Who would have ever thought that the week six matchup between the Detroit Lions and the San Francisco 49ers would actually mean something in the NFC playoff race, let alone even be interesting?
Against all odds, the Detroit Lions are one of the two remaining undefeated teams in the National Football League. They’re 5-0 and boast the league’s fourth highest-scoring offense, as well as fourth lowest-scoring defense.
What is there to not love about this Lions team, which three years ago won exactly zero games?
The 2011 squad has won with huge comebacks (26-23 over Minnesota in week 3 and 34-30 over Dallas in week four). They’ve won blowouts (48-3 over Kansas City in week two). And they’ve won in front of a national audience (24-13 over Chicago in week five).
They’ve winning with talent at quarterback (Matthew Stafford), wide receiver (Calvin Johnson), and a dominant defensive line (Ndamukong Suh, Kyle Vanden Bosch & Nick Fairley).
On Sunday, they’ll face off against a San Francisco 49ers squad that many gave no chance to compete for a division title at the beginning of the season, even in the weak NFC West.
Yet the Niners currently stand at 4-1, despite a perceived bust a quarterback (former number one overall draft pick Alex Smith), a running back who has been banged up for most of the season (Frank Gore), an offense that ranked 32nd in the NFL for the first three weeks of the season, and a head coach who has never coached at the professional level (Jim Harbaugh).
They are winning because of incredible consistency with their turnovers. They have committed the fewest in the league and they have forced the third most.
They’ve also had standout play on defense from inside linebacker Patrick Willis (as expected), and second-
year linebacker Navorro Bowman, as well as defensive linemen Justin Smith and Isaac Sopoaga.
Sunday’s game between the Lions and the Niners could very well come down to how well the Niners’ offensive line can stop the powerful defensive linemen, notably Suh and Fairley.
I predict that the Lions win, and win big. I think they’re a contender. As of a few days ago, I picked them to beat the Green Bay Packers in the NFC championship game, which would put them in the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history.
As for the Niners? Well I think they’ll win the division but winning the NFC West isn’t exactly an accomplishment. I don’t think I’d go as far as to call them contenders though. Contenders to win the division? Yes. But as for doing anything in the postseason, I doubt it.
Lions win, 31-16.
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[...] Week 6: Detroit Lions vs San Francisco 49ers Highlights Game of the Week Yet the Niners currently stand at 4-1, despite a perceived bust a quarterback (former number one overall draft pick Alex Smith), a running back who has been banged up for most of the season (Frank Gore), an offense that ranked 32nd in the NFL for the … Read more on Rant Sports [...]
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