Week 13 Preview: Lions vs Ravens

The Detroit Lions, after a devastating loss to the Minnesota Vikings, are in of the midst of trying to keep their playoff hopes alive this Sunday. Another loss this week would make the climb to a wild card seed that much harder, and essentially will make every game a must win from next week on out. The Baltimore Ravens on the other hand are coming off another dominating defensive performance against the Houston Texans on Monday night, but still have shown no sign of life from their passing game. The Ravens are in the same position as the Lions, by which a loss would make the playoffs almost unattainable.

How The Lions Win:

The Lions have something the Ravens currently do not; a quarterback that can be a huge factor. Matthew Stafford is currently fifth in the league in passing, and is commanding the tenth-best passing offense as well. The Ravens defense has been scary the last two games, and it will be difficult to try and make many big plays against them. However, new Lions receiver Marvin Jones has been leading the team in receiving yardage, and big plays over the top of the defense will be key. Eric Weddle and Tony Jefferson have been exposed trying defend deep plays this season, and Stafford has the arm to expose them once again.

How The Ravens Win: 

The Ravens offense appears that it will not get any better this season, as Flacco continues to struggle to get the ball to former 1,000-yard receivers Mike Wallace and Jeremy Maclin. The Ravens need to focus on just managing this and future games, and let the special teams and defense set up the offense for scores. Some Flacco fans are still holding out hope that playoff Joe will make an appearance soon, but he’ll need to appear this Sunday, as the teams prepares for the Pittsburgh Steelers next week.

The Lions don’t run the ball well, so Stafford will be throwing a lot in this game; providing opportunities for the defense to add to their league-leading interception tally. Terrell Suggs and the other pass rushers will need to have another disruptive game in order to give the Ravens a chance.

Prediction: Ravens 20, Lions 17

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