The Lions stunned not only the Arizona Cardinals but experts as well when they pulled off the 26-23 upset, bringing their record to 1-2. The Lions back home in Week 4 for a matchup against a 1-2 New Orleans Saints.
Despite a plethora of injuries, the Saints being heavily picked to win this contest, with 88-percent of experts going with the road team at the time of this writing, according to NFL PickWatch.
On a positive note: the Lions failed to break double digits in expert pick percentage over the last two weeks, but did here, giving the impression that the experts might be drinking some of that Honolulu Blue kool-aid again.
There was plenty of good to take away from the Lions’ victory last week, such as improved linebacker play and the return of Kenny Golladay, but the Lions still have several issues to figure out. For example, with this game potentially turning into a shoutout, the Lions can afford to squander their red zone opportunities again, because if they leave too many points on the board, they may never catch the Saints offense.
The Saints have had a rough road this season. They opened the year with an unfavorable schedule — facing opponents with a combined 7-2 record –and they enter this week down six starters. They have been competitive in all of their contests, mostly due to their dynamic weapon running back Alvin Kamara and quarterback Drew Brees managing the game effectively.
The Lions could look to pull off their second straight upset against the Saints at home, and if they stick to the Honolulu Blueprint, they can be .500 going into their bye next week.