Detroit Lions vs. New England Patriots expert picks, score predictions

The Detroit Lions and New England Patriots will be desperately trying to avoid a 1-4 hole to the season when the two face off at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday. That’s more than familiar territory for the Lions, but the Patriots haven’t started 1-4 since the year 2000.

Sunday’s game will likely feature a lot of the ground games, as the Lions bring their No. 4 ranked rushing attack (by DVOA) to Foxborough, and the Patriots will counter with their No. 1 ranked rushing attack. Given that both teams have struggled to stop the run, expect both teams to feature their running backs a lot on Sunday.

That’s good news for the Patriots, who are expected to start fourth-round rookie quarterback Bailey Zappe for the first time, due to injuries to both Mac Jones and Brian Hoyer. This will be Zappe’s first career start, although he did go 10-of-15 last week for 99 yards and a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers last week. He did take three sacks, however.

Will the Lions be able to take advantage of the inexperienced passer, or will their defensive struggles continue?

Here are our picks for Lions vs. Patriots.

Hamza Baccouche (3-1): 24-20 Lions
Jerry Mallory (3-1): 30-24 Patriots
Morgan Cannon (3-1): 37-31 Lions
Kellie Rowe (3-1): Lions win
Jeremy Reisman (2-2): 24-21 Lions
Ryan Mathews (2-2): 28-20 Patriots
Kyle Yost (2-2): 30-28 Patriots
John Whiticar (1-3): 31-27 Lions
Alex Reno (1-3): 30-27 Lions
Erik Schlitt (1-3): 27-24 Lions
Mike Payton (1-3): 38-35 Patriots
Chris Perfett (0-0-4): 34-34 Tie

You can see all of our Week 5 picks here.

Now let’s hear your picks. Vote in the poll below and share your scores in the comment section.