Free Picks: New Orleans Saints at Detroit Lions: NFL Picks and Prediction 10/4/20
Photo by Derick Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
New Orleans Saints (1-2) at Detroit Lions (1-2)
NFL Football: Sunday, October 4, 2020 at 1:00 pm (Ford Field)
The Line: Detroit Lions +4 -- Over/Under: 54 Click Here for the Latest Odds
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The New Orleans Saints will travel to Ford Field to take on the Detroit Lions this Sunday afternoon in NFL action.
The New Orleans Saints lost their 2nd straight game and dropped to 1-2 on the season after being defeated by the Green Bay Packers, 37-30, this past Sunday night. In an exciting, back-and-forth shootout, New Orleans could not fight back after the Packers made a 10-point game with just 2:00 minutes left in regulation on a 1-yard TD reception by Robert Tonyan. New Orleans outgained Green Bay by a 397-369 margin, however, could not slow down Aaron Rodgers who threw for 3 TD’s and did not force the Packers into committing any turnovers. Leading the way for the Saints was RB Alvin Kamara who had on top of his 58 rushing yards, hauled in 13 receptions for 139 yards & 2 TD’s.
On the season, New Orleans is averaging 29.3 ppg on 371.3 total yards per game (266.0 passing yds/g; 105.3 rushing yds/g). Offensively, New Orleans has been led by RB Alvin Kamara who leads the Saints in both rushing (31 att, 153 yards, 3 TD) and receiving (27 rec, 285 yards, 3 TD). QB Drew Brees has completed 70.2% of his passes for 760 yards (253.3 yds/g), 6 TD, and an INT. New Orleans has really missed Michael Thomas who has missed his last two games due to an ankle injury is at this time, questionable going into this one. The other top receivers for Saints have been Tre’Quan Smith (10 rec, 132 yards), Jared Cook (9 rec, 114 yards, TD), Emmanuel Sanders (8 rec, 89 yards, 2 TD), and Deonte Harris (6 rec, 45 yards).
Defensively, New Orleans is allowing their opponents to average 31.3 ppg on 368.7 total yards per game (268.7 passing yds/g; 100.0 rushing yds/g).
The Detroit Lions picked up their first win of the season, improving to 1-2 on the season, after upsetting the Arizona Cardinals, 26-23, this past Sunday. Detroit’s defense was outstanding in this victory as they were able to pick off Arizona’s Kyler Murray three times and the Lions were able to pick up the come from behind victory after Matt Prater kicked a 39-yard FG as time expired. Detroit was outgained by Arizona by a 377-322 margin, however, did win the turnover battle by a 3-0 margin in the victory. Leading the way for the Lions was QB Matthew Stafford who completed 22 of 31 passes for 27 yards and 2 TD’s.
On the season, Detroit is averaging 23.3 ppg on 376.0 total yards per game (270.3 passing yds/g; 105.7 rushing yds/g). Offensively, Detroit has been led by Matthew Stafford who has completed 62.3% of his passes for 811 yards (278.3 yds/g), 5 TD’s and 2 INT. Stafford got his top target in Kenny Golladay back last weekend and he responded was a solid game with 6 receptions for 50 yards and a TD. The other top receivers for Stafford and the Lions have been T.J. Hockenson (13 rec, 171 yards, TD), Marvin Jones Jr. (11 rec, 129 yards, TD), and Danny Amendola (8 rec, 120 yards). The Lions backfield has been led by Adrian Peterson (43 att, 209 yards) and Kerryon Johnson (18 att, 62 yards, TD).
Defensively, Detroit is allowing their opponents to average 30.7 ppg on 423.0 total yards per game (250.7 passing yds/g; 172.3 rushing yds/g).
The Saints are 4-0 ATS vs. a team with a losing record and 11-4 Ats in their last 15 games overall. The Lions are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 home games vs. a team with a losing road record, however, are just 3-8 ATS in their last 11 games as an underdog.
New Orleans has not gotten off to the start they were hoping for this season, however, this is still a good football team that should be one of the better teams in the NFC come playoff time. Detroit picked up a nice road win, but this is still a team still has some question marks on both sides of the ball and between the fact that I think the Saints will get Michael Thomas back along with the fact that I think Drew Brees will be able to do damage in the Saints passing game, I’m taking New Orleans to cover this small road spread. Good Luck.
Brett’s Pick New Orleans Saints -4
AUTHOR: Brett Nault
Mitch's Take...
