Detroit Lions (8-5) @ Los Angeles Rams (10-3)
Sunday, December 14, 4:25 PM ET
Hopefully you’ve got a couple of monitors you can have different games on for the Sunday late afternoon slate of games, because you won’t want to miss this matchup between the Rams and Lions if you’re watching Broncos-Packers, or vice versa.
Of course, the low-hanging fruit with this matchup here is the Matthew Stafford storyline. For over a decade, Stafford was the starting quarterback of the Detroit Lions, taking that franchise to places they hadn’t been in a long, long time. But the relationship fizzled, and he was sent to the Rams where he immediately won a Super Bowl.
But the trade worked out for both sides, because both the Rams and Lions have become true contenders in the NFC. This year, however, it looks like the Rams are set up much better to rule the NFC and get the #1 seed in the conference.
The Lions are coming off of a very solid win against the Dallas Cowboys, but the fact that Dak Prescott threw for 376 yards in that game should have Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford salivating at the thought of attacking Detroit’s secondary.
As good as the Lions are, and as good as they have been, they look completely overmatched in a situation like this. They are going to need another legacy game from Jahmyr Gibbs to pull off an upset, which would be significant, according to the oddsmakers. The Rams are hefty 5.5-point home favorites this week.
One storyline that does get lost a little bit is the fact that the Rams dumped Jared Goff. He’s got to carry a bit of a chip on his shoulder as a former #1 overall pick who helped lead that franchise to the Super Bowl, even though it didn’t work out. He’s going to be out to prove a point in this one as well.
I think we’re all expecting a fun shootout in this one.
Prediction: Rams win 34-32