Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA – Photo by Icon sport
Rams vs Lions: NFC Wild Card Playoffs
The Detroit Lions will host the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Wild Card Playoffs at Ford Field on Sunday night.
The Rams turned the season around to get here
The Los Angeles Rams started the season losing two of the first three games and were 3-6 before having a bye week in Week 10. Things dramatically changed after the week off, and the Rams won 7 of the next 8 games to finish the season second in the NFC West with a 10-7 record. The Rams are coming off an impressive 21-20 win on the road against the 49ers, despite having starting QB Matthew Stafford sidelined. Stafford is tied for 11th place this season with 24 TDs and shares the same rankings with 3,965 yards. The Rams are seventh in the league with 359.3 yards per game and eighth with 23.8 points per game.
The Lions had a successful season
The Detroit Lions made history by hosting a playoff game after more than three decades. Their last postseason win came in 1992, when most of the players on this roster were not even born yet. The Lions finished the season on top of the NFC North with a 12-5 record. They won 3 of the last 4 games and are coming off a 30-20 win over the Minnesota Vikings. QB Jared Goff had a fantastic year, finishing second in the league with 4,575 yards and fourth with 30 TDs. The Lions are third in the league with 394.8 yards per game and fifth with 27.1 points per game.
Betting Trends
Detroit has played over the total point line in 11 of 17 games this season and in 6 of 8 home games.
Prediction and Conclusion
What makes this game especially interesting is the fact that these two teams traded QBs in 2021. Both Stafford and Goff will go against their former teams, and we do not have to note that they will have extra motivation tonight. The Rams won the Super Bowl three years ago, but most of that roster is already gone. This will be the first postseason game in Detroit in decades, and the Lions are aware of the opportunity. It is tough to predict the winner, but given the fact that both teams are in the top 8 in scoring, this game will most likely go over the 51.5 total point line.
