Lions Face Tough Road Trip, Visit Pats
Detroit’s defense has been outstanding this season, but the Lions’ offense will need to step up against the high-scoring New England Patriots on Sunday.
The Detroit Lions face their toughest challenge of the season so far Sunday, heading to the North East for a showdown with the AFC-leading New England Patriots.
Kickoff at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET.
The Lions take the league’s No. 1 ranked defense into New England. Lying in wait – one of the NFL’s best offenses.
The Story So Far
Detroit (7-3, 3-2 road) enters Sunday’s game tied atop the NFC North standings with the Green Bay Packers, but owning an advantage in the head-to-head tiebreaker.
The Lions have mainly used defense to cover up a spluttering offense and compile a 7-3 record, a record that features seven games decided by one score or less.
Last week, the Lions failed to fend off the NFC-leading Arizona Cardinals, leaving the desert with a 14-6 loss. Defense was solid once more for Jim Caldwell’s team, but the offense managed just two field goals.
Matthew Stafford and Co. will need a lot more than two field goals to get past the Patriots on Sunday.
New England (8-2, 5-0 home) takes to the field Sunday on the back of six straight wins. Since losing in embarrassing fashion to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 4, the Patriots have been firing on all cylinders.
During this six-game purple patch, the Patriots have averaged 435.3 yards and 40.5 points per game. A week ago, Tom Brady and Co. put up 503 yards on the Indianapolis Colts, including a surprising 246 yards on the ground. The Lions’ defense will need to be stout if it’s to avoid a similar result.
The Patriots have been the class of the AFC East and the conference in general. An upset win for the Lions would be a huge scalp heading into Thanksgiving week, and a Thursday afternoon showdown with divisional rivals the Chicago Bears.
Head-to-Head
New England owns a 6-4 advantage over Detroit in the all-time head-to-head series.
The Patriots are 3-2 all-time when hosting the Lions.
New England has won three straight in the series dating back to 2002, and has won three of the last four played at Gillette Stadium.
The two teams last met on Thanksgiving afternoon in 2010, with the Patriots running away with a 45-24 victory.
The last showdown between the sides in Massachusetts finished 28-21 in favor of the Patriots.
Injury Report
Detroit will be without defensive tackle Nick Fairley (knee) and guard Larry Warford (knee). Running back Reggie Bush (ankle) is listed as questionable, while tight end Brandon Pettigrew (foot) and wide receivers Calvin Johnson (ankle) and Golden Tate (hip) are listed as probable.
New England will be missing tackle Cameron Fleming (ankle, finger) and defensive end Chandler Jones (hip). Tackle Marcus Cannon (hip) is amongst a trio of players listed as questionable.
Check out the full injury list
Will Rob Gronkowski and the Patriots earn a 15th straight home win on Sunday?
Betting Report
Below you’ll find Betting Sports’ breakdown of odds and betting trends.
Detroit Lions vs. New England Patriot odds for 11/23/2014
Moneyline: New England (-305) opened as the favorite over Detroit (+269) on the moneyline and has seen its advantage increase. At the time of writing, TopBet had the Patriots at -330.
New England is 5-0 at home this season, while Detroit is 3-2 on the road.
The Patriots are 2-0 against NFC opponents this year, while the Lions are 2-1 when playing teams from the AFC.
The Patriots will look for a fourth straight win over the Lions.
New England has won 14 straight games at home.
Spread: The spread opened at 5.5 but has climbed as high as 7.5 as kickoff approaches.
New England (6-4-0 ATS) has fared slightly better than Detroit (5-5-0 ATS) against the spread this season.
The Patriots are 3-2-0 ATS at home but just 2-4-0 ATS when playing as the favorites.
The Lions are 2-3-0 ATS on the road and 2-1-0 ATS when considered the underdog.
New England is 5-2-0 ATS in its last seven games against Detroit.
Total: The total opened at 47.5 and has climbed as high as 48.5 with some sportsbooks.
The Patriots (8-2-0 O/U) have heavily favored the over this season, while the Lions (2-8-0 O/U) have been partial to the under.
New England has seen the total go over in seven straight games, and in nine of the team’s last 10 home games.
The total has gone over in three of the last four head-to-head meetings between the sides.
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