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The Atlanta Falcons will be returning home after a two-game road trip. They will take on the Detroit Lions in a holiday battle at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Detroit should still be riding high after a victory, while the Falcons will be looking to get back in the win column.
The game between Atlanta and the San Francisco 49ers last week was not a total blowout, but with Atlanta falling 31-13 on the road, it was darn close to turning into one. The losing side was boosted by WR Russell Gage, who caught eight passes for one TD and 91 yards.
Meanwhile, Detroit was hampered by 88 penalty yards against the Arizona Cardinals last week, but luckily for them that wasn't the tale of the game. Detroit strolled past Arizona with points to spare, taking the contest 30-12. Detroit QB Jared Goff was slinging it as he passed for three TDs and 216 yards on 26 attempts.
Special teams collected 12 points for the Lions. K Riley Patterson delivered a perfect 3-for-3 game.
The Falcons are now 6-8 while Detroit sits at 2-11-1. Two defensive stats to keep an eye on: Atlanta is stumbling into the matchup with the second most touchdowns allowed in the NFL, having given up 42 on the season. Detroit has experienced some struggles of their own as they are fourth worst in the league in yards allowed per game, with 380.5 on average. It's possible one of these Achilles' heels will wind up tripping the losing team up.
