The New England Patriots are on a roll right now but will face a tough test on Sunday when they face the stout defense of the Detroit Lions. The Pats are coming off their sixth-consecutive win with a commanding 22-point victory over their old rivals the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday Night Football last week. The Lions, meanwhile, took a tough loss to the league’s best team in Week 11, and will look to bounce back against another of the league’s elite.
Read on for a complete preview of this epic clash and while you’re at it, you can check out our NFL Week 12 previews for Oakland vs. Kansas City and Arizona vs. Seattle.
[sc:Football ]Detroit Lions vs. New England Patriots Betting Preview
When: Sunday, November 23, 1:00 PM ET
Where: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough
Line: Detroit Lions (+7.5) at New England Patriots (-7.5); total: 48.0 – view all NFL lines
Betting on the Detroit Lions
Detroit’s defense held up its end of the bargain when it limited Arizona to just two touchdowns on Sunday. Unfortunately for the Lions, their offense failed to show up as they were beaten 14-6 by the Cardinals, snapping their four-game winning streak.
[sc:NFL240banner ]It was the first time in five years that the Lions failed to score a touchdown in a single game. Their offense was so horrible that they only got inside the Arizona 20-yard line once and even that was after an interception.
The Lions will need to get their offense in order when they face New England this coming Sunday. The Patriots are firing on all cylinders right now having won their last six games by an average of 19.1 points. The onus then is on Matthew Stafford to get Detroit’s offense humming again.
Stafford completed just 18 of 30 passes for 183 yards, his lowest output since his 183-yard performance in Week 7 of the 2011 season. The struggles of the Lions’ defense go beyond any one game, however. This was the third time in the last six games that the Lions have been held to fewer than 275 yards in total offense.
It’s crucial, then, for Stafford to spread things out against New England and use all the weapons in his arsenal to help kick-start Detroit’s struggling offense. In the game against Arizona, it was surprising to see Golden Tate targeted just twice, the fewest times he has been thrown to as a member of the Lions. Tate is sixth in the NFL in receiving yards this season with 950 already to his name.
Moving the ball around more might help the Lions’ offense which is seventh-worst in the NFL this season with a meager 18.8 PPG clip. Aside from that, Stafford also needs to address Detroit’s play calling on third down situations. They were held down to a 33.3 percent conversion rate in the game against Arizona, the fourth time this season that they have been unable to convert more than a third of their third-down chances.
Stafford may find the going much easier against New England. The Pats allow their opponents to convert 42.6 percent of their third-down opportunities, the 11th-worst mark in the NFL this season.
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Betting on the New England Patriots
Head coach Bill Belichick is at it again. The three-time Super Bowl winner has once again unearthed a new gem as Jonas Gray announced his arrival to the big stage with a stunning tour-de-force performance against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.
The third-string running back rushed for a career-high 199 yards and a franchise-best four touchdowns to lift the Patriots to an emphatic 42-20 victory over the Colts. That was the sixth-straight win for New England (8-2), who climbed into first place in the entire AFC with the win combined with Denver’s shocking loss to St. Louis earlier in the day.
It’s really quite an amazing story considering that Gray was on the verge of being cut by Belichick back in training camp. He persisted, though, and got his big break when Stevan Ridley tore his ACL back in October. Gray grabbed the opportunity and finally had his breakout game on Sunday when he became the fifth player in the Super Bowl era to run for 150-plus yards and four scores on the road.
Gray will look to continue his great form this coming Sunday when the Patriots host the Lions in a battle of AFC division leaders. It won’t be that easy, though, as the Lions have the best rushing defense in the league today allowing just 68.8 yards per game on the ground this season.
Fortunately for the Patriots, they still have Tom Brady on their side. He has been on fire during the Patriots’ six-game winning run, throwing for an average of 309.6 yards with 20 touchdowns and just three interceptions. He will have his work cut out for him, though, as the Lions have a formidable secondary as well. The Lions are fifth in the NFL in passing defense with opposing teams averaging just 221.5 yards against them this season.
Writer’s Prediction
The Patriots (-7.5) crush the Lions to cover the spread.
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