(Photo: Pride of Detroit)
NFC Game Of The Week
Los Angeles Rams at Detroit Lions
Rams: If Sean McVay isn’t on your top coaches list, he should be. It’s been an interesting few years for this franchise. Back in 2021, they decided to trade Jared Goff and acquire Matthew Stafford from the Detroit Lions, a move which I compared to the Toronto Raptors acquiring Kawhi Leonard from the San Antonio Spurs for Demar Derozan. The Raptors won the NBA Finals the same year they traded for Kawhi and the Los Angeles Rams won the Super Bowl the same season they acquired Stafford which is why it’s a very comparable situation. 2022 was a down year for this team. Injuries just stockpiled and they had too many key pieces in and out of the lineup. Whenever a team struggles or surprises people and they’re bad, so many want to call for the Head Coach’s job which is why I always respond to those claims with a question: Who will you find that’s better than what they have now? Anytime I ask that they can never give me an answer. Last season, the Rams finished in second place behind the San Francisco 49ers and made the postseason for the first time since the 2021 season when they won it all. Puka Nacua burst onto the scene last season and if C.J. Stroud didn’t have the season he did in 2023, Puka would hands down be Offensive Rookie of the Year. He became a trusted target for Stafford and when I watch him play, he reminds me of a more explosive Wes Welker and I say that because he’s so shifty but can run those deep routes down the field and he’s such a threat in open space with the ball in his hands. One of the biggest storylines of the off-season took place on March 15th when Aaron Donald decided to announce his retirement after 10 superb seasons in the league. Their defense now has many young pieces and it will take a group effort to replace a Hall of Fame caliber Defensive Tackle. Their 2024 season will begin tonight in the same place it ended back in January.
Lions: I was so proud of them last season because I know all this franchise and the fanbase has endured. I even remember after they clinched the division and I previewed one of their games on this site later in the year, I listed everything that happened before they won their last division title. This was by far the best team in the NFC North a year ago and it wasn’t close. They were fortunate enough to host their first two playoff games at Ford Field and were a game away from advancing to the Super Bowl. Who would’ve imagined that this is the same team that became the first NFL franchise to finish a season with an 0-16 record. These are a different group of Lions now and they will be competing in the NFC for years to come. I loved how active they were in the off-season to resign key pieces. Signing Penei Sewell was big time as he’s a key contributor on the Offensive Line and they were able to lock up Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jared Goff each to long-term contract extensions. What I enjoy about this Lions team is how balanced they are offensively and they have no problem letting you know they want to run the football which leads me to my next point. I love this tandem out of the backfield of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs. When I watch them, I’m reminded of the tandem of Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram from the New Orleans Saints days. This is a group that wants to be physical and establish themselves in the trenches early and often. If I had to give you the landscape of the NFC as we speak, I’d say they’re right behind the San Francisco 49ers in the conference. It’s San Francisco, these Lions, then beneath them are the Cowboys possibly with the Eagles and Packers looming in the background. Tonight, they will kick off their season with a familiar face coming to town.
Rams X-Factor: Byron Young: This is his defense and he burst onto the scene nicely for this LA defense. Byron wrecked a lot of havoc for opponents last season and he’ll be counted on to do the same thing this year as well. He’s always active and moving at the Line of Scrimmage and when I watch him, he plays the run with the same intensity he does when I watch him get after the passer. Byron last season was able to see his share of single looks because of the attention Aaron Donald would often command. This season, I expect Byron to see his share of double teams and maybe an occasional triple team. This kid would come through with a clutch sack, key tackles, and big-time plays when his team needed it most last year. I can’t wait to see him grow as a player and I feel the Rams found themselves won with this guy.
Lions X-Factor: Jameson Williams: He can provide the Lions with being the guy that takes the top off the coverage and this is something their offense has lacked since the Calvin Johnson days. Early on in the year last season, Jameson struggled some, but in the second half of the season, I saw a guy that improved and when Jared got him the ball, he did something with it. Draw up more plays for him because I can see him being a force when he’s used correctly. Jameson brings the downfield speed and the play to this offense.
Final Thoughts: When the Super Wild Card schedule was released in January, it was this matchup that immediately got my attention and it ended up being the best game of the entire first round of the playoffs. Jared Goff was facing his former team and Matthew Stafford was returning to Detroit for the first time since being traded. This was also the Lions’ first-ever playoff game at Ford Field. The Lions won a thrilling game to move on to the divisional round of the playoffs. Months later, these two will kick off the regular season against one another. This will be the Rams’ first game without Aaron Donald on the field since 2013. The Lions are wanting to show that last year wasn’t a fluke and they’re here to stay. I’ll be watching the Lions’ secondary and how they’ll attempt to contain Puka because he tore them apart in the Wild Card game in January. I see this game being a shootout and the ball will fly all over the field. The Rams struggled to apply any type of pressure on Goff in the postseason game and that will be tough again tonight as the Lions have the best Offensive Line in the league. Stafford and the Rams would love nothing more than to get revenge on who eliminated them in the playoffs. I like the Lions to start the year with a win.
Prediction: Lions 31, Rams 27
