Detroit Lions picks vs. Carolina Panthers: Revenge game? Not this week at Ford Field
Free Press sports writers share their predictions for the Detroit Lions' game Sunday against the Carolina Panthers at Ford Field (1 p.m., Fox):
Dave Birkett
The Lions are one of the best teams in the NFL and the Panthers are the league’s last winless team, but Campbell said he does not think his team will take Carolina for granted. The Panthers destroyed the Lions in Week 16 last year, and Campbell said enough of his team has lived exactly what Carolina is going through to know their opponent still can be dangerous. It’s true any team can rise up in the NFL, but there is no excuse for the Lions to lose this game, at Ford Field, against an inferior opponent. The Panthers are good enough defensively to keep this close early, but they don’t have enough offense to beat the Lions without lots of turnover help. As long as Goff takes care of the ball and the defense plays with similar effort to the past few weeks, the Lions will win this one easy. The pick: Lions 27, Panthers 14.
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Carlos Monarrez
The loss to the Panthers on Christmas Eve kept the Lions out of the playoffs last year, when the team forgot to show up and got steamrolled. I would call this a classic revenge game, in which you might see something close to a Dolphins-Broncos bloodbath, except that Dan Campbell has too much respect for first-year coach Frank Reich and won’t be running up the score. The pick: Lions 28, Panthers 13.
Jeff Seidel
This is the type of game the Lions used to lose: A game they should win. But, of course, this is a new team, with new expectations and all kinds of ways to win. I expect Ford Field to be rockin’ once again. Carolina has a bad run defense, giving up 136 yards per game. So, I expect to see the Lions ram the ball down the field, staying on the ground. Because there is no reason to pass against the Panthers. The pick: Lions 31, Panthers 20.
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Shawn Windsor
A revenge game? Nah, Dan Campbell doesn't roll like that. Besides, the Lions are one of the best in the league at stopping the run and won't make the same mistakes in gap control this time around. That doesn't bode well for a rookie quarterback such as Bryce Young. Whether Jameson Williams catches a pass or not, his presence should give the offense an extra charge. The pick: Lions 31, Panthers 16.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions picks vs. Panthers: Don't take Carolina for granted
