James Robinson has shown the ability to take over with his legs, particularly when he rushed for 102 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries in Week 2’s close loss to the still-undefeated Tennessee Titans. The Jaguars may have a huge workload waiting for him on Sunday.
The Jaguars are 2-1 against the spread in their last three games at home.
