4 Lions that can have the most success against the Rams

Everyone is talking an awful lot about Matthew Stafford vs the Lions secondary, but Jared Goff vs the Rams secondary needs to be talked about as well. The Rams have had a lot of problems with the passing attack just like the Lions do. The Rams have allowed 15 passing touchdowns since their bye week. That's the fourth most passing touchdowns allowed since Week 11. That's rough. The Lions have thrown the fourth most passing touchdowns in that time. 

The deep passes is where Goff can cause some problems for this Rams defense. I know people don't think of Goff as a deep passer because he's not air yarding it out like Stafford seemingly does all the time, but analytics tell a different story. 

Per Pro Football Focus, the divide between Stafford and Goff isn't that wide. 

Ok, now that I've shown the always requisite proof that Goff can throw deep and do it well, here's how it burns the Rams. The Rams have allowed the sixth most deep passing yards in the league and the second most deep passing touchdowns in the league. 

People talk about the Lions struggling with explosive plays in the pass realm and they're right, they certainly do. But the Rams are essentially right behind them there.

It's time for Goff to load up some deep shots.

Alim McNeill

This a good time for the Lions to get Alim McNeill back because he can be very effective in this game from a pass rushing standpoint. Here's why:

The Rams interior offensive line is having some problems this season. The Rams have allowed 141 total pressures this season and 86 of them have happened on the Rams interior. Center Coleman Shelton's 34 allowed pressures are the most in the NFL among centers. The 11 quarterback hits he's allowed this season is also the most among centers and the fourth most among offensive linemen in general. 

Rookie Steve Avilla has been playing well for a rookie, but he's also allowing a lot of pressures. He's right behind Shelton with 32 allowed pressures. His seven quarterback hits allowed is fifth among guards. Kevin Dotson has been a lot better for this group, but he's allowed 20 pressures and seven quarterback hits as well. Nine of the 21 sacks PFF credits to the Rams offensive line have come from this group.

Why is Alim McNeil so helpful here, well that's because before his injury, he was having a pretty good season rushing the passer. He was 15th in the league in pressures from a defensive tackle and had five sacks. Here's a chance to add to that. 

Jahmyr Gibbs

The Rams have been relatively good at stopping the run lately, but they haven't face a pretty good running back in a while. On Sunday they have to face two of them. I'm going with the more dynamic one because Gibbs is able to be explosive and the Rams allowed nearly 40 explosive run plays this season. 

Whoever is returning kicks

This spot would have been for Kalif Raymond, but it looks like he's not going to be playing in this one sadly. So I'm going to go with whoever winds up in that spot. I'm thinking they'll wind up elevating Maurice Alexander from the practice squad here.

The Rams are the 32nd ranked special teams unit this year. They've allowed the second most yards on punt returns and the most punt return touchdowns. Don't expect much on kick returns because they don't allow a lot of returns. Just 11 this year. They've mostly had touchbacks. 

Alexander broke one in the preseason. Can he do it again in Wild Card?