NEW ORLEANS – For the first time all season, the Detroit Lions are coming off back-to-back poor performances.
Last week, in the span of five days, the Lions dodged a major upset from the last-place Bears and then lost to the Packers. Detroit is still 8-3 and in first place, but it needs to get back on track against a tricky schedule in the final six weeks of the season.
That starts with a trip to New Orleans, the place where Dan Campbell spent five years before becoming head coach of the Lions. The Saints are tied with the Falcons atop the NFC South despite a 5-6 record, so for them, every game is critical.
Jared Goff is looking to bounce back from consecutive games with three turnovers. He had been one of the better quarterbacks in the league for the first nine games, but then threw three interceptions against the Bears and fumbled the ball three times against the Packers.
If he can get back to protecting the football, that’ll go a long way toward making the Lions look like themselves again.
The rest of the slack needs to be picked up by the defense. Coming out of the bye week, the Lions allowed five straight touchdown drives to end the game against the Chargers. Then, the Bears scored on four straight drives to open the second half the following week.
Green Bay had no trouble moving the ball, either. The Lions made Jordan Love look like a Pro Bowl quarterback, and they could only get stops when the Packers dropped passes or ran into each other in the backfield.
Here’s all the information you need for the game:
Kickoff time
- 1 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 3
How to watch
- TV: FOX
- Online stream: Fubo
Betting odds
- Spread: Detroit Lions -4
- Total: 47
- Moneyline: Lions -205, Saints +170