For many reasons, the Lions are a fun team to cheer on. There’s added incentive when it means weakening a team battling against the Bills for playoff seeding
The Detroit Lions and Houston Texans face off tonight under the bright lights of Sunday Night Football. There are some who see tonight’s matchup as a potential preview of Super Bowl LIX.
Whether that’s true or not remains to be seen, but one thing’s for sure: the Lions and Texans have come a long way in recent seasons. Buffalo Bills fans are often able to find kinship with Lions fans. Both teams feature long-suffering fan bases whose heart live and die by the often unpredictable nature of the Great Lakes.
It’s pretty easy for most of Bills Mafia to root for Detroit, other than when they face off against one another. Luckily, there’s added incentive to cheering on a Lions win, given what it would mean for the Bills’ playoff seeding. Should Detroit defeat Houston, the Texans would drop to 6-4 and two games back of Buffalo in the AFC playoff picture.
The Lions enter tonight’s game as 4.5-point road favorites and an O/U of 49.5 with FanDuel Sportsbook. Detroit is playing outstanding football right now, but it’s wise to be wary of that line. The Texans have proven capable of running with any team, and the expectation is that wide receiver Nico Collins returns to the fold this evening. That should help quarterback C.J. Stroud regain some of the early season hype that saw him among the best at his position. Spoiler alert: He’s still deserving of those conversations even amid any slump.
Here’s what Rachel Auberger had to offer about tonight’s game as it relates to rooting interests for Bills Mafia:
Keeping the Texans behind the Bills is going to be the theme every week (just like the Ravens). Getting a two-game cushion by way of a Buffalo win and a Houston loss is ideal as the Bills have to play the Chiefs next week and then have a week off following that. In addition to building a lead over the now four-seeded Texans, Buffalo can add to their SOS score (that will hopefully convert to SOV after Week 15 — but again only dealing with what we know for sure right now) with a Detroit win.
With all that said, I’m still taking Detroit tonight. First of all, yes it’s the fun choice and the heart wants what the heart wants. Second, the Lions are legit Super Bowl contenders at full strength — something previously stated about these Texans.
Detroit Lions 34, Houston Texans 27
Here’s your open thread for Week 10 of Sunday Night Football — it should be a fun one! Remember, be kind to one another, and in all things… Go Bills!