Fresh off their bye week, the Rams head to Detroit to try to keep pace with the Saints at the top of the NFC. The Rams lead the all time series 43-40-1, and the 2 have split their previous 2 matchups head to head.
Prior to their bye week, the Rams won a 54-51 thriller over Kansas City in week 11. In week 9, they lost 45-35 to the Saints, and beat the Seahawks 36-31 in week 10.
Detroit lost to their rival Chicago on Thanksgiving 23-16 this past week. In week 10, they lost 34-22 to the Bears as well, and beat the Panthers 20-19 in week 11.
Bovada has the Rams 9.5 point favourites, and an O/U has not been posted yet.
The Rams verified their upper tier status by by outlasting the Kansas City Chiefs 2 weeks ago. Jared Goff has been cooking, even though he lost his favourite target in Cooper Kupp for the season. Goff has thrown for 3547 yards, 26 TDs, and 6 INTs on the year while averaging 9.3 YPA and completing 67.7% of his passes. His top targets are undoubtedly Brandin Cooks and Robert Woods. Cooks has caught 59 balls for 964 yards and 3 TDs while Woods has 59 catches for 904 yards and 4 TDs. Todd Gurley is also heavily involved in the pass game, catching 43 balls for 441 yards and 4 TDs on the year. Gurley has rushed for 1043 yards and 13 TDs on 210 carries as well.
The Rams are below average in scoring defense, allowing 25.6 PPG. They are in the bottom half of the league in pass defense as well, allowing 252.6 yards per game and 25 TDs through the air, and are just outside the top 10 in sacks with 29. They are in the bottom half of the league in run defense as well, allowing 119.9 yards per game and 8 TDs on the ground.
Injuries and Inactive Watch
No injuries to report
The Lions have had a lot of ebb and flow to their season, and none as heartbreaking as their loss last week. Matt Stafford has thrown for 2841 yards, 17 TDs and 10 INTs on the year while averaging 7 YPA and completing 67% of his passes. Kenny Golladay has emerged as his top target, reining in 52 catches for 804 yards and 5 TDs this season. Theo Riddick is being utilized all over the field, and has 48 catches for 312 yards, while Marvin Jones, when healthy, has been a threat with 35 catches for 508 yards and 5 TDs. The status of Kerryon Johnson is unknown at this point, but he has been their only semblance of a run game, rushing for 648 yards and 3 TDs on 118 carries.
Detroit is in the bottom 10 in scoring defense, allowing 26 PPG. They are just above average in pass defense allowing 238.4 yards per game and 24 TDs through the air, and are top 10 in sacks with 32. The Lions are also below average in run defense, allowing 117.1 yards per game and 8 TDs on the year.
Injuries and Inactive Watch
LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin (neck) – questionable
After a week of rest, the Rams are going to come out firing, and Detroit’s defense does little that makes me think they can slow them down. Their run defense has been better since Snacks Harrison came over from the Giants, but are still exploitable, and Todd Gurley has to be hungry after getting hurt last Monday. The Lions have done a nice job scheming up blitzes, and that is the only way I see them giving the Rams offense any problems is if they can make Jared Goff uncomfortable.
The Lions offense is nothing special outside of Kenny Golladay. The Rams coverage has struggled, but Aqib Talib is due back this week and should immediately draw Golladay in coverage. If Kerryon Johnson can’t go, the Rams less than stellar run defense is nothing to be worried about, as they can pin their ears back and get after Stafford behind their subpar offensive line. The Rams have to be seeing what New Orleans has been doing and want to keep pace. Look for them to try to pour it on here and get themselves into a nice groove going down the backstretch of their schedule
Final Pick: Rams (-9.5)
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