What a difference a division makes. The Seattle Seahawks and Detroit Lions are both 3-3. The Seahawks have not shot of winning their division, the NFC West, because the Rams are unbeaten. The Detroit Lions, meanwhile, are just a game out of the lead in the NFC North and favored on the NFL odds for Sunday’s game.
How to Bet Seahawks vs Lions NFL Week 8 Odds & Game Info
- When: Sunday, 1 PM ET
- Where: Ford Field, Detroit
- TV: Fox
- Radio: SiriusXM/NFL
- NFL Week 8 Odds: Detroit Lions -2.5 (Total 49.5)
Last Meeting
The teams met in Seattle in a wild-card game following the 2016 season. The Seahawks rolled 26-6. Thomas Rawls rushed for a franchise playoff record 161 yards to lead Seattle – he’s long gone now. Russell Wilson finished 23 of 30 for 224 yards, while Doug Baldwin had 11 catches for 104 yards.Hampered by a handful of dropped passes and some untimely penalties, the Lions could only manage a pair of long Matt Prater field goals. Matthew Stafford was 18 of 32 for 205 yards. He was sacked three times and Detroit never ran a play inside the Seattle 33-yard line. The Lions haven’t won a playoff game since 1992.
Why Bet on Seattle?
This will be Seattle’s first game since owner and co-Microsoft founder Paul Allen died. He was just 65 years old and revealed just a few weeks ago that he’d been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. His outlook had been positive on the diagnosis. Allen bought the Seahawks in 1996 and wasn’t married and had no children. Thus it’s not really clear who will run the team for now, with it likely to be sold.The Seahawks are about as healthy as possible off their bye. They played great right before it, trashing Oakland 27-3 in London. Russell Wilson completed 17-of-23 passes for 222 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. Wilson rushed six times for 20 yards, but he looked relatively sluggish on his carries while dealing with a hamstring injury. So the bye came at a good week for him. Chris Carson rushed 14 times for 59 yards in Seattle’s Week 6 victory, while Rashaad Penny rushed nine times for 43 yards and caught 2-of-2 targets for 27 yards.
Seahawks defensive end Frank Clark was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 6. Clark ate Raiders rookie LT Kolton Miller for lunch last Sunday in London, bullying Miller on his way to Derek Carr for 2.5 sacks while forcing a pair of fumbles. Clark, in a contract year, has 5.5 sacks and is a top-10 4-3 pass-rushing end at Pro Football Focus.
On Monday, Pro-Bowl linebacker K.J. Wright, who missed Seattle’s first six games following arthroscopic knee surgery, practiced for the first time since August, while tight end Ed Dickson, a key free-agent addition this offseason, returned to action after spending the first six weeks on the reserve/non-football injury list. Coach Pete Carroll says Dickson has a chance to play “quite a bit” in his return.
In addition to those two making their way back from long-term absences, the Seahawks also saw rookie defensive end Rasheem Green return to practice following a three-game absence caused by an ankle injury. Tight end Nick Vannett, who missed Seattle’s Week 6 win in London with a back injury, was also back in action.
Team Stats
Offense- Average Score For: 23.83
- Total Yards: 325.00
- Rush Yards: 127.83
- Passing Yards: 197.17
- Average Score Against: 19.50
- Total Yards: 326.67
- Rush Yards: 120.67
- Passing Yards: 206.00
Why Bet on Detroit?
The Lions were 32-21 winners at Miami on Sunday. Rookie Kerryon Johnson rushed for 158 yards on 19 carries (8.3 average). Johnson is the first Lions running back with at least 150 rushing yards in a single game since Jahvid Best (163 vs. Chicago on October 10, 2011). Johnson needs to rush for 1,026 yards in the last 10 games to tie Barry Sanders’ rookie total. The Lions combined for 248 rushing yards on Sunday, the most by the franchise in a single game since November 23, 1997 (249 yards vs. Indianapolis). Johnson’s yards per carry is now a crazy-good 6.43 through 69 carries. Matthew Stafford completed 18-of-22 passes for 217 yards and two touchdowns.The Lions were last in the league in rushing last year with 76.3 yards per game and tied for last with an average of 3.4 yards per carry. After Sunday’s game, they’re 11th in rushing yards per game (122.3) and tied for fourth in average per carry (4.9).
The Lions appear to have a more diversified offensive attack than at any time during Stafford’s career. It allows Detroit to manage the clock — and the potential outcomes because a strong run game can wear down a defense. It is something the Lions hadn’t had in half a decade. And that can make Detroit dangerous with a critical portion of its schedule upcoming with a home game against Seattle followed by road trips to Minnesota and Chicago.
Defensively, rookie Da’Shawn Hand continues to impress and continues to get more and more opportunities to do so. Hand played 73 percent (41) of Detroit’s snaps vs. Miami, which was 20 more snaps than any other interior defender. Hand was credited with eight quarterback hurries in the contest. That’s more than a third of all of Detroit’s hurries in the game (22).
Team Stats
Offense- Average Score For: 26.17
- Total Yards: 380.50
- Rush Yards: 122.33
- Passing Yards: 258.17
- Average Score Against: 26.33
- Total Yards: 360.16
- Rush Yards: 139.33
- Passing Yards: 220.83
Latest Seahawks vs Lions NFL Week 8 Betting Trends
- Seahawks are 4-9 ATS in their last 13 games following an ATS win
- Seahawks are 2-6 ATS in their last 8 games following a straight up win
- Seahawks are 4-16-1 ATS in their last 21 games in Week 8
- Seahawks are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games following a straight up win of more than 14 points
- Lions are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games overall
- Lions are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 vs. NFC
