Lions have a shot in New Orleans, sort of

It’s time again for a chat with the only person who completely understands me — me.

Q: The Lions don’t have a shot in New Orleans Sunday night, do they?

A: Of course they do. Do you even watch the NFL? No one ever is as good as they look, like when the Saints crushed the Giants 49-24 last week. And no one ever is as bad as they look, like when the Packers crushed the Lions 27-15 last week.

That said, the Lions have a shrinking shot in this one. Drew Brees is having a ridiculous season leading the NFL’s No. 1 offense, but he will throw interceptions — 11 so far. The Saints are virtually unbeatable at home, and against the Lions’ wounded defense, Brees could have some fun.

It’s interesting that New Orleans’ top two receivers are a tight end (Jimmy Graham) and a running back (Darren Sproles). Brees finds guys everywhere, and is a major blitz-burner.

Q: Would the Lions have a much better chance if Ndamukong Suh weren’t suspended?

A: I’m not clueless about the Lions being Suh-less. But this is a bad matchup regardless. If running back Kevin Smith can be effective after injuring an ankle, that’d help, because the Lions need to control the ball and keep the score in range for, perhaps, a game-changing turnover.

Q: What’s the key number in this game?

A: The key number is 1. That’s the maximum number of interceptions Matthew Stafford can throw. He has tossed nine in the past three games, and now he’s ditching the gloves that protect his broken right index finger.

The Saints’ defense only ranks 25th, partly because they score so quickly and teams wing it to catch up. The Lions’ defense ranks 10th, and this is a prime chance to prove it’s much deeper than one Pro Bowl defensive tackle.

It’ll be fun to see the Lions on Sunday night football, and at 7-4, this is a huge game for their playoff chances. A loss doesn’t kill them, which is good, because I see a 31-17 loss on the way.

Bob.wojnowski@detnews.com