Detroit Lions Host Atlanta Falcons in Best NFL Week 3 Matchup

Detroit Lions Surprise of NFL So Far

The Atlanta Falcons and the Detroit Lions both try to stay undefeated on Sunday when they meet at Ford Field. Kickoff is set for 1 pm EST. FOX Sports will have coverage of the game. When the NFL schedules were made in the offseason, not many would have circled this game as the premier game of NFL Week 3.

Oddsmakers opened the Falcons as -3-point favorites versus the Lions, while the game's total opened at 48.5.  The line is still Falcons -3, but the total has risen to 51 at a few sportsbooks.

Detroit Lions Defense is Surprise of the League

Detroit won its last outing 24-10 against the New York Giants on September 18. The Lions covered in that game as a +3-point underdog, while the 34 combined points took the game UNDER the total.

Opponents have only scored 33 points against the Lions this year. They also have an interception return for a touchdown. The Lions already have six sacks, three forced fumbles and have picked off four passes. They sacked Giants quarterback Eli Manning five times last week. Three of those were by defensive end Ziggy Ansah.

Detroit relies on the powerful right arm of Matthew Stafford. That's why they awarded him the richest contract in NFL history at the end of training camp. Stafford has thrown six touchdown passes. That ties him for the league lead with Denver's Trevor Siemian.

Falcons Coming Off Dominating Win Over Packers

In their last action, Atlanta was a 34-23 winner at home against the Green Bay Packers. They covered the -3-point spread as favorites, while the combined score (57) was profitable news for OVER bettors. The game was not as close as the score, as the Falcons dominated from opening kickoff.

Quarterback Matt Ryan has completed 69 percent of his passes and thrown two touchdowns this season. Running back Devonta Freeman has scored three times. He is also averaging 3.9 yards per carry. The receiving tandem of Julie Jones and Mohamed Sanu has combined for 20 catches and 306 yards.

The Falcons have shown a strong pass rush with seven sacks. They will be without top edge rusher Vic Beasley Jr. He has been declared out with a hamstring injury. Beasley could miss up to a month. Defensive lineman Courtney Upshaw will also sit out with an ankle injury.

Recent Form

Name	Record	ATS	Offense	Defense	Diff	ATS Home	ATS Away	OU Record	OU Home	OU Away
Atlanta	2-0	1-1	28.50	20.00	8.5	1-0	0-1	1-1	1-0	0-1
Detroit	2-0	2-0	29.50	16.50	13	1-0	1-0	1-1	1-0	0-1

Power Stats

Yards Per Point

Name	Offense	Defense	Differential
ATL	12.91	16.7	-3.79
DET	10.58	17.55	-6.97

Yards Per Pass

Name	Offense	Defense	Differential
ATL	13.27	8.20	5.07
DET	9.18	9.63	-0.45

Yards Per Rush

Name	Offense	Defense	Differential
ATL	4.10	5.41	-1.31
DET	3.73	2.97	0.76

Team Records

Atlanta Falcons

Name	Record	Home	Away	ATS	ATS Home	ATS Away	Offense	Defense	Diff
Overall	2-0	1-0	1-0	1-1	1-0	0-1	28.50	20.00	8.50
vs Conf	2-0	1-0	1-0	1-1	1-0	0-1	28.50	20.00	8.50
vs Div	0-0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0.00	0.00	0.00
Last 3	2-0	1-0	1-0	1-1	1-0	0-1	28.50	20.00	8.50

Detroit Lions

Name	Record	Home	Away	ATS	ATS Home	ATS Away	Offense	Defense	Diff
Overall	2-0	1-0	1-0	2-0	1-0	1-0	29.50	16.50	13.00
vs Conf	2-0	1-0	1-0	2-0	1-0	1-0	29.50	16.50	13.00
vs Div	0-0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0-0	0.00	0.00	0.00
Last 3	2-0	1-0	1-0	2-0	1-0	1-0	29.50	16.50	13.00

Supergrid

Title	Stat	Rank	Stat	Rank
Away Team Overall Scoring vs Home Team Overall Defense	28.50	8	16.50	8
Away Team Road Passing vs Home Team Home Passing Defense	308.00	4	264.00	18
Away Team Road Rushing vs Home Team Home Rushing Defense	64.00	20	45.00	5
Home Team Overall Scoring vs Away Team Overall Defense	29.50	6	20.00	15
Home Team Home Passing vs Away Team Road Passing Defense	285.00	5	176.00	4
Home Team Home Rushing vs Away Team Road Rushing Defense	82.00	18	125.00	20

Head To Head Summary

Name	Record	ATS	OU	Score	Rush	YPR	PA	CP	PY	TY	TO +/-
Atlanta	6-4	8-2	2-8	23.00	156.90	4.84	28.30	59.36	188.70	345.60	1.60
Detroit	4-6	2-8	2-8	17.60	91.90	3.78	35.80	55.59	221.30	313.20	1.80

Head To Head Detail

Date	Away	Home	Score	Line	Total	OU Result	ARY	APY	ATY	ATT	HRY	HPY	HTY	HTT	Away Team Attempts	Home Team Attempts	Away Team Completions	Home Team Completions
Oct 26, 2014	DET	ATL	22-21	60	325	385	1	78	213	291	1
Dec 22, 2012	ATL	DET	31-18	73	271	344	0	79	443	522	3
Oct 23, 2011	ATL	DET	23-16	129	199	328	2	104	159	263	1
Sep 7, 2008	DET	ATL	21-34	62	246	308	1	318	156	474	0
Nov 5, 2006	ATL	DET	14-30	165	154	319	3	127	308	435	1
Nov 24, 2005	ATL	DET	27-7	256	146	402	2	75	229	304	4
Oct 10, 2004	DET	ATL	17-10	101	126	227	0	94	185	279	4
Dec 22, 2002	DET	ATL	15-36	87	121	208	3	197	336	533	2
Nov 12, 2000	ATL	DET	10-13	114	104	218	2	107	115	222	1
Dec 20, 1998	ATL	DET	24-17	145	123	268	0	117	141	258	3

NFL Betting Trends

Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta is 6-3 ATS in its last 9 games
Atlanta is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games
The total has gone OVER in 10 of Atlanta's last 11 games
Atlanta is 8-2 ATS in its last 10 games on the road
Atlanta is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Atlanta's last 6 games on the road
Atlanta is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Detroit
Atlanta is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing Detroit
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Atlanta's last 7 games when playing Detroit
Atlanta is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Detroit
Atlanta is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Detroit
Atlanta is 4-8 SU in its last 12 games when playing on the road against Detroit
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Atlanta's last 5 games when playing on the road against Detroit

Detroit Lions
Detroit is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games
Detroit is 10-5 SU in its last 15 games
Detroit is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Detroit's last 13 games
Detroit is 6-2 ATS in its last 8 games at home
Detroit is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Detroit's last 6 games at home
Detroit is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Atlanta
Detroit is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Atlanta
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Detroit's last 7 games when playing Atlanta
Detroit is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Atlanta
Detroit is 8-4 SU in its last 12 games when playing at home against Atlanta
Detroit is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Atlanta
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Detroit's last 5 games when playing at home against Atlanta

Team Last 5 Games

Atlanta Falcons

Date	Opponent	score	Result	line	ATS Result	offensive rush yards	offensive passing yards	offensive total yards	defensive rush yards	defensive passing yards	defensive total yards	turnovers	Location
Sep 17, 2017	GB	34-23	W	-3/55	W/O	141	223	364	59	308	367	-2	H
Sep 10, 2017	CHI	23-17	W	-6.5/48.5	L/U	64	308	372	125	176	301	0	A
Feb 5, 2017	NE	28-34	L	3/57.5	L/O	104	240	344	104	442	546	-1	H
Jan 22, 2017	GB	44-21	W	-6.5/59.5	W/O	101	392	493	99	268	367	-2	H
Jan 14, 2017	SEA	36-20	W	-6.5/51	W/O	99	323	422	101	208	309	-2	H

Detroit Lions

Date	Opponent	score	Result	line	ATS Result	offensive rush yards	offensive passing yards	offensive total yards	defensive rush yards	defensive passing yards	defensive total yards	turnovers	Location
Sep 18, 2017	NYG	24-10	W	3/42.5	W/U	138	119	257	62	208	270	0	A
Sep 10, 2017	ARI	35-23	W	2.5/48.5	W/O	82	285	367	45	264	309	-3	H
Jan 7, 2017	SEA	6-26	L	8/45.5	L/U	49	182	231	177	210	387	0	A
Jan 1, 2017	GB	24-31	L	3.5/50	L/O	76	332	408	153	295	448	1	H
Dec 26, 2016	DAL	21-42	L	6.5/46.5	L/O	90	229	319	164	211	375	2	A

Weather in
Detroit - United States

 44°F

Fair
Humidity is 88%
Wind is E 5 mph
Visibility is 5 miles mi
Pressure is 30.1 i inHg

Forecast for Detroit

Next up:
Atlanta home to Buffalo Sunday, October 1
Detroit at Minnesota Sunday, October 1

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