Lions vs. Seahawks: Odds, Stat Predictions for 2017 NFC Wild Card Game

Should the Detroit Lions even bother to show up for their Wild Card game against the Seattle Seahawks?

If you look at the way the Lions have been playing recently, the answer may not be a positive one. After rolling to a 9-4 record and taking charge in the NFC North, the Lions lost three consecutive games to close the season, and they gave up the division to the Green Bay Packers.

In the past, teams that went to CenturyLink Field had little chance of beating the Seahawks. However, they dropped a Week 16 home game to the Arizona Cardinals, and head coach Pete Carroll's team followed that with another substandard performance in their 25-23 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.

While the Lions clearly have some issues, so do the Seahawks. Nevertheless, the Seahawks are eight-point favorites over the Lions, according to OddsShark.

The Lions have been competing in recent weeks without a healthy Matthew Stafford. The quarterback injured the tendon on the middle finger of his passing hand, and his productivity has suffered in recent weeks. 

Stafford finished the season with a 65.3 completion percentage, 4,327 passing yards and a 24-10 TD-interception ratio. However, Stafford has thrown just two TD passes in his last three games and three interceptions.

In addition to the numbers being off, Stafford has had a hard time finding the open man with his throws. In the last two games against the Dallas Cowboys and the Packers, Stafford missed receivers running across the middle of the field who it looked like he would have hit earlier in the year.

The Lions don't have much of a running attack to supplement Stafford's passing game, as they average 81.9 rushing yards per game. That makes them the 30th-ranked ground-gaining team in the league.

Postion	Player, team	Individual stats
QB	Matthew Stafford, Detroit	24 of 38, 255 yards, two TDs, two interceptions
RB	Zach Zenner, Detroit	14 carries for 51 yards
WR	Golden Tate, Detroit	10 receptions for 91 yards, one TD
QB	Russell Wilson, Seattle	16 of 24, 238 yards, two TDs, one interception
RB	Alex Collins, Seattle	10 carries for 55 yards
WR	Doug Baldwin, Seattle	Eight receptions for 87 yards, one TD

However, they have received a lift in recent weeks from powerful fullback Zach Zenner. He gained 334 yards and scored four touchdowns during the regular season, and he had 136 rushing yards and three TDs in the Lions' last two games. 

He could be a surprising factor for the Detroit offense in this game. 

While Zenner could provide a lift, the Lions need Stafford to regain his accuracy and get the ball to Golden Tate, Marvin Jones and Anquan Boldin. Tight end Eric Ebron can also provide a run-after-the-catch factor for the Detroit offense.

The fifth-ranked Seattle defense will provide a major test for the Lions. Middle linebacker Bobby Wagner is a tackling machine who led the Seahawks with 167 tackles, while Cliff Avril had 11.5 sacks. Cornerback Richard Sherman remains a difference-maker in the secondary.

The Seahawks need quarterback Russell Wilson to play to his best form in the postseason. Throughout his career, he has completed 60.5 percent of his passes in the playoffs with a 16-9 TD-interception ratio. He has also run for two TDs and gains an average of 5.1 yards per attempt every time he runs during the playoffs.

Wilson's main targets are clearly Doug Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse, and both have come through in the postseason before. However, the X-factor for the Seahawks may be wideout Paul Richardson, who caught just 21 passes for 288 yards and one touchdown.

However, he caught eight of those passes in the last two games, and he has taken on a more important role since Tyler Lockett suffered a compound fracture of the leg.

The ability to contain Wilson when he takes off from the pocket could be crucial for the Lions. Aaron Rodgers hurt the Lions with his movement skills in the season finale.

“We just have to be more disciplined,” defensive end Kerry Hyder told Justin Rogers of the Detroit News. “There were times where we were trying to make plays and dipping out of our gaps (against Rodgers). As a defense, we have to be disciplined and do our job.”

The Lions have some issues on defense, as they rank 18th in yards allowed, but middle linebacker Tahir Whitehead had 132 regular-season tackles to lead the team and Hyder had a team-leading 8.0 sacks.

Ted S. Warren/Associated Press

Prediction

This is a game that should be closer than the point spread indicates, but it seems unlikely that the Lions can do anything but get close.

Wilson is too smart, tough and experienced to let this opportunity slip through his team's grasp. Look for the Seahawks to get a big play from the defense in the fourth quarter, and that will lead to a game-winning TD pass from Wilson to Baldwin.