NFL Free Pick: NO/DET
Not much is on the line this week in Motown as the winless Detroit Lions are still after that elusive first win and will host the New Orleans Saints.
Our team of writers and handicappers break down the matchup and hand out a Free NFL Pick for Week 16.
Oddsmakers from online sports book Sportsbook.com have made the Saints -7 point spread favorite. The over/under for this game has been set at 50.5 total points.
Key Trend: New Orleans is 4-0-1 against the spread in its last five games while the Lions are just 7-15 against the number in their last 22 games. Detroit is just 1-7 against the spread in its last eight games at home, too, while the total has gone over in six of the Lions’ last seven games.
Key Stat: The Saints have averaged 27.9 points per game this season while the Lions are allowing 31.7 PPG. The Saints are also averaging 304.2 passing yards per game while the Lions are allowing 220.4 yards per game through the air and 168.7 rushing yards per game.
Game Outlook: As long as Saints’ head coach Sean Payton doesn’t get too cute with his play calling (which has been a problem at times this season), New Orleans should run away with this one. They just have too much fire power for a Detroit team that is still searching for its first win 15 weeks into the season. The Saints are used to playing on turf and their explosive offense will be too much for the Lions’ woeful defense. Expect Pierre Thomas to be in the mix for New Orleans, too, so that he can keep its offense balanced. Unless the Lions have a miracle up their sleeves, the Saints should roll, even though they have nothing to play for at this point after being eliminated last week. See the rest of our Free NFL Pick below.
Our Free NFL Pick for the Week 16 matchup between the New Orleans Saints and Detroit Lions game is
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS -7
TheSpread.com Projected Final Score
New Orleans Saints 37
Detroit Lions 20
We also predict that this game will GO OVER THE TOTAL (50.5 Sports Interaction.com) SET BY ODDSMAKERS
Posted: 12/21/08 8:30AM ET