Detroit Lions: Game-by-game predictions for the 2017 season
By Zac Snyder
Week 3: vs. Atlanta Falcons
The Lions didn’t get to play their second home game until week five in 2015 and 2016 but get home game number two in week three in 2017. That’s the good news. The bad news is they get the defending NFC Champion Atlanta Falcons.
In many ways, the Falcons represent what the Lions hope to become. It’s not hard to draw parallels between Matthew Stafford and Matt Ryan as high draft picks who lacked consistent play and playoff success. Ryan broke through last season to lay claim to elite quarterback status and helped guide the Falcons to a Super Bowl performance. Fans in Detroit wait to see if Stafford and the Lions can make a similar jump.
For the Lions to get where they want to go, they will have to start beating teams in the league’s upper echelon with more regularity. Taking care of business against poor and mediocre teams is a good way to secure a .500 record but it takes more than that to push beyond.
Hopefully the Lions get there under Bob Quinn, but until it happens, games against opponents like the Falcons go down as losses.
Prediction: Loss (1-2)