The Detroit Lions are headed to Los Angeles soon to face the Chargers. That game will officially kick off the second half of their season. With that, it's time for us to get super bold and make some predictions as to what's going to happen in the next nine games. I've four bold predictions. Here they are. 

Jamo goes off

Let’s start it off with a bang. Jameson Williams has struggled to live up to the outlandish expectations that were set for a guy that’s barely played. It hasn’t been good. But I think that moment is coming and I think it happens down the stretch of the 2023 season. 

When I say go off, I don't mean he gets 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns in the next nine games. What I do mean is that he starts to make some big plays for this team and that trust and rapport with Jared Goff and Ben Johnson starts to build. 2024 is the year we really see more with him if you ask me, but I think some big things are coming for this kid this season. That's a pretty bold take if you think about how things have gone so far. 

Jahmyr Gibbs becomes the Lions lead back

David Montgomery is coming back to the Lions this week and the expectation from a lot of people is that he’s just going to jump right back into that lead dog role. I don’t think that’s a wild expectation, but I don’t think it’s the right one either. 

Jahmyr Gibbs has been hot lately and you really have to go with the hot hand in this league. My prediction is that Gibbs has the bulk of the carries by the end of the season and these two really start to look like Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara out there. Plus with Gibbs ability in the pass game, you just have to have him out there more. Montgomery will still get his touches, it just won't be what he was getting before. 

Lions have the leagues top offense down the stretch

I don’t think this one is all that bold either. The Lions offense is currently seventh in total yards and 11th in points scored. They’ve done all that without their top red zone threat and seven different offensive line combinations. The Lions have only gotten better since we last saw them. Montgomery is back and he is a game changer in the red zone. That should lead to more points.

The team also went out and traded for Donovan Peoples-Jones. Maybe I'm overrating that trade, but I expect him to play a big role here. 

Lastly, the Lions aren't just fully healthy on their offensive line, they also have the best group they've assembled all year now with Graham Glasgow playing some of the best ball of his career and being made the new starting right guard.

This team should be very hard to stop.

Lions have a first round playoff bye

“But Mike, there’s only one way to get that. You have to have the top record in the NFC.” I’m telling you that the Lions are going to have it. 

The Lions have a very manageable schedule ahead of them. They just need to stay heathy and take care of business the way they know how and they can not only win their division, but they can have the best record in the conference and have first round bye before they host a playoff game at Ford Field for the first time ever. 

They could get a lot of help from the Eagles, 49ers and Cowboys. All three of those teams are about to go through tough stretches where they play each other or other tough teams like the Dolphins, Seahawks or Ravens. This could be the Lions chance to take advantage and put themselves in a very good division. 

Detroit Lions Mailbag: Who’s replacing Ben Johnson?

The bye week is over and so is the week where we didn't do a mailbag. The Detroit Lions are back and so are the questions and answers. Let's jump into some of those shall we?  It's hard to argue with the massive improvement the Lions defense has gone through. I think it's fair to […]