Seattle Seahawks vs Detroit Lions: NFL Monday Night Football Predictions & Preview
The Seattle Seahawks and Detroit Lions will face off in the fourth Monday Night Football game of the season. This is a huge game because neither team has a winning record at the moment, so the stakes are high. The Lions and Seahawks may not have a huge rivalry, but you can bet the game on Monday night will be fierce.
Let's preview the game and pick a winner.
Seattle Seahawks (1-2)
The Seahawks struggled without their star safety, Kam Chancellor, going 0-2 to start the season. Fortunately for them, Chancellor has ended his holdout and is back on the field. With Chancellor back, the Seahawks secondary is back to being the "Legion of Boom," and Calvin Johnson will be constantly double-teamed.
The Seahawks may very well have lost their first two games, but those games weren't against easy competition. They lost to the Green Bay Packers and St. Louis Rams, but then Pete Carroll's team rebounded in a big way with a victory last week over the Chicago Bears, 26-0.
The Seahawks have to win this game to keep pace in the NFC West. The Arizona Cardinals have been playing well at 3-1, so a loss here would be devastating to Seattle.
It has already been confirmed that running back Marshawn Lynch will not be playing because of an injury, so Thomas Rawls will take over the starting role.
The Seahawks will have the 12th man behind their backs this game in the second consecutive home game for the team. Next week they will take on the undefeated Cincinnati Bengals on the road.
Detroit Lions (0-3)
This isn't quite the start Lions fans envisioned. Without Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley on the defensive line, the Lions are getting run over. Last season, the team ranked in the top five in rushing yards against. This season, the run defense ranks 17th in yards given up and 31st in rushing touchdowns allowed.
On top of getting run over, the Lions offense hasn't been productive at all. The Lions rank 27th in total offense, and their running game is the worst in the NFL. Matthew Stafford is throwing inaccurate passes, and he's turning over the football far too often. So far, Stafford has five touchdowns and five interceptions this season.
We may only be a quarter of the way through the season, but the Packers are running away with the NFC North already.
The Lions have to find a way to get Calvin Johnson more involved. Johnson only has one touchdown reception this season, and he's not the dominant force he once was. Golden Tate has to start opening up the field with his elite speed as well. If the Lions lose this game and drop to 0-4, you can expect some big changes with the trade deadline looming.
Schedule
The Seahawks and Lions will play each other on Monday, Oct. 5 at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. The game will be played at Century Link Field in Seattle. You can watch a live game stream.
Prediction
The Seahawks are a much better team from top to bottom, and they are playing at home. Missing Lynch will hurt a little, but the Lions running game is even worse. Richard Sherman's shutdown coverage will force a few Stafford turnovers. With this win, the Seahawks get back to 500.
Seahawks win 31-17
Follow Damon Salvadore on Twitter @DamonSalvadore1
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