Analysis: Against Super Bowl favorites and NFL's best offense, inconsistent Lions can reveal their playoff potential
Allen Park — The result of Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams won’t necessarily determine the Detroit Lions’ postseason prospects, but it does stand to illuminate whether they can legitimately contend for a championship if they do manage to claw their way to a playoff berth.
In a season filled with flawed contenders, the Los Angeles Rams have emerged as the Super Bowl favorites. The primary reason we can push back against the notion is that they unexpectedly stumbled on the road against the Carolina Panthers a couple of weeks back.
However, surface-level and under-the-hood metrics reveal the Lions are traveling three time zones west to face a juggernaut, both offensively and defensively — especially the former.
The numbers are truly eye-opening. The easiest to understand is that the Rams are top five in yards and scoring, but it’s the unit’s remarkable efficiency that affirms its dominance.