Saturday Night NFL Football: Atlanta Falcons at Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions went from disappointing to disgusting last week. Detroit has been on the wrong end of plenty of close games this year, going 3-8 in games decided by one score. Some of those decided by their own bad play, some bad luck.

Then, last week, they went to the hapless Arizona Cardinals, losers of nine straight, and played as bad as a team could possibly play. Arizona has no offense, yet Matt Stafford and the special teams of the Lions allowed them to score at will on short fields after turnovers. The end result was the worst defeat of the season for Detroit.

Now, they get to play the role of spoilers and see if they show any pride tonight at home. Atlanta and Detroit have gone in opposite directions since they both lost in the wildcard round last year. Atlanta has won 7 of 8 close games, and in complete opposite fashion to the Lions, is also coming off their best game of the year, a shutout of the New York Giants.

Atlanta now sits one win away from clinching home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. If they get it tonight, they can rest up for a divisional round matchup and not have to worry about any more wins until January.

[photo via USA Today Sports Images]