New Orleans Saints vs. Detroit Lions: Complete Week 7 Preview for New Orleans

Fresh off their bye week, the New Orleans Saints will return to action on Sunday, as they travel to Detroit for a Week 7 matchup with the NFC North-leading Lions.

The Saints (2-3), who got off to a surprisingly poor start this season, can pull to within a half game of the Carolina Panthers for the divisional lead in the NFC South with a win on Sunday. Coach Sean Payton’s club has had an extra week to recover from an overtime slugfest with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that ended with a narrow New Orleans victory.

Despite six interceptions from quarterback Drew Brees, the Saints rank No. 2 in the NFL in total offense. While Brees has struggled at times with his accuracy, he’s still averaging more than 300 passing yards per contest, and the Saints have greatly benefited from a blossoming running game that averages 4.2 yards per carry.

New Orleans will need a supreme effort in both the running and passing games to best the Lions (4-2), who boast the league’s top-ranked defense (No. 1 against the pass and No. 2 against the run). While Detroit hasn’t faced an overly impressive list of offenses, defensive coordinator Teryl Austin’s unit did hold the Green Bay Packers to just seven points in a key Week 3 victory.

The showdown between the Saints offense and the Lions defense will pit strength against strength, but each squad will be looking to make a statement on the other side of the ball, as well. New Orleans ranks No. 23 in total defense, while Detroit has struggled on offense, most notably in pass protection.

The following is a full preview of this Week 7 matchup, complete with a score prediction on the fifth and final slide.

Week 5 Recap

Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

Facing a potential 1-4 start, the Saints gutted out a hard-fought 37-31 overtime win over the division rival Buccaneers in Week 5.

New Orleans overcame three interceptions from Brees, one of which was returned for a touchdown, to earn its second victory of the season.

The Saints jumped out to 13-0 advantage, but their lead evaporated in the second and third quarters, as Tampa Bay reeled off 24 straight points and grabbed an 11-point lead.

As Brees gathered himself and slowly regained his confidence, New Orleans leaned on running backs Khiry Robinson and Pierre Thomas. The duo combined for 209 offensive yards and three touchdowns in the contest, as the Saints clawed their way back into the game.

With New Orleans down 31-26 late in the fourth quarter, linebacker Junior Galette sacked Bucs quarterback Mike Glennon in the end zone for a safety, and a subsequent field goal by Shayne Graham forced an extra period.

Robinson’s 18-yard gallop in overtime sealed the win for the Saints, and New Orleans entered its bye week with a 2-3 mark.

News and Notes

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Detroit Saints?

When Drew Brees stands on the sideline to watch his team’s defense on Sunday, he’ll be looking at a very familiar offensive style from the opposition.

Detroit’s offensive coordinator is none other than former Saints quarterbacks coach Joe Lombardi, who mentored Brees for seven seasons in New Orleans.

Lombardi, the grandson of coaching legend Vince Lombardi, has taken numerous elements of Sean Payton's offense and applied them in Detroit under first-year head coach Jim Caldwell.

For the first time in his career, Lombardi is calling the plays, and like his time in New Orleans, his squad has no shortage of offensive weapons. In addition to the strong-armed Matthew Stafford and prolific wideout Calvin Johnson, the Lions have former Saints running backs Reggie Bush and Joique Bell, along with former New Orleans fullback Jed Collins in the backfield.

Detroit also selected athletic tight end Eric Ebron, who drew comparisons to New Orleans All-Pro Jimmy Graham, in the first round of the draft.

In stark contrast to the Saints, however, Lombardi’s unit has had a difficult time getting revved up this season. The Lions currently rank No. 23 in the league in total offense, but they’ll no doubt be looking to find a rhythm at home on Sunday against a struggling New Orleans defense.

On the Road Again

In recent years, New Orleans’ woes on the road have continued to be problematic. Granted, the going is tougher on the road than at home for nearly every team in the NFL, but the Saints' difficulties are especially remarkable when considering their prowess at home.

In both the 2012 and 2013 seasons, the Saints went 3-5 on the road in the regular season, although they did manage to defeat the Eagles in the playoffs last year at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field.

Thus far in 2014, New Orleans is winless as the visiting team. In the season opener at Atlanta, the Saints lost to the Falcons in a shootout, and they followed that up with a poor showing in Cleveland in an upset loss to the Browns.

After besting the Minnesota Vikings at home in Week 3, New Orleans took to the road again and was drubbed by the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football.

The Saints are hopeful that they can get over the hump this Sunday at Ford Field in Detroit, as they play their fourth road contest in six games this season.

Injury Report

Jamie Sabau/Getty Images

The Saints have a lot going on this week on the injury front, to say the least. 

Tight end Jimmy Graham, who injured his shoulder in the win over Tampa Bay, returned to team drills on Thursday, according to Mike Triplett of ESPN.com. The All-Pro's role in practice was limited, however, and his status for the game is still uncertain. 

In a setback for the Saints, starting cornerback Keenan Lewis missed Thursday's practice with a toe injury, according to Triplett.

New Orleans did, however, receive some positive news earlier in the week, when running back Mark Ingram and fullback Erik Lorig returned to full participation in Wednesday workouts, according to NOLA.com's Evan Woodbery.

Ingram got off to a fine start as the Saints’ primary ball-carrier in the first two games of the season, but he injured his hand late in the game in Week 2 against the Browns and has been out of action since.

As for Lorig, the offseason acquisition hasn’t yet seen game action in a Saints uniform, as he went down with an ankle injury in training camp. Austin Johnson has manned the fullback spot admirably in his absence, but the 6’4”, 250-pound Lorig brings the added element of a receiving threat to the position.

In other injury news, cornerback Patrick Robinson (hamstring), linebacker Ramon Humber (ankle) and linebacker Kyle Knox (ankle) all missed Thursday workouts, according to NewOrleansSaints.com. Running back Pierre Thomas and reserve linebacker Ronald Powell also missed Thursday's practice due to illness, according to the team's official site.

X-Factors and Matchups to Watch

Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

Saints Guards vs. Lions Defensive Tackles

New Orleans All-Pro Jahri Evans is widely recognized as one of the top guards in football, but he had a difficult time in his last outing. Evans was beaten on several occasions in pass protection by Tampa Bay 3-technique Gerald McCoy, but things won’t be any easier this week.

Lions tackle Ndamukong Suh is one of the best defensive linemen in the game, and he’ll present another challenging assignment for Evans and fellow Pro Bowl guard Ben Grubbs in both the passing and running games.

Whichever of the Saints guards doesn’t draw Suh will likely have the pleasure of taking on Nick Fairley, who, like nearly every other player on the Lions defense, is enjoying a fine season. Sure, the Saints guards may have center help at times against one member of the Lions’ dynamic duo, but they’ll each have to hold their ground in one-on-one situations, as well.

This will be one of the crucial matchups of the game for the New Orleans offense, which will have a hard time moving the ball against the stout Lions defense if Brees is on his back.

Cam Jordan and Junior Galette vs. Lions offensive tackles

Saints defensive end Cam Jordan and outside linebacker Junior Galette combined for 24.5 sacks in 2013, but so far this season, they have a total of just four.

Yes, Galette’s safety on Mike Glennon last week was one of the biggest plays of the game for New Orleans, but both of these pass-rush specialists have been too quiet for much of the 2014 season.

If there was ever a time for Jordan and Galette to get rolling, it’s this weekend against Detroit. Pass protection has been the biggest weakness for Lombardi’s offense this year, as Stafford has been sacked an eye-popping 21 times in six games.

Despite their slow starts, Jordan and Galette are still the Saints’ best options to mount a consistent pass rush. They’ll be pinning their ears back on Sunday against Detroit tackles and Riley Reiff and LaAdrian Waddle, and if they’re able to win some of these crucial battles, the maligned New Orleans secondary will reap some of the benefits.

Saints X-Factor of the Week: Josh Hill

If Graham can't go on Sunday, Brees will be missing his favorite target in the passing game, but he’ll still have plenty of capable options at his disposal. In addition to wideouts Marques Colston and Brandin Cooks, he’ll also look frequently to Thomas out of the backfield. Tight end Benjamin Watson could also get involved in the passing game, but his primary contribution will likely come as that of a blocker.  

In Josh Hill, however, the Saints have an emerging receiving threat at the tight end position. The undrafted second-year man out of Idaho State possesses impressive athleticism, and he’s developing nicely as an intermediate target in the Saints air attack.

In the last three games, Hill has hauled in six catches for 113 yards and two scores. He’s proving to be a capable red-zone threat, and it shouldn’t come as a surprise if he plays a big role for New Orleans on Sunday.

Prediction

Sean Gardner/Getty Images

Going on the road to face a divisional leader is never an easy task, but Sunday’s matchup should be a winnable game for New Orleans.

The Saints offense, while it hasn’t yet resembled the typical Payton juggernaut, is capable of moving the football well in spurts.

The Lions' stingy defense has yet to face an offense with the firepower of the Saints, with the exception of Green Bay, which was struggling in the first few weeks of the season. This week, Detroit will be squaring off with a fully rested New Orleans offense that is coming off a bye week. The Saints coaching staff has had two weeks to prepare.

Payton’s offenses typically come out strong under such circumstances, and while things won’t come easy on Sunday, the Brees-led unit should be able to score some points on Sunday, if it can keep its quarterback on his feet.

Defensively, the Saints' success will be predicated on generating a pass rush, which hasn’t been difficult for other teams to do thus far against the Lions.

Look for another close, hard-hitting football game, with the Saints coming out on top, thanks to a late-game field goal.

Prediction: Saints 20, Lions 17