25-year old TE Jimmy Graham is having a huge breakout season for the Saints this year.  He has played in 12 games for the Saints so far this year and he has caught 75 passes for 1,046 yards (13.9 avg) with 8 TD grabs.  Graham has had four games this year already in which he has had 100+ receiving yards.  Saints’ QBs have completed 75 of 104 passes (72.1%) thrown in Graham’s direction so far this year, which is pretty amazing.  Graham has now played in 27 games in his first two years with the Saints and he has caught 106 passes for 1,402 yards (13.2 avg) with 13 TD grabs.

The Saints jumped on the Lions early in this game and kept the pressure on them to try to keep up.  Drew Brees was outstanding as usual as he completed 26 of 36 passes for 342 yards with 3 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Mark Ingram led the way on the ground for the Saints in this game with 54 yards rushing on 16 carries (3.4 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Darren Sproles pitched in with 4 carries for 28 yards (7.0 ypc) and he also caught 5 passes for 46 yards (9.2 avg) with 1 TD grab.  WR Robert Meachem (3 rec, 119 yards, TD) and TE Jimmy Graham (8 rec, 89 yards) led the way for the Saints in the passing game last night.  WRs Marques Colston (6 rec, 54 yards) and Lance Moore (2 rec, 23 yards, TD) also pitched in for the Saints in the passing game last night.  The Saints finished up with 100 yards rushing on 23 carries (4.3 ypc) and they also completed 26 of 36 passes (72.2%) for 338 yards as they had possession of the ball for 24:54.

The defense stopped the Lions when they had to yesterday, but they gave up a ton of passing yards.  LB Jonathan Vilma led the way for the Saints in this game with 10 tackles.  CBs Jabari Greer (6 tackles) and Tracy Porter (6 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) also pitched in for the Saints on D in this game.  The Lions finished up with 87 yards rushing on 22 carries (4.0 ypc) and they also completed 31 of 44 passes (70.5%) for 379 yards in this game.  The Saints are now 9-3 on the year.

The New Orleans Saints are hot right now as they have won three games in a row.  They are also 5-0 at the SuperDome this year as they have outscored opposing teams 208-93 so far this year!  The Lions have lost four of their last six games, as they have run into trouble lately.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Saints have the ball:  The Saints are going to come out of the locker room throwing the football.  Drew Brees is going to spread the field and attack the weaknesses of the Lions’ D.  The Lions have a solid secondary as opposing QBs only have a 73.1 QB Rating against them, but that shouldn’t stop Brees as he is electric at home.  The Saints are going to try to get a nice lead and then grind this game out on the ground with Mark Ingram, Pierre Thomas and Darren Sproles’ running.  The Lions are giving up 127.3 yards rushing per game and 4.8 yards per carry,so the Saints should have little problem running the ball whenever they decide to in this game.

When the Lions have the ball:  Matt Stafford has been off lately due to his broken right index finger.  The Saints are going to try to put pressure on Stafford to get him to rush the ball.  He has thrown a lot of interceptions lately, due to playing hurt and the Saints hope that continues this weekend.  The Lions have a very solid set of WRs in Calvin Johnson (he’s awesome), Titus Young, Nate Burleson, Brandon Pettigrew and Tony Scheffler, so the Saints’ secondary is going to have to be ready for a war.  The Lions have also been getting solid work out of Kevin Smith and Maurice Morris lately in the running game, so the front seven of the Saints are going to get challenged this Sunday Night.

PREDICTION:  SAINTS 37, LIONS 24

28-year old RB Darren Sproles might only be 5’6″, but he plays big.  Sproles has played in 11 games for the Saints this year and he has carried the ball 59 times for 402 yards (6.8 ypc) with 2 TD runs and he has caught 62 passes for 476 yards (7.7 avg) with 3 TD grabs so far this year.  Sproles has also returned 26 kickoffs for 697 yards (26.8 avg) and 18 punts for 173 yards (9.6 avg) with 1 TD return.  So Sproles has touched the ball 165 times for 1,748 yards (10.6 yards per touch).  Sproles is averaging 158.9 all-purpose yards for the Saints so far this year.  They hope he keeps up the good work!