Lions vs. Seahawks: Odds, Stat Predictions for 2017 NFC Wild Card Game

Should the Detroit Lions even bother to show up for their Wild Card game against the Seattle Seahawks?

If you look at the way the Lions have been playing recently, the answer may not be a positive one. After rolling to a 9-4 record and taking charge in the NFC North, the Lions lost three consecutive games to close the season, and they gave up the division to the Green Bay Packers.

In the past, teams that went to CenturyLink Field had little chance of beating the Seahawks. However, they dropped a Week 16 home game to the Arizona Cardinals, and head coach Pete Carroll’s team followed that with another substandard performance in their 25-23 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.

While the Lions clearly have some issues, so do the Seahawks. Nevertheless, the Seahawks are eight-point favorites over the Lions, according to OddsShark.

The Lions have been competing in recent weeks without a healthy Matthew Stafford. The quarterback injured the tendon on the middle finger of his passing hand, and his productivity has suffered in recent weeks. 

Stafford finished the season with a 65.3 completion percentage, 4,327 passing yards and a 24-10 TD-interception ratio. However, Stafford has thrown just two TD passes in his last three games and three interceptions.

In addition to the numbers being off, Stafford has had a hard time finding the open man with his throws. In the last two games against the Dallas Cowboys and the Packers, Stafford missed receivers running across the middle of the field who it looked like he would have hit earlier in the year.

The Lions don’t have much of a running …

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