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New Orleans Saints at Detroit Lions NFL Point Spreads & Picks

Written by Jimmy Boyd

saints-lions

While New Orleans is still mathematically alive, its season ended last Thursday night with an overtime loss to the Chicago Bears. The 7-7 Saints haven’t been able to get the job done on the road all season (1-6), but a visit to 0-14 Detroit might change their fortune. The only problem is that it really doesn’t matter at this point. The Saints are 6.5-point road favorites with the total set at 50.5.

New Orleans will miss out on the playoffs for the second straight season since its miracle run to the NFC Championship Game in the 2006-07 season. While the Saints have frustrated their fans all season long, they have been a nice pick for NFL betting enthusiasts, covering the spread in nine of their 14 games.

Other than not being able to get the job done on the road, the story has been all offense and no defense for New Orleans. The Saints average 27.9 ppg and 402 ypg, but they are allowing 25.2 ppg and 384 ypg. It has been worse on the road with New Orleans allowing 28.6 ppg. The Saints will face a defense that is giving up a whopping 35.7 ppg at home this season, allowing a ridiculous 70.1 percent pass completion rate. Detroit was absolutely torched by Peyton Manning and the Colts passing offense last week, allowing 315 yards through the air. Drew Brees is capable of putting up even bigger numbers. Saints quarterback Drew Brees was the leading vote-getter among the nearly 85 million ballots cast by fans via the internet for the NFL Pro Bowl. Brees received 951,246 votes to lead all players, with New York Jets quarterback Brett Favre (880,833) and New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (821,852) following. While I’m sure he’s flattered, Brees would gladly trade a trip to the Pro Bowl for a trip to the playoffs. Brees still has some personal incentive to go after the Lions porous secondary as he is chasing Dan Marino’s NFL record for most passing yards in a season. If you like New Orleans to bounce back with a big win, bet the Saints at -6.5 at Bookmaker and receive a 20% cash sign up bonus.

The Lions have one thing and one thing only on their minds and that is to get a win so that they don’t go down in history as the NFL’s all-time worst team. No one wants that on their resume. Their best chance to avoid making history for all the wrong reasons could be this week at home as ending the season with a win on the frozen tundra against Green Bay will be a tall task. The Saints have just one win on the road this season, but the Lions are smart enough to realize that they will be playing a good football team. All of the Saints’ road losses this season have come against teams that are currently .500 or better. Its lone win away from home was a 30-20 victory at Kansas City. Detroit has put together good efforts in recent weeks to break its season-long skid, but it has not been able to break through.

Dan Orlovsky will start at quarterback Sunday as the Lions try to avoid becoming the first NFL team to start 0-15. Orlovsky earned the start with his performance in Sunday’s 31-21 loss at Indianapolis. He went 23 of 34 for 233 yards and a touchdown against the Colts, with no turnovers. He targeted wide receiver Calvin Johnson, who finished with a career-high nine catches. New Orleans has been susceptible to the pass on the road and if Orlovsky can get it going again, the Lions will have a fighting chance. It is going to take serious commitment for the Saints to get up for this game knowing the state of its situation. One would have to think the Lions would want it more. If you think Detroit is ready to break through with its first win of the year, bet the Lions at +6.5 at Bookmaker.

Beat the NFL odds for a fourth straight week with Jimmy Boyd’s Sunday NFL picks.

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