The Buffalo Bills visit the Detroit Lions Oct 5th
The Detroit Lions and Buffalo Bills have been two of the NFL’s least-glamorous teams over the past few seasons, but that could all change this year if they can both keep up their fine play. The Lions are 3-1 at the moment and the Bills are 2-2, but one of them is going to have to suffer another defeat on Sunday, October 5th when the meet at Ford Field in the Motor City.
Buffalo (1st – AFC East) at Detroit (1st – NFC North) at Ford Field KICK OFF – 1:00 PM ET
- Spread: Buffalo (+7.0) at 20/11, Detroit (-7.0) at 20/23
- Over/Under: 43.5 points 10/11
- To Win: Buffalo 53/20, Detroit 10/33
- Head to Head: No recent trends
- Match up Summary: Surprisingly these two teams sit atop their respective divisions. Detroit went to 3-1 after beating the New York Jets 24-17 on the weekend while Buffalo went to 2-2 after dropping a 23-17 decision to Houston. The Lions shut the Bills out 23-0 in a preseason game in August. Buffalo quarterback EJ Manuel has seen his pass-completion percentage fall each passing week. It was 72.7 per cent in week one against Chicago and he dropped to 47.7 per cent against Houston. The Lions have won both home games by more than 10 points.
Buffalo Bills:
Overall Record: 2-2
Record Against the Spread (won-lost-push): 2-2-0
Home Record: 1-1
Away Record: 1-1
Over/Under Record: 0-4-0
Key Injuries:
Kyle Williams, DL – Out – knee
Nigel Bradham, LB – Out – knee
Marquise Goodwin, WR – Out – concussion – Week to week
Chris Williams, G – Out – back – Week to week
Marcus Easley, WR – Out – knee – Out 4-6 weeks
Jonathan Meeks, DB – I.R – neck – Out for season
Stevenson Sylvester, LB – I.R – knee surgery – Out for season
Randell Johnson, LB – Out – knee – Week to week
Kiko Alonso, LB – PUP – knee surgery – Likely out for season
Mario Butler, DB – I.R
The Bills are in a three-way tie for first in the AFC East with Miami and New England while the Lions own first place in the NFC North. Buffalo needs to break out of their slump though as they dropped their second straight game last weekend when the Houston Texans stopped them 23-17. The Bills have looked like world beaters at times and like cellar dwellers at others. A trip to Detroit is going to be a tough test for them as the Lions beat the New York Jets 24-17 in the Big Apple in week four for their second consecutive victory.
Buffalo quarterback EJ Manuel struggled last week along with rookie wide receiver Sammy Watkins and they’ll both need to be better at Ford Field. Watkins had a good game in week two with a TD, 117 yards and eight receptions, but gained just 19 yards against San Diego in week three and caught four passes for just 30 yards against Houston. It’s hard to say if Watkins has been disappointing though or if Manuel should be sharing some of the blame for his poor play.
Manuel’s passing percentage and accuracy is slipping week by week. He averages 5.11 yards per pass against Houston and his completion rate was 47.7 per cent. He threw for a pair of touchdowns, but was also intercepted twice. Bills’ head coach Doug Marrone seems to feel Manuel hasn’t played as well as he should and it looks like the second-year quarterback will be benched against Detroit while journeyman veteran Kyle Orton will be handed the game ball.
This will be Orton’s first start since late last December when he was beaten 24-22 by the Philadelphia Eagles as a member of the Dallas Cowboys. He passed for 358 yards that day for a completion rate of 65.2 per cent and threw a pair of TD passes along with a couple of interceptions. Orton owns a 58.5 per cent passing rate for his career and he may be a better choice than Manuel at this time. However, he’ll need to be at his peak since the Lions are allowing just 186.5 yards against per game.
Buffalo might attempt to run against Detroit rather than play a passing game. However, they average 122.2 yards a game on the ground with running backs Fred Jackson and CJ Spiller combining for 4.4 yards each carry. Detroit allows just 80.8 rushing yards against per game mainly due to the defensive play of Nick Fairley and Ndamukong Suh. This means CJ Spiller is going to have to be aware of the duo.
Detroit Lions:
Overall Record: 3-1
Record Against the Spread (won-lost-push): 3-1-0
Home Record: 2-0
Away Record: 1-1
Over/Under Record: 1-3-0
Key Injuries:
Joique Bell, RB – Out – head
Theo Riddick, RB – Out – hamstring
Calvin Johnson, WR – Questionable – ankle – Likely will play
Joseph Fauria, TE – Out – ankle – Week to week
Stephen Tulloch, LB – I.R – knee surgery – Out for season
Don Carey, DB – Doubtful – hamstring – Will not play
Cassius Vaughn, DB – Out – ankle – Week to week
Nevin Lawson, DB – I.R – ankle – Out for season
Corey Hilliard, T – I.R – foot – Out for season
Bill Bentley, DB – I.R – knee – Out for season
LaAdrian Waddle, T – Doubtful – calf – Will not play
Kyle Van Noy, LB – Out – abdomen – Return Week 10?
T.J. Jones, WR – PUP – shoulder – Return Week 7
Montell Owens, RB – Out – hamstring
Travis Lewis, LB – Out – quadriceps – Week to week
Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford gained 293 yards against the Jets last week Stafford and threw for two TDs. He also connected with a total of eight different receivers. Golden Tate caught eight of Stafford’s passes and racked up 116 yards. Stafford and Tate may be able to exploit the Bills’ pass defense which gives up 266.2 yards a game on average. Backup tight end Eric Ebron and wide receiver Jeremy Ross also caught touchdown passes last weekend. Defensively, cornerback Darius Slay played well against the Jets and had a 40-yard interception return.
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