Photo Courtesy: Keith Allison
Game Info
Detroit Lions vs Seattle Seahawks
Saturday – January 7 – 7:15 pm
TV: NBC
CenturyLink Field – Seattle – Washington
Records Before the Game
Detroit Lions (9-7, 3-5 Away)
Seattle Seahawks (10-5-1, 7-1 Home)
Tonight, the Detroit Lions will square off against the Seattle Seahawks in the Wild Card Playoff round. If Detroit can somehow defeat the heavily favored Seahawks, they will earn to a trip to Arlington to take on the Dallas Cowboys. If Seattle wins, Dallas will take on the winner of the New York Giants/Green Bay Packers match. There’s no doubt that Dallas fans do not want their Cowboys to take on Green Bay or New York again.
Let’s compare these teams
Detroit: Finished 9-7. Detroit’s total offense finished the season ranked 21st. A total of 4,111 yards through the air and 1,310 on the ground. They averaged 338 total yards per game, including 257 yards through the air and 82 on the ground. They scored an average of 22 points per game. A total of 5,421 yards of offense for Detroit in the regular season.
Detroit’s total defense finished the season ranked 18th. They allowed a total of 3,975 yards through the air and 1,701 on the ground. They allowed an average of 355 total yards per game, including 248 through the air and 106 on the ground. They allowed an average of 22 points per game. They allowed 5,676 total yards in the regular season. They ranked 30th in tackling with 962 tackles this season, and they intercepted only ten passes and recovered just five fumbles. They sacked the quarterback 37 times.
Seattle: Finished 10-5-1. Seattle’s total offense finished ranked 12th. A total of 4,124 through the air and 1,591 on the ground. They averaged 357 total yards per game, including 258 through the air and 99 on the ground. They scored an average of 22 points per game. A total of 5,715 yards of offense for Seattle in the regular season.
Seattle’s total defense finished the season ranked fifth. They allowed a total of 3,612 yards through the air and 1,487 on the ground. They allowed an average of 319 total yards per game, including 226 through the air and 93 on the ground. They allowed an average of 18 points per game. They allowed 5,099 total yards in the regular season. They ranked fourth in total tackles with 1,141 and they intercepted 12 passes and recovered five fumbles. They sacked the quarterback 42 times.
I expect this game to be hard-fought. Seattle has home-field advantage and a defense that can definitely bruise an offense. Matthew Stafford and company will need to play aggressively on offense. Both offenses are about evenly matched. I expect the game to be a high-scoring game. Both teams forced less than 20 turnovers, but I expect Seattle’s defense to be tough like they’ve been. Detroit’s defense needs to be ready to stop Russell Wilson.
Prediction
Seahawks 34 – Lions 31
Seattle kicks a game-winning field goal as time expires.
