The Detroit Lions host the Los Angeles Rams Sunday night in one of the most intriguing matchups of NFL Wild Card Weekend.
Detroit hosting a home game is a rarity. It has led to widespread demand for tickets. The backdrop obviously being former Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford heading into Detroit to take on former Rams quarterback Jared Goff years after they were traded for one another.
Led by Goff and and a dynamic offense, the Lions finished this past regular season with a 12-5 record. It represented just the second time that Detroit has won 12 games in a season.
As for the road team, Los Angeles wasn’t expected to do too much this season after turning over its roster. Sean McVay put up the best coaching performance of his career en route to leading the team to a 10-7 record. That included the Rams winning seven of their final eight regular season games.
Below, we provide four bold predictions for what promises to be a great matchup Sunday night on NBC.
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Los Angeles Rams’ Matthew Stafford burns Detroit Lions for 350 yards
After an injury-plagued 2022 campaign, Stafford has returned to form. He finished the regular season with nearly 4,000 passing yards while tossing 24 touchdowns compared to 11 interceptions. But the Super Bowl-winning quarterback was even better down the stretch.
- Matthew Stafford stats (past five games): 66% completion, 1,476 yards, 11 TD, 2 INT
This span saw Stafford average nearly 300 passing yards per game. He made sweet music with record-breaking rookie Puka Nacua (105 receptions, 1,486) and Cooper Kupp in the 12 games the former All-Pro suited up in (59 receptions, 737 yards).
Despite the Lions’ overall brilliance durring the regular season, they ranked in the bottom 10 of the NFL in points allowed. Detroit also saw opposing quarterbacks average 270 passing yards per game. We’re expecting Stafford to add 80 to that total in a brilliant overall performance.
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Detroit Lions’ Aidan Hutchinson gets to Matthew Stafford for three sacks
One of the reasons Stafford was so good during the regular season is the fact that he was sacked 30 times in 15 games. Los Angeles’ re-made offensive line really did hold up well for him in pass protection.
On the other hand, Detroit got to opposing quarterbacks for 41 sacks. Hutchinson led the way with 33 QB hits and 11.5 sacks as a sophomore.
What we like for Detroit here is the fact that Hutchinson is playing the best football of his young career. The former Michigan star has racked up 10 quarterback hits and five sacks over the past two games. Left tackle Alaric Jackson is going to have his hands full for Los Angeles.
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Jahmyr Gibbs torches Los Angeles Rams for north of 150 total yards
Gibbs split carries with David Montgomery during the regular season, with the rookie averaging just 16 total touches per game. He averaged a resounding 5.4 yards per touch in the process. With Detroit taking on what is suddenly an elite-level Los Angeles offense, we’re expecting Dan Campbell and Co. to employ the more dynamic back.
It must also be noted that Gibbs caught a resounding 73% of the 71 passes thrown in his direction from Jared Goff. the QB loves to employ the running back in the passing game. With the Rams having given up an 81% completion to running backs in coverage, the expectation is that Gibbs will eat in this regard.
Related: Behind the stats of the Detroit Lions, Los Angeles Rams matchup
Los Angeles Rams win in overtime
This might be the most evenly-matched gamae of NFL Wild Card Weekend. Los Angeles ranks eighth in the league in scoring while ranking 19th in points allowed. Detroit heads into this matchup ranked fifth in scoring while giving up the 10th-most points in the league.
With it split at this level, we’re going with recency bias. What Los Angeles has been able to accomplish since starting the season at 3-6 is nothing short of extraordinary. That includes averaging 30 points per in its final seven regular-season games. This will equate to a win over Detroit and a potential conference semifinals matchup against the San Francisco 49ers.
- Prediction: Los Angeles Rams 31, Detroit Lions 28