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Week 15

Weekly
Grade
Detroit Lions
13-2 213.22
230.14
 
VS
proj
Atlanta Falcons
209.58 7-8
283.55

Back-and-forth battle ends with Detroit Lions coming back to defeat Atlanta Falcons in 213.22-209.58 battle

What a battle! After a back-and-forth matchup featuring three lead changes, Detroit Lions came back to earn a 213.22-209.58 victory to hand Atlanta Falcons their third straight loss. After trailing 191.68-163.22 heading into Monday night, Detroit Lions roared back behind Christian McCaffrey (50 Pass Yds, 53 Rush Yds, 67 Rec Yds, 1 Off. TD,) and the New Orleans Saints defense (9 Pts Allowed, 247 Yds Allowed, 2 Turnovers). Russell Wilson (22.98 points) and Julio Jones (20.2) were the leading performers for Atlanta Falcons in defeat. Detroit Lions improve to 13-2 for the season, while Atlanta Falcons fall to 7-8.

Matchup Timeline

  Detroit Lions   Atlanta Falcons

Inside the Matchup

Matchup Player of the Week

Buckner scored 19 points in a 26-23 win over the Seahawks to nearly triple his 6.55-point projection. He made 11 tackles and recorded 2 sacks to beat his projection by the highest percentage of any player on Detroit Lions this week. Buckner will face the Bears in Week 16.
DeForest Buckner

Top Player Comparison

Detroit Lions
Points
% of total points 213.22
1
Christian McCaffrey
RB
28
23.9
13.1%
2
J.J. Watt
DE
20
12.84
9.4%
3
DeForest Buckner
DT
19
6.55
8.9%
4
Matthew Stafford
QB
14.32
18.47
6.7%
Atlanta Falcons
Points
% of total points 209.58
1
Russell Wilson
QB
22.98
23.77
11%
2
Julio Jones
WR
20.2
18.85
9.6%
3
David Johnson
RB
19.1
14.85
9.1%
4
Justin Jackson
RB
17.5
12.44
8.4%

Matchup Highlights

Sunday Early
Both teams had players with standout moments early Sunday, after which Atlanta Falcons emerged with a 134.90-102.42 lead. For Detroit Lions, Matthew Stafford had a 40-yard pass. David Johnson made the highlight reel for Atlanta Falcons with a 40-yard catch.
Sunday Late
Russell Wilson had a 35-yard touchdown pass for Atlanta Falcons, helping the team to a 190.18-140.92 lead.
Monday
Christian McCaffrey had a 50-yard touchdown pass for Detroit Lions during Monday Night Football, helping lead the team to the win.

Points By Position

  Detroit Lions   Atlanta Falcons

What If

Detroit Lions would have beaten only five other teams besides Atlanta Falcons this week.
Atlanta Falcons would have lost to just one other team besides Detroit Lions this week.
If Detroit Lions played Atlanta Falcons every week this season, they'd be 8-7.
Atlanta Falcons would have gotten the victory over Detroit Lions 255.78-176.24 had they played each other last week.
Detroit Lions would be 12-2 if they played the same schedule (excluding head-to-head matchups) as Atlanta Falcons.
If they played the same schedule (excluding head-to-head matchups) as Detroit Lions, Atlanta Falcons would be 9-5.
If Detroit Lions had played every team in the league each week, they would be 210-51.
If they played every team every week, Atlanta Falcons would be 175-86.

Coach Talk

Detroit Lions
Hey Detroit Lions, the good news is that we took this matchup by 3.64 points. The better news is that we've proven we're even stronger than this, as our scoring average through Week 14 stood at 207.56. So while we're happy to have earned this victory, let's "regress" back up to where we know we can be!
Atlanta Falcons
Fortunately, Atlanta Falcons, this week's problem is fairly easy to identify. Choosing to start Michael Crabtree and D.J. Swearinger Sr. in what was ultimately a tight fantasy matchup... let's aim to move forward with a full deck of cards next time.