To remain atop the NFC North and hold onto its position as the NFC’s top seed, Detroit needs to win eight straight games.
Let Za’Darius Smith have complete control.
This Sunday will be the veteran edge rusher’s Lions debut. The Lions signed him following the trade deadline on November 5. In order to honor his bye week and give him time to recuperate, coach Dan Campbell gave him a break last week.
With five sacks in nine games this season, Smith (6-4, 270) will contribute to improving Detroit’s pass rush.
Seeing him on the field excites us greatly. This week, defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn stated, “We have a lot of things we want to do for him, but you could see how happy he is to be a part of this organization doing a walkthrough with him on Wednesday.
Keep Mac Jones from becoming comfortable
The defense’s best unit this season has been Detroit’s secondary, and this week they take on Jacksonville’s backup quarterback, Mac Jones, who will start for the second straight week in lieu of the injured Trevor Lawrence (shoulder).
Mac Jones had a quarterback rating of just 38.3 last week, completing 14 of 22 passes for 111 yards, a rushing touchdown, two interceptions, and a fumble against Minnesota.
The defense of Detroit must make sure that Jones isn’t given an opportunity to settle in. In order for him to repeat his mistakes and help the team, he needs to be under pressure.
Dominate from the start
Houston didn’t officially make a sack against Lines last week, but they put a lot of pressure on quarterback Jared Goff. This resulted in an interception by Goff and forcing him to throw the ball early on multiple occasions.
Detroit’s run game was weak in the first half, only managing 23 yards on 13 rushes (1.8 average). But there was some improvement in the second half, especially when they emphasized outside zone running. Still, Lines’ average run yards throughout the game were just 3.3 yards per carry, their lowest total this season.
Houston put pressure on Detroit from the start, and that proved to be the key to their win.
The threat of big play
Despite having some talented players, the Jaguars defense has had trouble stopping big plays this season. The Jaguars defense has given up the most completions (42) of 20 yards or more this season, and they now rank 30th in pass defense and 32nd in overall yardage.
This season, opponents’ quarterbacks have a passer rating of 127.9 when they throw passes of 21 yards or more, with six touchdowns and only one interception. This implies that there will be chances for Goff and his offense to execute spectacular plays. Will they be able to take advantage of those opportunities now?
A streak of touchdowns
With another touchdown reception against Jacksonville tonight, Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown may become the fifth player since 2000 to score a touchdown in eight straight games throughout a season. He will join A.J. Green (who had a 9-game run with Cincinnati in 2012), Antonio Brown (who had 8 games with Pittsburgh in 2018), Davante Adams (who had 8 games with Green Bay in 2020), and T.J. Houshmandzadeh (who had 8 games with Cincinnati in 2007) if that occurs.
Even though St. Brown’s receiving yards (524) have decreased somewhat this season, he still has eight games left in the regular season and is only three touchdowns away from surpassing his career-high 10 touchdown total.
It suggests that before the season ends, he might put on another incredible show!
