Detroit Lions fans, we’re here, the bye week. Finally, there is a reprieve for the team to breathe and relax, take in good football for once and watch without your heart racing at 20 miles an hour. Compiling this list was rather simple as there is a ton of great football to be had this week, and some even have the added intrigue of direct ties to the Lions themselves. Here are the five games for the weekend of October 14th thru the 16th to watch if you’re a Lions fan looking for a break.
#10 Penn State Nittany Lions @ #5 Michigan Wolverines, 12:00 PM EST on FOX
Big Noon Kickoff loves them some Michigan football, but this time it is actually deserved. A top-ten bout between the Wolverines and the Nittany Lions will give us the perfect start to the football weekend, highlighting two of the best teams in the Big Ten this season. Traditionally, the home side for this rivalry in the Big Ten East has come away victorious; however, the last two matchups were won by the away team.
Penn State brings in sixty-seventh-year senior Sean Clifford to go along with a stout running game which ranks 33rd in the nation at 192.6 yards per game. Nick Singleton has proven to be another up-and-coming star for Penn State, which has produced NFL standouts Saquon Barkley & Miles Sanders.
Michigan faces their first ranked test of the season against a Penn State team that will prove a major test for first-year starter J.J. McCarthy. The Nittany Lions have one of the best secondaries in college football and star athletes like Ronnie Bell, Donovan Edwards, and Blake Corum will need to help their signal caller to cut through a stout PSU defense. Highlight Joey Porter Jr. in your watch this weekend for a player the Detroit Lions could nab to help the defensive struggles.
#3 Alabama Crimson Tide @ #6 Tennessee Volunteers, 3:30 PM EST on CBS
I am being self-serving with this selection, but I have a good reason, I promise. First and foremost, Bryce Young is an absolute star on the college level, and watching his progression through his shoulder injury will be important for any NFL fanbase to track who may be picking in the top five in the 2023 NFL Draft. Young has playmaking ability and a grittiness that Lions fans can appreciate. Imagine Kyler Murray if he wasn’t 5’4” and didn’t play Call of Duty during game prep and you have a piece of what Young can bring to the franchise.
There are a ton of players all over the field in this game to track for all NFL fans. For Alabama, Will Anderson, Bryce Young, Jahmyr Gibbs, Jordan Battle, and Jaylen Moody are all players I would love to see in a Lions uniform. From a defensive perspective, the tandem of Anderson, Battle, and Moody would be perfect picks for the Lions to stockpile in 2023 to fix an all-time dreadful defense.
The connection between Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker & Jalin Hyatt will be a major factor in this game as well. Both Hooker & Hyatt are playing themselves up draft boards with how fantastic they’ve played so far in 2022. On the backs of these two guys, Tennessee has started out the season with the best record Tennessee has had in decades. The Vols haven’t won ten games since 2007, but Hooker & Hyatt look well on their way to leading them there and beyond.
#16 Mississippi State Bulldogs @ #22 Kentucky Wildcats, 7:30 PM EST, SECN
This is all the Will Levis show, plain and simple if you are a Lions fan. Of all the QB options available for the Detroit football club, Levis is my far and away #1. Watching just one-quarter of Levis against a ranked Bulldogs side will show you all you need to know. There is no long excerpt here, no elaborate analysis. I’m going to place a video below and let the tape do the talking. Enjoy.
New York Jets (3-2) @ Green Bay Packers (3-2), 1:00 PM EST on FOX
As I have previously stated, the New York Jets are a mirror image of the Detroit Lions in more ways than you think. Sauce Gardner, Garrett Wilson, and Breece Hall have all performed phenomenally in the early stages of the 2022 season and the Jets have an offense built much in the same way as the Lions. There will be plenty of what-if scenarios running through Lions fans as they watch who could’ve been their head coach, Robert Saleh, face off against the hated Green Bay Packers.
What I propose for this game is not all what-ifs for Detroit however. There is a clear and tactical reason for watching this game on Sunday.
The New York Jets run a two-headed monster with Michael Carter & rookie phenom Breece Hall. How well will Robert Saleh’s offense be able to run the ball against the Packers, that is the question that will help Lions fans project into the future. Can the Jets insulate Zach Wilson by feeding Hall & Carter or will the Green Bay defense be strong enough up front to force him to throw? The translation for the Lions is clear; whether or not they can run effectively on the Packers and mitigate the Jared Goff effect will go a long way to hopefully at least splitting the season series with the hated team from Lambeau.
Buffalo Bills (4-1) @ Kansas City Chiefs (4-1), 4:25 PM EST on CBS
Do I have to sell this matchup to you, honestly? I very much doubt it. Patrick Mahomes vs. Josh Allen, a rematch of one of the best divisional round games we’ve ever seen. McDermott vs. Andy Reid. Everything is on the table with a clash between the two titans of the AFC, bragging rights and potentially home-field advantage in the playoffs are on the line.
For years, it has felt like the Buffalo Bills have been chasing, biting at the heels of the Kansas City Chiefs who have dominated this blossoming rivalry. Josh Allen has played at an MVP level through five games and the Kansas City Chiefs continue to show the mettle and mental fortitude that they’re known for. Both offenses come in with clear advantages over the rest of the league and I expect this game to be filled with fireworks yet again.
