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The Detroit Lions' Week 5 game against the Carolina Panthers is a big one for the NFC North squad. Moving to 4-1 on the season would put Dan Campbell’s team in the upper echelon of NFC contenders. Ahead of this matchup, let’s make some bold Lions Week 5 predictions.
Detroit started hot this season, beating the Kansas City Chiefs in primetime to kick off the season. A disappointing loss to the Seattle Seahawks followed, but now, after two convincing victories against the Atlanta Falcons and Green Bay Packers, it seems like the Lions are legit contenders. If they trounce the Panthers on Sunday, like they should, that will prove it.
As for Carolina, rookie Bryce Young and his new team are struggling this season, and are one of two NFL teams without a win through two weeks. And the toughest part about that is the only other winless team, the Chicago Bears, own Carolina’s 2024 first-round pick. That means Frank Reich’s squad has every reason to win, they just can’t.
If Detroit can improve to 4-1 on the season, they will confirm their place at the top of the conference a quarter of the way through the season. With that in mind, it’s time to make a few bold Lions predictions for Week 5.
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3. Jameson Williams (finally) shows up and shows out
The Lions took a big risk in the 2022 NFL Draft, 10 picks after making the safest pick in the draft at No. 2 with Aidan Hutchinson. At No. 12, the Lions took Alabama wide receiver Jameson Williams.
The talented wideout may have been a top-five pick in last year’s draft if he hadn’t torn his ACL in the national championship game just over three months earlier. General manager Brad Holmes took a shot on a player who wouldn’t have been there otherwise but who also couldn’t help the team in 2022.
Willams got back for the final games last season and made just one catch, but it was a 41-yard touchdown.
Dan Campbell expected to have his young WR back this season at full strength, but a six-game gambling suspension and a preseason hamstring injury put him out for the first several games. Last week, though, the NFL chopped two games off his ban, and now he’s ready to go.
It couldn’t come at a better time for the Lions either, ahead of this Week 5 matchup with the Panthers. Amon-Ra St. Brown has missed practice all this week and may not be able to go on Sunday.
Enter Jameson Williams and the bold Lions' Week 5 prediction that the promising near-rookie goes off and catches right balls for over 100 yards and a touchdown.
2. The Lions defense finally starts getting some credit
The Lions offense gets a lot of the publicity around the team, and rightfully so, with all the weapons on that side of the field. However, the defense also deserves more credit, as it is quickly becoming one of the most exciting young units in the league.
The Detroit D is currently 13th in points allowed and fourth in yards allowed this season. That puts it right on the border of being a top-10 defense, and the bold Lions' Week 5 prediction here is that they become one this week.
Defensive linemen Aidan Hutchinson and Alim McNeill, linebackers veteran Alex Anzalone and rookie Jack Campbell, and the revamped secondary are all playing incredibly well so far, and one big game against a bottom-feeder like the Panthers could vault them to the top of the defensive rankings.
The Lions have allowed 83 points this season, and the seventh-ranked defense, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have allowed 68. If the score from this Lions' bold Week 5 predictions piece comes true, and a few teams ahead of them allow 20 or more points, the Lions will start Week 6 as a top-8 defense.
1. Lions 28, Panthers 9
This game should be no contest from the start. Carolina has a decent defense, but the Lions offense is better. And Bryce Young isn’t ready for the NFL, but the Panthers have no choice but to throw him out there right now to justify trading for the No. 1 pick.
On the other side, the Lions are a team clicking on all cylinders right now and getting stronger as the season goes along. They should win this game with ease and start getting ready for their big game with the Buccaneers next week.
This win doesn’t quite out the Lions as NFC favorites along with the San Francisco 49ers and the Philadelphia Eagles (and maybe the Dallas Cowboys if they play well this weekend). They just don’t have the recent history of success. But it does put them just one rung on the ladder below with teams like the Bucs and Seahawks.
