Game-by-game predictions for Lions' 2014 season

The Detroit Lions may still have three preseason games left, but the 2014 regular season is fast approaching. Before you know it, the Lions will be wrapping up the preseason and getting ready to trim down their roster to 53 players. And then, suddenly, it will be time for their season-opening game on Monday Night Football against the New York Giants.

Although there are still a lot of question marks surrounding the Lions right now with only one preseason game in the books, it's never too early to start making predictions about the upcoming season. PredictionMachine.com's NFL preview is certainly proof of that notion, as the site has put together game-by-game predictions for the Lions' 2014 season. The predictions are based on a system that simulates each game 50,000 times using "statistical interactions of the players (playing or not playing/injured), coaches, officials, fans (homefield advantage) and weather."

For the Lions, PredictionMachine.com is expecting an 8-8 season that plays out something like this (the average score of each game is in parentheses):

Week 1 - vs. New York Giants - LOSS (25.0-23.8)
Week 2 - at Carolina Panthers - LOSS (23.3-20.7)
Week 3 - vs. Green Bay Packers - LOSS (32.0-30.7)
Week 4 -  at New York Jets - WIN (27.2-21.8)
Week 5 - vs. Buffalo Bills - WIN (28.9-20.5)
Week 6 - at Minnesota Vikings - WIN (29.5-28.6)
Week 7 - vs. New Orleans Saints - LOSS (30.3-22.8)
Week 8 - at Atlanta Falcons - LOSS (30.8-29.3)
Week 10 - vs. Miami Dolphins - WIN (28.1-22.4)
Week 11 - at Arizona Cardinals - LOSS (26.6-21.8)
Week 12 - at New England Patriots - LOSS (31.6-24.4)
Week 13 - vs. Chicago Bears - WIN (32.0-27.6)
Week 14 - vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - WIN (27.4-23.7)
Week 15 - vs. Minnesota Vikings - WIN (31.2-26.6)
Week 16 - at Chicago Bears - WIN (29.9-29.2)
Week 17 - at Green Bay Packers - LOSS (33.4-28.6)

Following up a 0-3 start with three straight wins only to lose four of the next five would be tough to handle, especially with four straight wins after that before yet another loss at Lambeau Field. I could certainly see the Lions being a streaky team, especially with the way the schedule is set up, and 8-8 wouldn't surprise me one bit. However, I would be surprised if they aren't able to win even one of their first three games given that two of them are at home.

Either way, this is just one possible roadmap for the 2014 season. The Lions could finish 8-8 with the results of the games completely flipped, or they could do something completely different. We'll only know for sure when the season is complete. In the meantime, how do you think 2014 will play out for the Lions?