Detroit Lions Quarterback Matthew Stafford And The Rest Of The Team Will Be Looking To Change The Narrative This Week Against The Red Hot Los Angeles Rams.
Thanksgiving was a disappointment for Lions fans and after another poor game on the offensive side of the ball, it’s probably time for some changes to be made. In all reality though, those changes probably come until after the season, so head coach Matt Patricia’s team will be searching for some moral victories this year now that their playoff hopes are non-existent. The biggest of those potential moral victories could come this week against the Los Angeles Rams who tout one of the NFL’s most talented rosters.
This Weeks Opponent: The Los Angeles Rams
Sean McVay took over as head coach of the Los Angeles Rams prior to last season and since then, they have a regular season record of 21-6. Ten of those wins have come this year and a majority of them in impressive fashion as the Rams are at the forefront of the NFL’s move toward a more Big 12 style of play from college football. Averaging 35.4 points per game is one thing, but the fact that they are only third in the league with those numbers is unheard of.
Familiar names like former Detroit Lion defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, defensive lineman Aaron Donald, and cornerback Marcus Peters make up a defense that you could argue has underperformed. For the rate at which the offense scores though, the defense has been acceptable. They come in giving up about 25 points per game which is good enough for 21st in the NFL.
It’s been almost two whole weeks since the Rams and Chiefs played in that Monday night game that the world finally stopped talking about. The Rams, of course, won the game 54-51 and were on a bye this past week, giving them ample time to prepare for a Detroit Lions team that believe it or not has posed a threat to some of the NFL’s better teams this season. Luckily for Los Angeles, it sounds as if their star running back Todd Gurley will be 100% ready to go for the tilt with Detroit.
On the other side of things, Detroit likely will be without rookie running back Kerryon Johnson for the second week in a row as he rehabs from a sprained knee.
Could Detroit Pull Off Another Upset?
Although the Lions offensive line has performed better then some would expect this season, let me point out that this game, in particular, will be much more of a challenge. Donald and Suh are enough to strike fear into the hearts of many, but throw in a few decent outside rushers and oh boy is Stafford preparing to get dropped at least a few times. The Los Angeles defense hasn’t been the dominant force that it appears to be on paper, but that doesn’t mean that the Lions couldn’t be in for another rough day offensively.
The Lions have an outside shot to win this game, but three things have to happen and it’s a lot to ask:
- Rams quarterback Jared Goff needs to have a bad game and by “a bad game”, I mean two or three picks and less than 225ish yards.
- Gurley has to be held under four yards per carry and can’t get more than 50 receiving yards
- Stafford has to play out of his mind and his line has to keep him under three sacks
If those three things happen, then the Lions can, keyword “can,” win, but as I said, that’s a lot to count on.
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