Game Details
- Match-up: Detroit Lions (5-2) @ Atlanta Falcons (2-3)
- Location: Wembley Stadium, London, England
- Date: Sunday, October 26th
- Time: 09:30 AM
- TV: FOX
‘Ello Govnahs! It’s a right fine time for the Detroit Lions to play the Atlanta Falcons in London. Blimey, this should be a wallop of a game. You most likely won’t want to spend a penny and miss some of the action of exciting American Football! Okay, I’ll stop now.
Injuries
The Detroit Lions will most likely be without Reggie Bush. Though Bush has said he will play, he was listed as doubtful on the injury report. Calvin Johnson practiced three straight days and will be a game time decision. Brandon Pettigrew remains a question mark as well, meaning newly signed Kellen Davis and Jordan Thompson will likely see a large amount of playing time at tight end. The good news for Detroit is that Theo Riddick was listed as probable.
The Falcons have a laundry list of injuries, most notably on the offensive line. This has been an issue for much of the season however, and the Falcons don’t have any recent injuries of note. The decimated offensive line will be troublesome against a very good front seven in Detroit.
Key Match-up
As mentioned before, the offensive line is going to need to find a way to slow down the Lions defensive line. The Falcons defense is atrocious, so the Lions should be able to put up some points (though it should also be noted that the Lions offense has been equally atrocious this year). So if the Falcons are going to win this game, they are going to need to put up a bunch of points. This means the Falcons offensive line is going to need to give Ryan some time to find Julio Jones and Roddy White, something they haven’t been able to do of late.
Players to Watch
Ndamakong Suh and Matt Ryan.
This matchup is ripe for Suh to dominate in simply because the Falcons offensive line is quite bad. Atlanta is 13th in the NFL for sacks allowed, having given up 15. Meanwhile, Detroit is fourth in the league as a defense for sacks gained with 21. This means that Matt Ryan is going to have to move around the pocket well and get rid of the ball quick if the Falcons want to have success. The Falcons will also try to set up the running game to alleviate pressure from Ryan, but they are also going against the leagues fourth best rushing defense. The Falcons will take them as far as Ryan and his cast of wide receivers can carry them.
Prediction
Despite playing at home, the Falcons decimated offensive line and porous defense prove to be the biggest factors in this game and Detroit heads into the bye week with a victory.
Detroit Lions – 24
Atlanta Falcons – 13