Pride of Detroit
The Detroit Lions (8-6) dropped a tough game to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 15, putting them in a precarious situation with just three games remaining in the regular season. With Detroit likely needing to win out to keep their playoff hopes alive, let’s take a look at how the Lions adjusted to all the moving parts on their roster by exploring how they utilized their personnel against the Rams.
With the run game struggling to gain ground, Goff was called upon to pass the ball even more than usual. Overall, he threw twice as many passes as the Lions had runs, but he was efficient and put together a nice day overall: 25 of 41 for 338 passing yards, three TDs, one sack, 111.6 passer rating, and no turnovers.
While Montgomery was the more efficient runner, the Lions leaned on Gibbs—due to his versatility—in the second half as they played from behind. This was one of the season’s largest split differences between the two backs, and likely not what the Lions would have preferred.
St. Brown and Williams played massive roles in this game, and together, they combined for nearly three-quarters of the Lions’ offense (298 of the Lions’ 408 yards). TeSlaa and Raymond each saw just one target, with the rookie coming up empty and the veteran securing a 20-yard catch. With Raymond’s return, Kennedy was relegated to special teams only.
With Zylstra back from injured reserve and Ricci elevated, the Lions shifted away from their heavy use of Jumbo formations (6OL) and deployed their tight ends more traditionally. While Zylstra took on the Lions’ TE1 role, Firkser took on more of a blocking role, and Ricci split his time between being lined up inline and in the backfield as a fullback.
The guard rotation continues as the Lions, once again, needed to call on Colon to start at left guard, and the rookie Frazier cycled in...
