High-powered offenses clash when Jared Goff-led Lions visit Matthew Stafford’s Rams
Detroit Lions (8-5) at Los Angeles Rams (10-3)
Sunday, 4:25 p.m. EST, FOX
BetMGM NFL Odds: Rams by 6
Against the spread: Lions 7-6, Rams 9-4
Series record: Rams lead 45-43-1.
Last meeting: Lions beat Rams 26-20, OT, in Detroit on Sept. 8, 2024.
Last week: Lions beat Cowboys 44-30, Rams beat Cardinals 45-17.
Lions offense: overall (3), rush (5), pass (5), scoring (1).
Lions defense: overall (15), rush (10), pass (19), scoring (18).
Rams offense: overall (4), rush (11), pass (3), scoring (4).
Rams defense: overall (13), rush (11), pass (16), scoring (3).
Turnover differential: Lions plus-8; Rams plus-10.
Lions player to watch
QB Jared Goff. Cast off by the Rams to acquire Matthew Stafford, the No. 1 overall pick from the 2016 draft has found his groove in Detroit. He ranks first in the NFL with completions of 25 yards or more, tied for second with 26 passing TDs and third in passer rating.
Rams player to watch
RB Blake Corum. He ran for a career-high 128 yards with two touchdowns on 12 carries as the Rams got back on track with a comfortable win in Arizona. It was Corum’s fourth game this season with at least 12 carries, all of which have come in wins by at least 16 points, as coach Sean McVay has followed through on his desire to reduce starter Kyren Williams’ regular-season workload.
Key matchup
Rams RT Warren McClendon Jr. vs. Lions DE Aidan Hutchinson. McClendon has been surprisingly effective filling in for veteran Rob Havenstein (knee, ankle) over two different stints this season, but Hutchinson represents the biggest test yet for the third-year Georgia product. Hutchinson has 8 1/2 sacks this season, three behind his career high in 2023, and has been a menace in two career meetings against the Rams. Hutchinson had two sacks in a 24-23 wild-card playoff win following the 2023 season and one in an overtime victory to kick off the 2024 campaign, so how McClendon fares against the elite edge rusher will be crucial.
Key injuries
Lions: S Kerby Joseph (knee) might play for the first time in two months. … S Thomas Harper, who has filled in for Joseph, was cleared to practice after he suffered a concussion in last week’s win. … WR/PR Kalif Raymond may play after missing two games with an ankle injury. … S Brian Branch recently had surgery on his torn Achilles tendon and is expected be out for 8-to-12 months.
Rams: WR Davante Adams (hamstring) will be carefully managed throughout the week, but is expected to play. … WR Tutu Atwell (hamstring) will finally be activated off injured reserve. … OLB Byron Young is dealing with a knee injury, so his status will need to be monitored.
Series notes
This will be the Lions’ second trip to Los Angeles since the Rams moved back in 2016. They lost 28-19 in 2021. … That game marked Goff’s return to SoFi Stadium after he was traded to Detroit in the March 2021 deal that sent Stafford to the Rams. Goff was 22 of 36 for 268 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. … The Rams had to score the final 11 points to knock off the Lions in their first season under coach Dan Campbell, giving a hint of the trouble to come for McVay’s group from Detroit. … The home team has won six of the last seven.
Stats and stuff
Since Detroit was 4-1 on Oct. 5, the Lions have alternated on losses and wins. … The Lions will play a 58th straight regular-season game without losing two in a row, the NFL’s longest streak since San Francisco played 60 consecutive games without back-to-back setbacks. … WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, a former USC star, has the most catches (511) by an NFL player through his first five seasons. … RB Jahmyr Gibbs has 47 TDs, tied with Hall of Famer Barry Sanders for the most through the first three seasons of a career and by a player younger than 24. … Gibbs joins Hall of Famers Eric Dickerson and Earl Campbell as the only players with at least 4,500 yards from scrimmage and 45 scores through their first three seasons. … Against the Cowboys, Detroit’s defense had five sacks, forced three fumbles and had two INTs in a game for the first time since 2007. … Lions DE Al-Quadin Muhammad was selected NFC Defensive Player of the Week after he had a career-high three sacks against Dallas, giving him a career-best nine this season. … Tom Kennedy, filling in for Raymond last week, became the first NFL player to return three kickoffs 35 yards or more with a punt return of 20-plus yards since Josh Cribbs did it in 2007. … Matthew Stafford has seven games this season where he has thrown at least three touchdown passes and no interceptions after shredding the Cardinals for 281 yards passing and three scores without a pick. … Stafford has 35 touchdown passes this season with four games remaining. His single-season career high is 41, which he did with the Lions in 2011 and again in his first year with the Rams in 2021. … Adams had his streak of six straight games with a touchdown reception end in Arizona. He finished with four catches for 29 yards. … OLB Byron Young started the season with a sack in seven straight games, then was held without one for four weeks, and now has sacks in each of his past two outings. … K Harrison Mevis is 23 for 23 on extra points and 3 for 3 on field goals in five games with the Rams. … RB Kyren Williams needs 48 yards rushing for his third straight 1,000-yard season. He would be the first Rams player to do it since Steven Jackson had eight straight from 2005-2012.
Fantasy tip
The Lions have allowed 30 points in consecutive weeks and four times in total this season, meaning it might be worth rolling the dice on fringe pieces of the dynamic Rams’ offense to fill out a lineup. That includes Corum, who turned a first-quarter goal-line carry into a touchdown, and TE Colby Parkinson, who has touchdown receptions in four of the past five games.
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