I believe this week, against the Redskins at Ford Field, presents the Lions with their best chance yet this season - by far - to win.
I’m even going as far as predicting the Lions will beat the Redskins Sunday, albeit it in a close decision. Here’s why:
- The Redskins are a talented team, but they still seem to be in search of themselves after replacing Joe Gibbs with Jim Zorn as head coach prior to last season, and committing to Jason Campbell as the starting quarterback.
- I know Zorn from his days with the Lions. Excellent QB coach. Terrific person. Just don’t see him as the head coaching type, especially in that zoo.
- Campbell is not without weapons - Santana Moss, Chris Cooley, Antwaan Randle El, Clinton Portis. He just doesn’t seem to come up with the big throw when needed. Last week, the Redskins only had nine points in a narrow victory over a Rams squadthat isn’t much more talented than the Lions overall. They were at home, too.
- The Redskins’ offensive line is long in the tooth and not as effective as it used to be.
- The Redskins still remain a collection of stars rather than a cohesive unit
Now, are the Redskins better than the Lions on paper? Absolutely. Have they dominated the Lions in the past to unprecedented degree? For sure.
But the Lions did make some progress from Week One to Week Two. In their first two games, the Lions were not only playing teams that were clearly superior to them in regard to talent, but also that are playing particularly well.
The Redskins aren’t as good as the Saints and Vikings, and they aren’t playing particularly well.
I expect both rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford and the Lions’ defense to play better this week and the losing streak to end.