3. Stafford vs. the blitz
The Lions aren’t a heavy blitz team but both their number of blitzes (115) and blitz percentage (23.5) rank in the top half of the league. Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard has to be sure when he does bring extra pressure today, it either gets home or gets Stafford off his spot.
Stafford leads the NFL with a 121.8 passer rating when blitzed this season with 22 touchdowns and zero interceptions. He’s been sacked just eight times when blitzed. Can the Lions get consistent pressure with their front four so they can play coverage and limit Stafford’s one-on-one opportunities in the passing game? They had 19 total pressures and 5.0 sacks last week against Dallas, helping Al-Quadin Muhammad win NFC Defensive Player of the Week after a 3.0-sack night. They’ll be looking for more of the same this week against a Rams’ offense allowing the fewest sacks in the NFL this season (17).
The Rams’ defense ranks third in the NFL in points allowed (17.5), second in red-zone efficiency (42.5) and fifth in takeaways (21). A lot of those numbers are a direct result of the ability and chaos created by a strong defensive front in Los Angeles. The Rams have generated 36 sacks on the year, sixth most in the NFL this season, despite the fact they blitz only 18.8 percent of the time, third lowest in the league.
Byron Young leads the Rams with 11.0 sacks and Jared Verse has chipped in 6.0 with Kobie Turner adding 4.5.
“The D-line’s really good,” Goff said this week. “They get after guys, and our O-line’s ready for the challenge, they are, but that D-line has been building that for a few years now and they’re starting to come together now.”
