The Lions are well rested as they had two weeks to get ready for the Redskins due to the bye last weekend.  Matthew Stafford is back and he will be starting this weekend against the Skins.  The Lions are 1-1 at home this year as they have outscored their opponents 75-41!  The Redskins have been good on the road as they are 2-1 despite being outscored 56-50.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Lions have the ball:  As long as Matthew Stafford has time to throw the ball that’s going to be what the Lions are going to do Sunday against a Redskins’ D that is giving up 292.1 yards passing per game.  I look for Stafford to stretch the field by getting the ball to Calvin Johnson and Nate Burleson deep.  After he softens the Redskins deep he will likely try to chop them up on short stuff to TEs Brandon Pettigrew, Tony Scheffler and RB Jahvid Best out of the backfield.  I don’t see the Lions trying to run much this Sunday.

When the Redskins have the ball:  The Redskins are going to try to run a balanced offense on Sunday.  RB Ryan Torain will take aim at a Lions’ D that is allowing 138.8 yards rushing and 4.9 yards per carry.  The Redskins like to throw the ball but Donovan McNabb looks for Santana Moss and Chris Cooley (54.2% of his completions go to them) most of the time so the Lions know who they have to stop.

PREDICTION:  LIONS 30, REDSKINS 27

The Lions have claimed 25-year old cornerback Brandon McDonald off waivers from the Cardinals.  McDonald played in 2 games earlier this year with the Cardinals but he didn’t have any tackles.  McDonald has now played in 50 games in his NFL career and he has 154 tackles, 37 passes defensed, 1 sack, 2 forced fumbles and 8 interceptions (one of which he returned for a TD).  The Lions are giving up 224.0 yards passing per game so it was worth taking a chance on claiming McDonald to see if he can help or not.

The Lions have placed 23-year old linebacker Zack Follett on the Injured Reserve List with a neck injury ending his season.  Follett played in 5 games for the Lions this year and he had 21 tackles and 1 pass defensed.  He has now played in 17 games in his first two years with the Lions and he has 31 tackles and 1 pass defensed.  Follett was injured on a helmet to helmet hit.

Rookie first round pick Ndamukong Suh has really been a playmaker for the Lions so far this year.  In the first six games of his NFL career, Suh has 21 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 4.5 sacks, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception.  He is been very hard for defenses to contend with because of his blend of speed and power.  Despite Suh’s success so far in this career the Lions are still giving up 138.8 yards rushing and 4.9 yards per carry this year as teams are running the other way against them so far this year.

While it’s honorable to see rookie first round pick Jahvid Best trying to play with a case of turf toe, it’s starting to hurt the Lions’ offense.  Best has played in all six games for the Lions this year and he has carried the ball 79 times for 249 yards  (3.2 ypc) with 4 TD runs.  Best has also caught 31 passes for 285 yards (9.2 avg) with 1 TD grab this year.  The Lions are only averaging 79.0 yards rushing and 3.5 yards per carry so far this year and that’s just not good enough.  The Lions should probably give Kevin Smith more work in the running game now that he’s healthy.  Smith has carried the ball 11 times for 53 yards (4.8 ypc) and he has caught 5 passes for 39 yards (7.8 avg) so far this year.  I’m not saying that the Lions should bench Best but I think they should split the carries between him and Kevin Smith until Best is 100%.

The Lions have signed 27-year old linebacker Bobby Carpenter.  Carpenter played in 5 games for the Dolphins earlier this year and he had 10 tackles.  Carpenter has now played in 63 games in his NFL career and he has 106 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 3.5 sacks.  It never hurts to give a guy like Carpenter a chance so I like this move for the Lions.

The Lions have released 31-year old safety Dante Wesley.  Wesley played in 3 games for the Lions this year and he had 2 tackles.  The Lions have players they like more in the secondary than Wesley so it didn’t make any sense to keep him.  The Lions also have better, younger players for special teams ending Wesley’s days with them.

The Lions will be without QB Shaun Hill for a while as he fractured his left forearm in last week’s game against the Giants.  Hill has played in all six games for the Lions this year and he has completed 127 of 208 passes (61.1%) for 1,309 yards with 9 TD passes and 7 INTs (79.6 QB Rating).  Hill also has carried the ball 14 times for 78 yards (5.6 ypc) so far this year.  Matthew Stafford is expected back after the Lions’ bye this week and Drew Stanton will back him up until Hill is ready to return to action.  This is a shame as Hill did a pretty good job for the Lions filling if for Stafford.

The Lions showed some grit today as they fought the Giants right until the bitter end.  Shaun Hill was off to a good start today before a cheap shot took him out of the game.  Hill completed 9 of 15 passes for 91 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs before leaving the game.  Drew Stanton replaced him and he played pretty strongly despite having some ball security problems (he fumbled 3 times, losing 1 of them).  Stanton completed 19 of 34 passes for 222 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 3 times for 30 yards (10.0 ypc) today.  Kevin Smith led the way for the Lions on the ground in this game with 17 yards rushing on 4 carries (4.3 ypc).  Jahvid Best had a rough time today as he carried the ball 12 times for 16 yards (1.3 ypc) and he also caught 6 passes for 31 yards (5.2 avg).  Calvin Johnson had a monster game today with 5 grabs for 146 yards (29.2 avg) with a 87-yard TD grab from Drew Stanton.  TE Brandon Pettigrew (7 rec, 61 yards) and Nate Burleson (6 rec, 50 yards, TD) also pitched in for the Lions in the passing game.  The Lions finished up with 64 yards rushing on 21 carries (3.0 ypc) and they also completed 28 of 49 passes for 302 yards.

Linebacker Ashlee Palmer led the way for the Lions defensively today with 13 tackles.  Safeties Louis Delmas (8 tackles) and C.C. Brown (7 tackles, 1 pass defense) also pitched in with solid work for the Lions today.  The Giants finished up with 167 yards rushing on 30 carries (5.6 ypc) and they also completed 20 of 30 passes for 167 yards.  The Lions are not 1-5 on the season.

The Lions won their first game of the year last week, pounding the Rams 44-6 but they are 0-3 on the road so this will be a big test for them.  The Giants have won two games in a row now outscoring the competition by a combined score of 51-13!  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Lions have the ball:  This could be a tough game for the Lions offensively.  The Giants already have 19 sacks and 6 interceptions this year.  That means that Shaun Hill will need to get rid of the ball really quick without throwing into coverage.  That is easier said than done against the Giants’ D.  Hill will likely use his TEs and RBs a lot in the passing game this weekend especially with top wideout Calvin Johnson a little gimpy with a shoulder problem.  The Lions will also likely try to run the ball a little more than usual in this game with Jahvid Best getting most of the action.

When the Giants have the ball:  The Giants are a really balanced offense and the Lions’ D is equally bad against both the run (133.2 yards rushing per game, 4.8 ypc) and the pass (235.4 yards passing per game).  That is a recipe for disaster for the Lions.  Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs will try to batter the front seven of the Lions.  The Lions do have 14 sacks this year so Manning will have to get rid of the ball quick to have success but he also has a outstanding set of WRs in Mario Manningham, Hakeem Nicks and Steve Smith.

PREDICTION:  GIANTS 31, LIONS 17