LITTLE ROCK — 7:30 p.m. Central, ESPN
LINE - Falcons by 4 LAST MEETING Atlanta beat Detroit 23-16, Oct. 23, 2011.
LAST WEEK Atlanta beat New York 34-0. Detroit lost to Arizona 38-10.
RANKINGS Falcons: offense (7), defense (19); Lions: offense (2), defense (12) NOTES Atlanta can clinch home-field advantage in playoffs with victory. Falcons have won 2 consecutive and 4 of 6 in series. QB Matt Ryan surpassed own Falcons single-season records with 357 completions and 4,177 yards passing. WR Roddy White has NFC-high 550 catches since 2007 and 1,000-plus yards receiving for sixth consecutive year. ... Detroit WR Calvin Johnson can break NFL record, set by Charley Hennigan in 1961, matched by Michael Irvin in 1995, with eighth consecutive game with 100 yards receiving. Johnson, former Georgia Tech star, can surpass Jerry Rice’s single-season record of 1,848 yards receiving with 182 yards in last 2 games. Lions have lost 6 consecutive, NFL’s longest active skid, to seal 10th season with at least 10 losses in 12 years.
Sports, Pages 26 on 12/22/2012