The Detroit Lions had something to prove in Week 11 against the Jaguars. Detroit barely managed to beat Houston in Week 10, so they decided to make a statement on Sunday against Jacksonville. The Lions had their best offensive performance in franchise history in a 52-6 beatdown of the Jaguars.
Detroit is 9-1 heading into Week 12 and is currently in possession of the No. 1 seed in the NFC. The Lions control their destiny down the back stretch of the regular season. If they keep playing the way they have been, Detroit is guaranteed to be the top seed in the NFC playoffs.
Next up for the Lions is a Week 12 date with the Colts. Indianapolis is not as strong as they've been in years past. However, QB Anthony Richardson is coming off a great game where he had multiple rushing touchdowns.
Does Detroit have what it takes to get another easy win against an imperfect Indianapolis team? Or will the Lions fall victim to the dreaded “trap game”?
Below we will explore three Lions bold predictions ahead of their Week 12 matchup against the Colts.
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Lions QB Jared Goff puts up another elite performance against the Colts
Jared Goff wasted no time bouncing back from his five-interception game against the Texans.
Goff threw for 412 yards and four touchdowns against the Jaguars in Week 11. He had a 82.8% completion percentage and a perfect 158.3 passer rating. Oh and he had 21 rushing yards. It simply doesn't get much better than that in the NFL.
When Goff is playing at the top of his game, the Lions have an unbeatable offense. David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs paired with an elite offensive line is one of the best run games in football. That, paired with Goff and all of his receivers, is simply too much for opposing defenses to handle for 60 minutes.
Admittedly, it helps a lot to have the best offensive coordinator in the game calling plays. Regardless, Detroit has a winning formula and nobody has figured out how to stop it yet.
My prediction: Jared Goff will throw for over 350 passing yards and have at least three passing touchdowns against the Colts in Week 12. Detroit's offensive line will also keep Goff clean, only allowing him to be sacked once throughout the entire game.
Detroit uses the running game, play-action pass to milk the clock against Indianapolis
The run game is the bread and butter of Detroit's offense. If you can stop the Lions from running the football, it becomes much easier to beat them. Unfortunately for the rest of the NFL, nobody seems to be able to stop Detroit's running game.
It helps to have an elite offensive line headlined by Penei Sewell and a pair of incredible running backs.
Running the football, paired with a dangerous play-action passing attack, has done wonders to slow down opposing pass rushes and keep QB Jared Goff clean.
The Lions will continue to lean on what they're best at in Week 12 and get another huge win against the Colts.
My prediction: Detroit will rush for at least 175 total rushing yards and control the clock against the Colts. The Lions may not score as many points as they normally do, but they will limit the number of possessions during which the Colts can score. If they do that, there's no way they can lose this game.
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Lions defense forces several takeaways against a clueless Anthony Richardson
Detroit's defense has improved by leaps and bounds compared to 2023. While the defense used to be a liability, now the Lions can legitimately win games because of their defense. Even in games where their elite offense is struggling.
One thing that I find incredibly impressive about these improvements is that they're happening despite several key injuries. The Lions are without Aidan Hutchinson, Marcus Davenport, Derrick Barnes, and Ifeatu Melifonwu and have been for most of the season. We can add Alex Anzalone to that list as well, as he suffered a forearm injury on Sunday that will keep him out until January.
The Lions are able to overcome those injuries in part because of their opportunistic secondary. Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph are locked in an interception competition right now, with Joseph hauling in his seventh of the season on Sunday. Branch is great at forcing turnovers as well, in addition to landing huge hits on unsuspecting ballcarriers.
I see the Lions' defense continuing its streak of domination against Anthony Richardson in Week 12.
My prediction: Detroit forces at least two turnovers against the Colts on Sunday. At least one of those will come from an interception by either Brian Branch or Kerby Joseph.
