We have officially passed the halfway point of the NFL season. Teams have begun to separate themselves from the pack, and this matchup between two playoff hopefuls will have serious implications on playoffs seeding down the line.
Today we’ll get into a preview for this awesome Sunday Night Football matchup, and I’ll give some of my best bets for the night.
The Lions have arrived as one of the best teams in the NFL. Currently sitting at 7-1 they have taken out the Vikings and Packers on the road in divisional matchups. Jared Goff has been great in leading the offense as the team has rattled off 6 straight wins.
Even with the loss of star pass-rusher Aiden Hutchinson, the Lions have looked great on defense. They attempted to fill that hole, trading for Zadarius Smith from the Browns, and we will get our first glimpse at him this weekend.
The Lions currently sit at first in Points per Game in the NFL, and their plethora of weapons like Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon Ra St. Brown, and Sam LaPorta have made them look like a Super Bowl Contender.
Coming off a brutal loss to the struggling NY Jets, the Texans will be looking to bounce back at home. They have been limping through the last couple of weeks, losing Stefon Diggs for the season, Nico Collins is still out, and many more nagging injuries that have popped up.
Among the injuries, CJ Stroud has been struggling a bit completing just 52% of his passes for 1 TD over his last 3 games. Coach DeMeco Ryans will be looking for Stroud to turn it around and help out Joe Mixon, who has been incredible so far this season.
This game will certainly be a tough task, but the Texans have shown they can compete.
This is the first matchup between these two teams since 2020, so it will be fun to see two completely revamped teams going at it. This game, like most, will be won in the trenches.
The Lions need to give Jared Goff enough time to get through his reads and the Texans will be leaning on Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter to put pressure on him. These teams also have been run-heavy.
Detroit’s 1-2 punch of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery has been averaging 152.6 yards per game. Meanwhile, Houston's heavy usage of Joe Mixon has led to him to surpassing 100 yards in 5 out of 6 games he's played this season.
St. Brown has scored in his last SIX appearances. The clear top WR on the Lions will look to keep the streak alive against a Texans unit that has allowed 19 Passing TDs this season.
Joe Mixon has surpassed 100 yards in 5 of his 6 appearances this season. The Lions have allowed 141.7 Rush yards per game in their last 3 games.
Fairbairn has had 3 or more FGs attempted over his last 5 games. I expect the Lions to be stingy in the red zone, so you shouldn’t have to swat this one.