How Many Games Will the Detroit Lions Win this Season?
It’s probably unfair to put too much stock in the results of 2019 for the Detroit Lions. After all, they had to deal with eight games of Jeff Driskel or David Blough under center. That said, the defense wasn’t any good either. They allowed 400.4 yards per game, second-worst in the league. They tied for the league-low in interceptions (7) and tied for the second-fewest sacks (28). There is a reason they had the third overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.
William Hill lists Detroit’s over/under at 6.5 wins. The juice is -130 for the over and +110 on the under.
Drafting cornerback Jeff Okudah in Round 1 and edge rusher Julian Okwara in Round 3 addresses the lack of pass rush and the lackluster coverage. How quickly can those guys become dependable contributors? Running back D’Andre Swift will help take pressure off Kerryon Johnson to carry the entire workload. The Lions certainly need that steady run game to open up the field for their pass-catchers, like Kenny Golladay who carried this offense with more than 1,100 yards and 11 TDs. Detroit really needs T.J. Hockenson to step up as well to challenge the middle of the field.
On paper, the Lions have a rough schedule (tied for fifth-hardest schedule going by opponents’ W-L record) and that mainly has to do with going up against their own division. Green Bay (13-3), Minnesota (10-6) and Chicago (8-8) are all looking better than Detroit and going 0-6 in their division makes it near-impossible to piece together seven wins to secure the over on this prop.
Even with a healthy Matthew Stafford for 16 games, this team still has too far to go to win seven or more games. The defense looks like a serious liability once again.
Stats to Know
- The Lions scored the second-most TDs from the WR position (22).
- Kenny Golladay gained the third-highest yards per catch (18.3) for WRs with over 45 catches. He finished with 22 receptions over 20 yards (second in the NFL).
- After a great first game (6/131/1) to start his NFL career, T.J. Hockenson only had 26 catches for 236 yards and one TD over his next 11 contests.
- Detroit’s defense gave the second-highest number of receiving yards (3,035) and the fourth-most touchdowns (20) to the wide receivers.
- The Lions didn’t have a running back rush for over 405 yards.
