BetAnySports Game Line: Seattle -7.5

BetAnySports Total Line: 43

The 9-7 Detroit Lions will travel to CenturyLink Field to face the 10-5-1 Seattle Seahawks in the Wild Card Round of this year’s NFL Playoffs. Saturday night’s kickoff is slated for 8:15 p.m. (ET) and the game will be broadcast nationally on NBC.

Detroit at Seattle Game Preview

The Lions blew a two-game lead in the NFC North with a straight-up three-game losing streak to fall to the No. 6 seed in the NFC. They have failed to cover BetAnySports’ closing spread in their last four games as part of an overall record of 8-8 against the spread this season. Detroit went 3-5 ATS in eight previous road games this season and the total has stayed UNDER in five of its last six games on the road.

Matthew Stafford ended the regular season on a strong note with 347 yards passing and two scoring strikes while completing 26 of his 41 passing attempts, but it was still not enough to get his team past Green Bay on Sunday night in a 31-24 loss as 3.5-point home underdogs. The Lions’ defense struggled to keep the Packers out of the end zone and this unit has now allowed an average of 30 points during its current three-game slide.

Seattle squeaked past San Francisco 25-23 in its season finale as an 11.5-point favorite on the road. It was the fourth time in the last six games where the Seahawks failed to cover against BetAnySports’ closing line. The total went OVER 45 points against the 49ers and it has gone OVER in four of their last five games. Seattle is 7-8-1 ATS overall with a 5-8-1 record ATS when closing as a favorite. The total has gone OVER in five of their last six games at home.

The key to getting past the Lions on Saturday night could hinge heavily on the play of the Seahawks’ defense. While the other side of the ball has been plagued with inconsistency this season especially when it comes to running the ball, Seattle’s defense has been solid for most of the year as the third-best unit in the NFL when it comes to points allowed (18.2). It is ranked seventh against the run and eighth against the pass.

Detroit at Seattle Free Game Pick

This should be a good matchup with the Lions 11th-ranked passing offense going up against Seattle’s vaunted defensive secondary. I have the Seahawks advancing on in the playoffs with the SU win, but I am going to take Detroit and the 7.5 points at BetAnySports to cover as my “best bet” pick.