(late injury and line moves updated on Saturday afternoon)
The New Orleans Saints look to snap a two-game losing streak when visiting the Motor City on Sunday to play the Detroit Lions. New Orleans is 1-2 after losing on Sunday Night Football to the Green Bay Packers 37-30. The New Orleans offense has played well through the first three games, but it's the defense that has been the weak link.
Detroit finally earned its first victory of the season on Sunday with a 26-23 win over the Arizona Cardinals. The first two weeks of the season the Lions squandered double-digit leads early to lose but on Sunday on the road against the Cardinals, Detroit was able to keep its poise, play solid defense and hold off the Cardinals for the victory.
Line Movements:
This one has had a small shift in the line but the home team is still the underdog. The Saints opened as 4-point favorites but that is now down to New Orleans -3 or 3.5 depending on the sportsbook. 62 percent of the bets ATS are backing the Saints and giving the points.
The total for this game opened at 56 points. There hasn't been a ton of movement though it has trended down to 54 points as of Saturday afternoon. A hefty 68 percent of the bets on the total think this one is going over the mark.
Game-time Weather: Ford Field is a domed stadium. Expect 68 degrees with no wind as a factor.
New Orleans must fix its leaky defense
On offense, New Orleans is 12th in the NFL in passing yards at 258.7 yards per game and 23rd in rushing offense at 105.3 yards per game. The Saints are scoring an average of 29.3 points per game which is in the top 10 in the NFL at eighth. Quarterback Drew Brees has thrown for 760 yards and six touchdowns with just one interception. On the ground, running back Alvin Kamara has a team-high 153 yards with three touchdowns and the multi-purpose back is also leading the Saints in receiving with 285 yards and three touchdowns. Unfortunately, stud receiver Michael Thomas is out again for this one along with TE Jared Cook.
The defense is not bad but has not played up to expectations. The Saints defense is No. 10 overall allowing 352.0 yards per game. New Orleans is allowing 252 yards per game through the air. The Saints have given up eight touchdown passes and have just two interceptions. The New Orleans “D” is allowing an average of 100 yards per game and has given up three rushing touchdowns. The Saints are 27th in points allowed at 31.3 per game. Safety Malcolm Jenkins is the leading tackler for New Orleans with 14 solo tackles and 8 assisted tackles for 22 overall.
Injury Report:
OUT: LB Kiko Alonso, CB Jonathan Bademosi, TE Jared Cook, DT Jalen Dalton, DE Marcus Davenport, P Blake Gillikin, T James Hurst, CB Janoris Jenkins, CB Marshon Lattimore, RB Ty Montgomery, G Andrus Peat, DE Noah Spence, WR Michael Thomas, TE Jason Vander Laan, TE Cole Wick
Questionable: LB Chase Hansen, DT David Onyemata
Defenses letting the Lions down
The Detroit Lions have had problems on the defense to start the season, which is very surprising since their head coach Matt Patricia has been known as a defensive specialist, especially when coaching for the New England Patriots. Overall, the Lions defense is 28th in the NFL allowing an average of 409.3 yards per game including 237 yards per game through the air and 172.3 yards per game on the ground. The Lions are giving up an average of 30.7 points per game which is 25th in the NFL. The leading tackler for Detroit is safety Tracy Walker with 19 solo tackles and four assisted tackles for 23 overall.
On the offensive side of the wall, quarterback Matthew Stafford has thrown for 811 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions. The Lions quarterback has been sacked nine times. Veteran running back Adrian Peterson is leading Detroit in rushing with 209 yards. Tight end TJ Hockenson is leading all receivers for Detroit with 171 yards and one touchdown, while Marvin Jones Jr. has 129 yards receiving and one touchdown. The Lions are averaging 246 yards per game through the air and 105.7 yards on the ground which are 16th and 22nd respectively in the NFL. Detroit is scoring an average of 23.3 points per game.
Injury Report:
OUT: WR Geronimo Allison, DT John Atkins, FB Nick Bawden, OL Russell Bodine, DE Austin Bryant, CB Justin Coleman, DT Jashon Cornell, G Joe Dahl, CB Mike Ford, S C.J. Moore, RB Bo Scarbrough
Questionable: TE Hunter Bryant, DT Da'Shawn Hand, LB Christian Jones, CB Desmond Trufant
Notable Trends
- Detroit is 3-8 ATS in the last 11 when the underdog
- The Lions are 3-11 ATS over the last 14 overall
- New Orleans is 4-1 ATS in the last five on the road when the favorite
- The Saints are 35-17 ATS in the last 52 on the road
