Justin Rogers, Rod Beard, John Niyo and Bob Wojnowski of The Detroit News offer their predictions on the outcome of Sunday’s Lions vs. Saints game at Ford Field in Detroit (1 p.m., Fox/760 AM).
► Justin Rogers: The Saints are down six starters, including five Pro Bowlers. Comparatively, the Lions are relatively healthy and have some confidence and momentum after stopping the bleeding in Arizona last week. Don’t look now, but the home team has a real shot to climb back to .500 heading into the bye. Lions 29, Saints 26.
► Rod Beard: After a surprising road win last week, conventional wisdom says to pick against the Lions in a tough home game. The offense looked better with Kenny Golladay back, and they have a functional run game. The Saints defense hasn’t looked very good, which will be enough. Lions 28, Saints 24
► John Niyo: New Orleans is averaging almost 30 points a game without Michael Thomas, who will sit this one out as well. And the Saints’ run defense is no joke. Last week’s results were skewed by turnovers for both teams, but the Lions probably need to generate a few more to keep up Sunday. Saints 31, Lions 24
► Bob Wojnowski: Two desperate 1-2 teams primed for a shootout. The Saints aren’t used to criticism of Drew Brees, who’s 41 and doesn’t quite zing the ball anymore. The Lions’ defense actually faces a bigger task — slow running back Alvin Kamara, who’s on a tear. Matthew Stafford is due for a bust-out against a mediocre Saints defense, and Adrian Peterson will top 100 yards rushing. But the Lions’ defense isn’t ready to handle New Orleans’ multi-faceted attack. Saints 33, Lions 30