I'm impartial, being a 49er fan. IMO, the Falcons will watch how unsuccessful the Lions were in stopping the run and use that to their advantage. They have a similar offense that we had, only with better passing. Their play action will be sweet.

The Lions will go deep more often, but Stafford has to be more on target. The Falcons KNOW they will pass more because the Lions run game is lacking.

The Lions D-line is going to give Ryan problems, unless they run and use the run to setup the pass, which i see happening early. The Lions D-line will eventually win against the pass.

The Falcons D is weak overall. Grimes is a sweet corner, Robinson is over-rated. Edwards is a beast off of the DE, but other than that, there is nothing to be feared.

The Lions thrive off of big plays. The Falcons will give up those big plays. As long as Stafford has time and doesn't throw high, I see the Lions winning after falling behind early.

High scoring, Lions win: 34-30

I can appreciate an honest outside opinion. Im more uncertain than I have been about any game this season, whether it's the shell shock of losing a game for the first time in so long, or just the poor performance of the Lions offense in the San Fran game, I just feel like the Lions "reaction" to losing and how they come out of the gates ultimately decides how the game will go. I'm expecting (not hoping for) a hangover of sorts. Hope they do pull this game out, it will be a tough one.

I do believe that this will be a benchmark game for the Lions for the season. How will they react to a tough loss at home? How will they deal with the probably loss of Jahvid Best? Or a sub-par performance by Matt Stafford? Or how will they handle a strong running team after getting eaten up by a different strong running team?

The Lions have to make a statement to the league in this game, but mostly they have to make a statement to themselves. They have to show that the losses won't affect their future, and that they can put a bad performance behind them. One could say they did that against Minnesota and Dallas, but those games didn't reverberate with them because they turned out to be victories. There's no turning back time now. The Lions can use this game to establish the fact that they ARE a team to be reckoned with, and that games 1 thru 5 were not flukes, or they can lose another game and have people (and possibly themselves) question whether they are for real.

This is the week all the bandwagon folks jump off. Falcons by 10.

Lions by 3

I think you said the same thing i was saying, you just said it better +1

Game Preview - Pat Kirwan

The importance of this game just hit me. Detroit and Atlanta are the top candidates for a wildcard berth right now. While a lot can change in the next 10 weeks, the winner of this game could determine which team makes the playoffs and which does not.

Lions come back with a vengeance.. Home field, the loss last week, the Handshake fight, and everything else that's happened this week gets them pumped.. They play harder and more focused than any other game this season... Play great most of the game.. They respond to the tough loss at home against a very good 49ers team with a statement win by 17 over a good Falcons team..

34-17 LIONS!

I wonder how pumped Chris Houston will be to play Atlanta?

I hope he's very pumped.....and able to play:

Lions...

all the way

I know for sure that Ryan is not 100%, so they will be running the ball most of the time, with our defensive line I see the Lions winning this game rather easy.

LIons 34 Atlanta 13

Careful now.

apparently you didn't watch the San Francisco game.......