The NFL playoffs continue with the Seahawks hosting the Lions at CenturyLink Field for the right to take on either the Atlanta or Dallas buzz saws in the NFL Divisional Round. First, however, these two struggling offenses must get through each other. The Lions, unfortunately, have to get through the stymieing Seattle defense.[Jeff]
For those of you looking to stream this game, it is available on NBCSports.com, starting at 8:15 PM Eastern (5:15 Pacific).
The odds makers are pretty set on a Seahawks victory in this one, as they are at -8, and it isn’t set to be a big game, with the O/U set at 43.5, so the implied final score is somewhere around 25.75-17.75, so more than likely, 27-17 will be the final outcome, per the oddsmakers.
The Seahawks have been a completely different offense at home compared to the road, going under 25 points just once in the friendly confines of CenturyLink, and over 25 points just twice on the road (and they scored ten points or fewer in half of their road games this year). The Lions offense has struggled lately, as well, which can be tied back to Matthew Stafford’s hand injury. They have gone over 25 points just once since week twelve against the Vikings, and that was against the awful Saints defense.
The Seahawks defense has been stifling, and will likely stop the struggling Lions offense, but they have been having trouble since Earl Thomas broke his leg in a blowout against the Panthers, allowing over 30 points in two-of-three non-Rams games since he went down.
The Lions have spent the year throwing the ball, which will be tough against the Seahawks’ pass defense, but they have recently re-discovered their running game with their battering ram RB, Zach Zenner. Zenner will prove key to the Lions finding balance and potentially knocking off the Seahawks in an upset.
The Lions were the NFL’s upstart team this year, but they will run into one of the classes of the league. Unfortunately for Lions fans, their pass rush is nothing to write home about, so they will be unable to take advantage of the Seahawks’ terrible offensive line.
The Seahawks are likely to take this one down thanks to Russell Wilson’s trademark willingness in the pocket and ability to stretch plays. Either way, this will be more fun than Texans-Raiders, so it will be the game of the day by default.