Following a bye week, the 1-5 Detroit Lions will look to defeat the 4-3 Washington Redskins for a second straight season.
Detroit only won two games in 2009, and one of those was a 19-14 home victory over Washington. NFL oddsmakers are giving Detroit the edge again this season, listing the Lions as a slim 1.5-point favorite with the total set at 44.
While Washington ranks 31st in the league in yards allowed (406.0), this team has been able to capitalize on turnovers. The Redskins have come up with 17 takeaways this season, six of those coming in last week’s 17-14 win at Chicago. Cornerback DeAngelo Hall personally picked off four Jay Cutler passes and brought one back 92 yards for the winning score.
Hall and the Redskins will try to come up with a few more picks to slow down Detroit’s seventh-ranked passing offense (258.7) this week.
While quarterback Shaun Hill has filled in admirably for the injured Matthew Stafford, we won’t have a quarterback controversy now that Stafford is ready to play. Hill suffered a broken left forearm in a Week 6 loss to the New York Giants and will be out at least another week after undergoing surgery to repair the fracture.
It will certainly be interesting to see how much rust Stafford will have as he takes the field for the first time since a Week 1 loss at Chicago. Rookie running back Jahvid Best, who is nursing a turf toe injury, doesn’t seem to think Stafford has lost a step.
“I think we’re going to have a little bit of a boost just seeing him back in the huddle,” Best said. “We’re glad to have Matt back. I saw him throw a deep one and that was pretty cool.”
Stafford, who has a much stronger arm than Hill, is able to stretch the field with the deep ball. That’s something the Lions have been missing. The good news is, head coach Jim Schwartz doesn’t think arm strength will be an issue.
“Arm strength shouldn’t be an issue,” Schwartz said. “The injury he had shouldn’t affect his arm strength. It’s more just being comfortable with all the different throws and the body angles you’re going to get. You can only get that from reacting to a defense.”
The Detroit offense, which currently ranks 16th in total yards (337.7), should get a boost is Stafford is indeed ready to play. Teams must respect the long ball with him under center. That takes another player out of the box and allows the Lions to get a few more easy yards on the ground. Detroit is 5-1 against the spread this season.
The Washington running attack has started to pick up a little steam. The Redskins have rushed for at least 113 yards in four or their last five games. Big Ryan Torain led the way with 125 yards on six yards per carry against Chicago last week. He could be poised for another big day against a Detroit defense allowing 138.8 yards per game on the ground (27th in the league).
It is worth noting that plays against home favorites with a poor rushing defense, allowing 130 or more yards per game on the ground, after being outrushed by 75 or more yards in their last game, are 134-76 against the spread since 1983. This situation is already off to a 3-1 start in 2010.
Bet with confidence in Week 8 by playing the same NFL picks as World Champion handicapper Jimmy Boyd!
Raquel Alessi Rebecca Mader Rebecca Romijn Reese Witherspoon Rhona Mitra
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