Detroit News

Justin Rogers, Nolan Bianchi, John Niyo and Bob Wojnowski of The Detroit News offer their predictions for Week 17 of the NFL season. All picks made against the spread. Bears +5.5 at Lions Rogers: Bears Bianchi: Bears Niyo: Lions Wojo: Bears Cowboys -10.5 at Titans Rogers: Titans Bianchi: Titans Niyo: Cowboys Wojo: Titans Broncos +13.5 at Chiefs Rogers: Broncos (best bet) Bianchi: Chiefs Niyo: Chiefs Wojo: Broncos

Allen Park — All anybody wants to talk about these days is how the Detroit Lions allowed a record-breaking rushing performance by the Carolina Panthers this past Sunday. And with good reason — it was by far the ugliest portion of the Lions’ crushing Christmas Eve loss. But what’s equally concerning — maybe more so,

Allen Park — The Detroit Lions know exactly what Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields is capable of doing with his feet. In an earlier meeting between the two teams this season, the second-year, dual-threat passer racked up 147 rushing yards and two touchdowns on a combination of 13 designed runs and broken pass plays. And

Allen Park — For much of the second half of the season, the Detroit Lions had been defending the run as well as any team in the NFL. And even though the Carolina Panthers had been having some real success on the ground during that same stretch, no one could have predicted the manhandling that

Allen Park — Two days after getting demolished by the Carolina Panthers, the Detroit Lions are still licking their wounds. But the time to get back on the horse is here, with playoff hopes still afloat and the Chicago Bears coming to town this weekend. And as he’s done all year, coach Dan Campbell is

Allen Park — Here are four observations after having a couple of nights to ponder the Detroit Lions’ 37-23 loss to the Carolina Panthers. First down The Lions’ recent success, a stretch of six wins in seven games, brought a surge of optimism and increased expectations locally. Everywhere you went around town, people could be heard talking about

The Detroit Lions wasted a prime opportunity to climb into the seventh and final seed of the NFC playoff race on Saturday, but with the three teams ahead of them in the standings also stumbling this weekend, there remains a narrow path to a postseason berth. The Lions (7-8) stayed in ninth place in the

The Lions had a chance to control their own playoff destiny and royally blew it in this 37-23 loss to the Carolina Panthers. The defense couldn’t tackle a soul. The Panthers ran for a franchise record 321 yards and had almost 600 yards of total offense. It was an embarrassing performance for a team that

Charlotte, N.C. — Justin Rogers grades the Detroit Lions’ performance in their 37-23 loss to the Carolina Panthers. Quarterbacks This wasn’t a loss that can be pinned on the quarterback. Jared Goff didn’t exactly throw the team on his back, but given the lack of a ground game and subpar protection, the Detroit signal-caller performed

Charlotte, N.C. — During the Detroit Lions’ recent run of six wins in seven games, there had been clear keys to their success, namely forcing takeaways, taking care of the ball and stopping the run. Against the Carolina Panthers on Saturday, the Lions failed in all three departments. The Panthers ran wild, racking up 321

Charlotte, N.C. — During the Detroit Lions’ recent run of six wins in seven games, there had been clear keys to the success, namely forcing takeaways, taking care of the ball and stopping the run. Against the Carolina Panthers on Saturday, the Lions failed in all three departments. The Panthers ran wild, racking up 321

The Lions have turned their season around, winning six of their last seven games to go from 1-6 to 7-7. Their playoff hopes are very much alive and well. This week they take on a Panthers team that still has playoff aspirations of its own, even at 5-9 on the year. Carolina is still just

Allen Park — Football has long been compared to a brutal, live-action game of chess. Two sides use the accumulation of many pieces to out-strategize the other, flipping between offense and defense, before the game is ultimately decided by a combination of attrition and smarts. In any given game of Detroit Lions football, linebacker and

Detroit Lions at Carolina Panthers ▶ Kickoff: 1 p.m. Saturday, Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, N.C. ▶ TV/radio: Fox/97.1 ▶ Records: Lions 7-7, Panthers 5-9 ▶ Line: Lions by 2½ Nolan Bianchi of The Detroit News breaks down the Lions’ Week 16 matchup against the Carolina Panthers. Key matchup LIONS RUN OFFENSE VS. PANTHERS RUN OFFENSE Not exactly

Nolan Bianchi, John Niyo, Justin Rogers and Bob Wojnowski of The Detroit News offer predictions for Saturday’s Lions-Panthers game at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina (1 p.m., Fox/97.1). ▶ Nolan Bianchi: How can you doubt the Lions at this point? Almost every major metric suggests that what you’ve seen from this young group is sustainable and

It’s not really accurate to say everything fell the Detroit Lions’ way last week, but the results were more favorable than not. First and foremost, the Lions scored a third straight victory, as well as the team’s third consecutive road win, taking care of the Jets at their place. It remains possible for the Lions

Allen Park — Everyone’s talking about the Lions — on the TV, in the grocery store, at the gas station. Exclamations have replaced expletives, and expectations have ratcheted so quickly, no one’s quite sure how to react. That’s fine for you as a fan, and for Big Johnny at the meat counter. The key issue

By Jerry Green |  Special to The Detroit News [embedded content] The play is among the most historic in all of professional sports! Yet, the key detail has remained a mystery for half a century. A Hall of Fame quarterback skittering right, then left, searching for a receiver. His team is about to lose by one

Allen Park — The Detroit Lions have been blessed with good health in recent weeks, getting more players back from injury than losing guys to issues. But the team faces a dilemma this week, with veteran safety DeShon Elliott slated to miss his first game of the year, due to a shoulder injury he suffered

Allen Park — Being selected to the Pro Bowl on Wednesday was a bittersweet moment within a bittersweet season for Detroit Lions center Frank Ragnow. It’s an honor, of course, to be recognized by the league’s fans, coaches and players as one of the best at your position, particularly with the injuries Ragnow has been