The Lions were leading this game 24-17 with 6:50 left in the third quarter before the roof caved in on them.  Shaun Hill completed 27 of 46 passes for 285 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 INTs.  He also carried the ball 4 times for 23 yards (5.8 ypc) yesterday.  Maurice Morris was solid yesterday with 55 yards rushing on 9 carries (6.1 ypc) with 2 TD carries and he also caught 5 passes for 20 yards (4.0 avg).  Aaron Brown pitched in with 36 yards rushing on 13 carries (2.8 ypc) and he also added 4 catches for 29 yards (7.3 avg) in this game.  Calvin Johnson (4 rec, 81 yards, TD) and Brandon Pettigrew (5 rec, 67 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Lions yesterday.  The Lions finished up with 129 yards rushing on 27 carries (4.8 ypc) and they also completed 27 of 46 passes for 277 yards.

CB Amari Spievey (10 tackles, 1 QB hit) and LB Landon Johnson (8 tackles) led the way for the Lions’ D yesterday.  The Patriots rolled up 109 yards rushing on 25 carries (4.4 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 27 passes for 338 yards.  The Lions are now 2-9 on the year.

This is the perfect opportunity for the Lions to rise up and shock the world.  The Lions are 2-2 at home this year where they have outscored their opponents 133-89.  The Patriots give up a lot of yards but they are 3-2 on the road so this isn’t going to be easy for the Lions.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Lions have the ball:  With Maurice Morris likely starting at RB, I see the Lions throwing a lot in the game today.  The Patriots are allowing 289.6 yards passing per game and the Lions have a lot of weapons to take advantage of that.  Shaun Hill will likely have time to throw the ball as the Patriots don’t have a great pass rush.  Look for Calvin Johnson, Nate Burleson and Brandon Pettigrew to all have big games like they did last week against the Cowboys.

When the Patriots have the ball:  It’s always a risk to blitz and put pressure on Tom Brady, but I think it would be a good gameplan today.  Brady hasn’t practiced all week so today will be his first action of the week.  Still, though he is Tom Brady and he’s especially dangerous now because he doesn’t have a favorite receiver so there is no one to double as he loves spreading the foootball around.  The Patriots have also been running more than usual so the Lions have to be ready to deal with BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Danny Woodhead.

PREDICTION:  PATRIOTS 34, LIONS 31

The Lions were up 12-7  in the 3rd quarter with 11:24 left in the game but that’s when it started to go to pot.  Bryan McCann of the Cowboys returned a punt 97 yards for a TD just two minutes later and the Cowboys never gave up the lead again.  Shaun Hill had a solid game for the Lions as he completed 32 of 47 passes for 289 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 INT.  Maurice Morris had to carry the load for the Lions in the running game with 10 carries for 31 yards (3.1 ypc) and he also caught 4 passes for 40 yards (10.0 avg).  Nate Burleson (7 rec, 97 yards, TD), Calvin Johnson (6 rec, 46 yards, TD) and Brandon Pettigrew (8 rec, 75 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Lions in this game.  The Lions finished up with 75 yards rushing on 20 carries (3.8 ypc) and they also completed 32 of 47 passes for 263 yards.

The Lions got a safety in this game and they didn’t give up a lot of yards but they still gave up quite a few points.  In their defense, the Cowboys had short fields to work with which resulted in 14 of the points plus the special teams gave up a TD.  The Cowboys finished up with 134 yards rushing on 30 carries (4.5 ypc) and they also completed 18 of 24 passes for 131 yards.  The Lions are now 2-8 on the season.

The Lions have signed 25-year old offensive guard Donald Thomas.  Thomas played in 16 games (12 starts) for the Dolphins last season.  He has now played in 17 games (13 starts) in his first two years in the NFL.  He stands at 6’4″, 310 pounds and he can probably also handle playing OT in a pinch.

Something has to give this weekend in Dallas.  The Lions are 0-5 on the road where they have been outscored 113-82.  The Cowboys are 0-4 at home where they have been outscored 137-99.  The Cowboys are coming off a victory in Jason Garrett’s first game as the head coach last weekend.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Lions have the ball:  The Lions are going to come out throwing the ball this Sunday.  If Shaun Hill has time to throw the ball he’s going to have a big game against a Cowboys’ D that is allowing 232.0 yards passing per game and opposing QBs have a 105.0 Rating against the so far this year!  Calvin Johnson, Brandon Pettigrew and Nate Burleson are all in line to have big games this weekend.  The Lions don’t run the ball much anymore with Jahvid Best banged up.

When the Cowboys have the ball:  The Cowboys ran the ball more than usual last weekend and I think that will continue this weekend.  The Lions are allowing 130.4 yards rushing per game and 4.7 yards per carry so Felix Jones & Marion Barber should have success if the Cowboys let them tote the rock.  The Lions have 25 sacks already this year and Jon Kitna has been known to make mistakes when pressured so maybe the secondary will be able to make some big plays in this game.  If Kitna has time to throw the ball though, the Lions will be in some trouble as he has Miles Austin, Roy Williams, Dez Bryant and Jason Witten to throw to. 

PREDICTION:  COWBOYS 27, LIONS 23

The Lions might only be 2-7 this year but head coach Jim Schwartz has them going in the right direction.  Despite being 2-7 on the year, the Lions have outscored the competition 215-202!  The Lions are 2-2 at home this year so they are making it hard on teams coming to Ford Field to play and that’s a good sign.  I think the Lions would be close to a .500 team if Matthew Stafford didn’t miss so much time due to injury.  The Lions are now 4-21 (16%) in parts of two years under the 44-year old Jim Schwartz.

The Lions will be without RB Kevin Smith for this weekend’s game against the Cowboys due to thumb surgery.  Smith has carried the ball 34 times for 133 yards (3.9 ypc) and he has also caught 11 passes for 123 yards (11.2 avg) this year.  The Lions will need Maurice Morris to step up behind Jahvid Best.  Morris has carried the ball 11 times for 10 yards (0.9 ypc) and he has also caught 7 passes for 54 yards (7.7 avg) so far this year.  The Lions hope that Morris will play good enough to keep Jahvid Best fresh this Sunday.

UPDATE:  (11/25/2010) – The Lions have placed Smith on I.R., ending his season.

The Lions played hard in this game but they fell just a tad short.  Shaun Hill threw a 20-yard TD pass to Calvin Johnson with only 14 seconds left in the game but they then failed to convert on the 2-point conversion.  Shaun Hill completed 29 of 50 passes for 323 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  Jahvid Best only rushed for 35 yards on 17 carries (2.1 ypc) and he added 4 catches for 4 yards (1.0 avg).  Kevin Smith pitched in with 6 carries for 19 yards (3.2 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 41 yards (13.7 avg).  Calvin Johnson led the way in the passing game for the Lions yesterday with 10 grabs for 128 yards (12.8 avg) with a TD grab.  TE Brandon Pettigrew (4 rec, 50 yards) and WR Nate Burleson (4 rec, 47 yards) also pitched in for the Lions in the passing game yesterday.  The Lions finished up with 76 yards on 26 carries (2.9 ypc) and they also completed 29 of 50 passes for 314 yards. 

The defense was good against the pass but soft against the run yesterday for the Lions.  DEs Lawrence Jackson (8 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack and 1 QB hit) and Kyle Vanden Bosch (8 tackles) led the way for the D yesterday.  The Bills finished up with 151 yards rushing on 33 carries (4.6 ypc) and they completed 12 of 24 passes for 139 yards.  The Lions are now 2-7 on the season.

One of these teams is going to do something they have not done this year.  The Lions are 0-4 on the road where they have been outscored 115-70.  But, the Bills have played much better when away from Buffalo.  They are 0-3 at Buffalo having been outscored 89-50 there!  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Lions have the football:  The Lions are kind of lucky as Shaun Hill is ready to return to action.  The offense has played well under him and he will be coming after a Bills’ D that is allowing 193.4 yards passing per game but opposing QBs have a 108.4 Rating against them.  Opposing QBs have 17 TD passes and 1 INT against the Bills so far this season so Shaun Hill should have little problem getting the ball to Calvin Johnson, Nate Burleson, Brandon Pettigrew, Jahvid Best and Tony Scheffler.  The Lions might even be able to get Jahvid Best and Kevin Smith going against a Bills’ D that is allowing 178.3 yards rushing and 4.8 yards per carry.

When the Bills have the ball:  The Bills might try to get a running game going this week as the Lions are allowing 127.9 yards rushing and 4.7 yards per carry so far this year.  Fred Jackson & C.J. Spiller will likely find a lot of running room this weekend.  The Lions have 24 sacks already this year so Ryan Fitzpatrick will likely be rolling the pocket.  WRs Steve Johnson and Lee Evans could be in for big games this Sunday.

PREDICTION:  LIONS 33, BILLS 30

29-year old WR Stefan Logan is a small guy at 5’6″, 180 pounds but he’s making a huge impact for the Lions this season.  Logan has played in all 8 games for the Lions this year and he has returned 27 kickoffs for 793 yards (29.4 avg) with 1 TD return.  He has also returned 16 punts for 211 yards (13.2 avg) and he has also carried the ball 1 time for 21 yards.  Logan continues to give the Lions’ offense great starting field position which has led to a increase in points and offensive production.