Detroit Lions: 3 Bold predictions for Week 8 vs. Colts

2. The Detroit Lions rush for less than 50 yards

Forever, people have spoken about the Detroit Lions run game or lack thereof. Bob Quinn has poured many resources into fixing the run game and, while D’Andre Swift has been impressive as a rookie, the run game floundered last week against Atlanta.

The Lions rushed for a miserable 64 yards last time out. Adrian Peterson looked like an older man and the offensive line got blown up repeatedly. Darrell Bevell was the offensive coordinator in Seattle when Marshawn Lynch was running over human beings and his philosophy hasn’t changed — except the Lions don’t have Marshawn Lynch.

Bevell called up inside run after inside run continuously on first and second down. The Lions got nowhere with this plan, and it kept putting the offense in third and long situations. Without Stafford’s heroics in the end, the Lions would’ve lost that game. And a large part of that would have been on the play-calling. In this game, Bevell cant be predictable because it will cost them the win.

The Colts front seven is fearsome. Indianapolis has the right personnel to contain the Lions rushing attack. Bevell can’t afford to be so stubborn in his playcalling as the Colts will destroy the Lions inside running game. He has to be unpredictable, use Swift more, mix it with a little pre-snap motion and get the run game going wide.

Stretch the Colts defensive linemen and linebackers and succeed. However, the more likely outcome is that he will rely on what he knows and feel that the Lions have to execute better rather than change the game plan. Subsequently, Detroit will have a tough time on the ground.