For a while it seemed like the Detroit Lions were unstoppable. The offense was clicking, their defensive line was as good as any in football, and the Stafford/Johnson connection was one of the better pairings in the NFL. On Sunday though the mighty Lions couldn't handle the San Francisco 49ers, or their head coach's handshake as they lost their first game of the season.
Meanwhile in the Georgia Dome the Atlanta Falcons took care of business. They hosted a Carolina Panthers team struggling on defense and played the game perfectly to take advantage of the Panthers weaknesses and register a convincing win. Michael Turner ran roughshod over the beleaguered Panthers defensive line as they had no answer for the bruising RB.
Las Vegas aren't quite so convinced in the Falcons as Detroit are 3.5 point favorites at home. The Lions running game will be interesting to see on Sunday as starting RB Jahvid Best struggles with a concussion, and just yesterday Detroit made a deadline deal to acquire running back Ronnie Brown.
This is a really hard game to call, which the game line represents. The Lions didn't look as infallible as we were lead to believe, and the Falcons looked better than they have for much of the season. With Julio Jones returning and Michael Turner returning to form I think the Falcons can prevail this weekend. There are some serious questions about Atlanta's ability to protect Matt Ryan against a brutal Lions' pass rush, but when it's all said and done I think they'll protect him enough.
The over/under is set right now at 47.5, which I think is a gift. I'm taking the over all day long on that. Calvin Johnson is unstoppable in the red zone in the passing game, and Michael Turner is the same for the Falcons' running game. At the end of the day I'm taking the Falcons to win outright in a minor upset, and the over on points.
For more on the Falcons please visit The Falcoholic. Head over to Pride of Detroit for information on the Lions.