Lions vs. Bills: Week 10 Prediction, Preview and Analysis

Quarterback

Shaun Hill makes his return from injury just in time as Matthew Stafford is on the shelf again.  Hill filled in admirably in his first go round filling in for Stafford, and there is no reason to believe he can’t do it again.  

How many times this weekend to do you think we will hear about Ryan Fitzpatrick’s nearly perfect Wonderlic score? I put the over/under at four. 

Fitzpatrick has thrown at least 43 passes in each of the last three games.  He has a decent QB rating of 85.8 on the year. 

An interesting stat, Fitzpatrick has more rushing yards on fewer carries than highly touted rookie C.J. Spiller.

Edge: Bills. Hill is rusty and beat up, it’s going to be tough for him to play well.

Wide Receivers

Calvin Johnson has escaped Revis Island and will be looking for a big day.  Nate Burleson has gotten into a groove and is showing why the Lions went after him in free agency.

More than half of Steve Johnson’s 554 receiving yards have come in two games. 

The Bills receiving core took a hit against the Chicago Bears, as Roscoe Parrish was lost due to an injured wrist.

Edge: Lions. In the battle of the Johnsons, I’ll take Calvin over Steve.

Running Backs

Newsflash, the Lions can’t run the ball.  Well that wasn’t news to anyone who follows the Lions.  Coming in at 30th in the league at a pathetic 81.8 yards per game, the Lions will have to run the ball much better to have a chance in order to keep the pressure off Shaun Hill and his, not really healed but it would kill us to put Drew Stanton out there, left arm.

The Buffalo Bills are using Fred Jackson in the run game over C.J. Spiller.  Both players are averaging less the four yards a rush.

Edge: Bills. In the battle to see who is more inept, the Lions finally win something.

Tight Ends

When Matthew Stafford was back in the lineup, Brandon Pettigrew’s numbers suffered, but Shaun Hill will look for him again.  Pettigrew has caught touchdowns in three of the last four games.

David Martin had a career high 450 receiving yards last year, but he has only two catches so far in 2010.

Edge: Lions. With Hill back in the lineup look for Detroit’s tight ends to have at least eight catches.

Offensive Line

The Lions offensive line is doing a good job this year in pass blocking.  The Lions are third in the NFL in number of pass attempts but are still near the top in sacks allowed.

The Bills line has struggled this year in both run and pass blocking. 

Edge: Lions. It is nice to finally be able to give the Lions an edge in this category. 

Defensive Line

The Lions defensive line disappeared last week.  Famed rookie Ndamukong Suh was single blocked for most of this game and was unable to win his matchup.

Defensive Tackle Kyle Williams leads the Bills with three sacks, with two coming against Kansas City a couple of weeks ago.  As a team, the Bills have a only 12 sacks on the year, only three teams have less than that.

Edge: Lions, The Lions D-line is steaming mad about not showing up against the Jets, good luck Bills.

Linebackers

I think the most amazing sight out of last week’s game was DeAndre Levy outrunning the entire Lions defense to catch Santonio Holmes in overtime.  He has made a big difference in the defense since his return.

Former Penn State linebacker Paul Posluszny has been a monster the last two games.  Against Kansas City, he had 17 tackles.

Edge: Bills. Like I said last week, this is still the weakest link in the Lions defense.

Secondary

Lions fans are afraid to admit it, but the Lions have two legitimate NFL starting caliber cornerbacks in Chris Houston and Alphonso Smith.  Safety Amari Spievey still needs to get better but is learning the position on the go.

The Bills leading tackler is safety Donte Whitner. Whitner has already amassed 73 tackles to go along with four interceptions

Edge: Bills. Until Spievey is up to speed, the Lions are still underdogs here.

Special Teams

The Lions signed former Michigan State kicker Dave Rayner to replace the injured Jason Hanson.

The Bills are a decent return team.

Edge: Lions. Stefan Logan makes the difference here.

Prediction

The Bills are winless this year, but don’t confuse them with the 2008 Detroit Lions.  The Bills would blowout that team.

If you think the Lions have had close loses this year, try being the Bills; they have lost their last three games by a field goal.

It won’t be close this week.  The Lions are mad about last week’s game, and they will take it out on the Bills.

Pick: Lions 28, Bills 17

2010 pick record, 6-2