Want to talk about the Lions defense?

[nablives]

I realize that nothing is set in stone yet, but just in case this match-up does occur, I'm sure one or two other people are a little curious, how good is that Lions defense?

With 15 games down, I think we have a good sample size. With that said, here's some numbers:

16.8 PPG - That's how much their defense allows per game, and that's 2nd best in the NFL to Seattle.
295.9 Yds/G - That's how many yards a agem their defense is allowing, which again, is 2nd best to Seattle.
4.8 Yds/P - That's how many yards per play their defense is allowing. Once again, only Seattle is better.
36% - That's how often their defense gives up a 1st down on a 3rd down play. 4th best in the NFL.
3.1 YPC - That's how many yards per carry they're allowing. Best in the NFL.
41 - The number of sacks they have so far. 6th best in the NFL.
20 - The number of INTs they have. 2nd best in the NFL.
7 - The amount of points they held Green Bay to the last time they played
1 - The number of teams to score 2 points or more on them. It was New England, in New England.

I could go on, but who wants to read this on Christmas? I'm sure a few folks are already ticked. No positive things must ever be posted or said about anyone other than the Cowboys, at least in the opinions of some. However, I show you all the above, to arguably be a jerk to the Lions. Some of the offenses Detroit faced this season:

Minnesota X 2 - 26th in yards, 20th in PPG
Chicago X 2 - 20th in yards, 21st in PPG
New York Jets - 27th in yards, 29th in PPG
Tampa Bay - 31st in yards, 28th in PPG
Arizona - 28th in yards, 24th in PPG

That's 7 games against teams that are a little less than impressive, granted you can state that one reason is due to Detroit. With that said, after 15 games played, Detroit isn't skewing their offensive production to make them all bad. At best, Chicago may have been right in the middle of the pack if they didn't play Detroit twice this season, and that's giving them more credit than they probably deserve. I left out the Giants, Panthers, and Dolphins, as they're arguably in that average range of teams, although Carolina did put up a respectable 24 on them in a season they've averaged 20.3 PPG. Oh by the way, here comes Green Bay at Lambeau, and I don't think that's going to help their stats too much.

Conclusion? They have a good defense, probably a legit top 10, but perhaps they're not quite as amazing as the stats would suggest. Put them in the NFCE this season, maybe even the AFCN, and I think we may not hear much more than mild praise for that defense. What say you? Fair assessment or not so much?

 

[Howboutdemcowboys31]

We win the game if 2 things happen. Oscan and a safety effectively double Megatron, and if Suh (who I hope is a Cowboy next year) doesn't hit Romo

 

[TonyRomo17]

The only legit defense that could give us problems is the Seahawks Defense imo.

 

[CF74]

Personally I fear Detroit more than any other team, for some reason we don't match up well with them. Having said that This team is funny about "Revenge" games so I expect our Boys will play with a major emotional chip on their shoulders and pull out a W, it just might not come easy though...

 

[Staubacher]

We'll have to run a real gauntlet. The top two defenses and GB at Lambeau.

Or course I want Super Bowl but honestly even making it as far as NFC championship game would be impressive.

 

[lwehlers]

if we can get the running game going early and if the defense can contain Johnson then the cowboys will win.

 

[btcutter]

I think I would put Scan on Golden Tate and let Carr really press Megatron with S help deep. Can't let him have free release and be playing catch up. Scan is too small and Carr is too slow to be chasing Megatron. No soft zones either. That killed us.

 

[Eskimo]

The key to beating Detroit will be to pass protect like crazy and soften them up with the pass early. Once they start sending more guys into coverage we should be able to run against them better. We need to stay balanced on first down. We can't afford to constantly be facing 2nd and long against that defensive line by stubbornly running into a brick wall.

I really hope that Martin is healthy by then. Our running game has really struggled the last couple of weeks mostly due to trouble on the interior.

What the run struggles have highlighted is how dominant we can be passing the ball. So long as the defense has to respect the run they cannot contain our passing game. We have really set the league up for big plays on first down passing the ball and I really hope we take full advantage of this in the playoffs.

As for Detroit and Megatron I hope we do a lot better with our Safety support this year. Last year when Heath played a bunch of snaps we really struggled defending deep passes. Wilcox is probably one of the few guys out there with the physical skills needed to play against CJ.

 

[yimyammer]

1 - The number of teams to score 2 points or more on them. It was New England, in New England.

Wha does this mean?

 

[Bullflop]

For the time being, I'm ecstatically content with the fact that we've won our division. I'll start getting concerned about our chances vs. Detroit when that problem presents itself for certain. The Commanders game is foremost on my mind right now and I believe that's just as it should be. We've already gotten farther than most of us ever considered likely just a couple of short months ago. I'm perfectly content to let that soak in for a while yet.

 

[JBS]

Funny. I was just analyzing the Lions yesterday...I came to the exact same conclusion as the OP.

I think we beat Det if we are matched up against them in the WC round...

Don't sleep on the Lions this weekend though...I don't think GB matches up vs Det as well as we do...a Det upset this weekend would not surprise me one bit

 

[xvendettax914]

I think mr. Linehan may have an idea as to how to stop 81.. Just a thought..

 

[JBS]

Wha does this mean?

It means no other team has scored more than two points against them..pretty amazing stat

Just gotta hope we hold them to an extra point and we should be fine

 

[yimyammer]

It means no other team has scored more than two points against them..pretty amazing stat

Just gotta hope we hold them to an extra point and we should be fine

ha, yeah right, I assume that was a type and should have been "20"

 

[JBS]

ha, yeah right, I assume that was a type and should have been "20"

Quick search says 4 teams have scored more than 20

Other than NE...panthers scored 24...so no other team has scored more than 24 on them this year

 

[cowboyfan4life2]

We win the game if 2 things happen. Oscan and a safety effectively double Megatron, and if Suh (who I hope is a Cowboy next year) doesn't hit Romo

Hopefully we learned our lesson from last year, and we double him.

 

[theogt]

Here's a look at their opponents' average for the season, compared to playing just the Lions:

Total yards per game:
Versus Lions - 295.9
Season Average - 342.5

Passing yards per game:
Versus Lions - 232.1
Season Average - 238.7

Rushing yards per game:
Versus Lions - 63.8
Season Average - 103.7

Points per game:
Versus Lions - 16.8
Season Average - 22.3

It's a pretty good defense.

 

[TellerMorrow34]

They are a tough team for us. They've got a seriously good defense that is very physical.

 

[Joe Realist]

We play the Skins this week? One wrong hit to Murray, Dez or Romo and it's bad news!

 

[JohnsKey19]

We'll have to run a real gauntlet. The top two defenses and GB at Lambeau.

Or course I want Super Bowl but honestly even making it as far as NFC championship game would be impressive.

I wouldn't be too quick to count the game Sunday as a win for GB. If Stafford doesn't blow it, I believe the Detroit D will keep that game tight. It will be a one possession game...