NFL Playoff Prediction: Emotional Letdown Will Doom Detroit Lions on the Road

The Detroit Lions are a very emotional team, and that's going to come back to bite them on the road in the NFL playoffs.

However, don't let that statement take away from what the Lions have accomplished this year.

Many people expected the Lions to be good this season, but their 10-5 record, fifth-ranked passing offense and playoff berth exceeds even some of the loftiest expectations set ahead of the regular season.

It's been a great year, and it will undoubtedly be one that Lions fans look back on fondly for a long time. That being said, they won't look back on the playoffs fondly, other than for the fact that they finally made it.

Getting to the postseason was a huge step for this team, but that's where the dream is going to end.

The Lions are a notoriously emotional team. Many times that plays into their favor, especially if they're at home. 

You know as well as I do that this team can get ice-cold, though, if momentum stops going their way, and that's where their emotional play can really come back to bite them.

When they're hot they're hot, and when they're cold they're cold. That's a problem that can be deadly in the playoffs.

What happens when the sound of "Suh" raining down from the stands becomes boo?

What happens if Matthew Stafford throws an interception and he doesn't have the home crowd to back him up?

He's been great with 36 touchdowns and over 4,500 yards, but he's also been inconsistent at times and thrown 14 interceptions.

They say you have to learn to win in the NFL, and that's something we can safely say the Lions have done.

Winning in the playoffs is a completely different animal, though, especially on the road. This is something this Lions team knows nothing about.

Don't underestimate how that can impact their psyche in the playoffs.

The thrill of the big-stage and the prospects of the Lombardi Trophy looming large at the end may be too much for this young team to emotionally overcome, especially with all they've had to battle this season.

Some say that all the adversity has grown this team and prepared them for the playoffs.

While I understand that point, I would counter with my belief that they will be emotionally drained.

Mind you, they still have to go to Green Bay to play the 14-1 Packers, who are 7-0 at home, in their last game of the season. Don't think the Packers will overlook what's at stake for the Lions in this game, either. Even though they don't have anything to play for, word is that coach Mike McCarthy wants to play to win.

Right now, there are a plethora of teams that the Lions can face in the first round of the playoffs, but none of the matchups will lend the Lions home-field advantage.

If the Lions lose to the Packers, the road to a win would be pretty daunting. The prospects of going on the road and winning a game against the 12-3 New Orleans Saints or Atlanta Falcons are slim.

The Saints are 7-0 at home this season and beat the Lions a few weeks ago in their dome. The Falcons, on the other hand, are 5-2 at home with losses to the Saints and Packers. They also destroyed the Lions at Ford Field in Week 7.

A Falcons loss or Lions win would match Detroit up against the winner of the NFC East, which would be the better matchup.

This scenario is the more unlikely of the two, though, and I don't see it happening, especially given that the Lions are going to Lambeau while the Falcons are at home against a Tampa Bay Buccaneers team that has lost nine games in a row.

It's going to be a tough road for the Detroit Lions if they want to accomplish anything in the playoffs.

Unfortunately, without the home crowd to back them up, I believe they are going to be emotionally spent.