The Lions have turned their season around, winning six of their last seven games to go from 1-6 to 7-7. Their playoff hopes are very much alive and well.
This week they take on a Panthers team that still has playoff aspirations of its own, even at 5-9 on the year. Carolina is still just a game behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the NFC South lead. That’s how bad that division is.
Here are five things to watch ahead of Saturday’s Christmas Eve matchup.
Limiting big plays
The Lions’ defense has shown a ton of improvement during the team’s impressive run over the past seven weeks, but there’s one thing that still plagues it. It still give up a ton of big plays through the air. Jets QB Zach Wilson looked competent at times last week. This defense can’t let Sam Darnold do the same thing. This is not a Panthers offense that is known for its potent air attack. The Lions need to make sure it stays that way.
Sneaky good ‘D’
The Panthers have a solid defense. It’s what has kept them in games this season. Carolina entered the week tied for 15th in points allowed per game (22.4 points) and ranked 17th in total defense (342.1 yards). The one area where it really struggles is on third down, where it ranks 26th, allowing a 43.5% conversion rate. However, it did allow a bad Pittsburgh Steelers offense to run over it a week ago. If there’s a week for the Lions to get their run game going again, this might be it. Speaking of which…
What happened to the ground game?
This is actually quite puzzling. The Lions had a top-10 rushing offense in the league for most of the year, and it now ranks 14th at 126.1 yards per game. That’s still not bad, but it hasn’t been very good in recent weeks. Coach Dan Campbell and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson know this. Earlier this week, Johnson called it an execution issue, saying that the offensive line hasn’t been making some of the key blocks they made early in the year. The offense has been fine without it, but it would be nice to be able to pound the rock effectively again.
Keep stopping the run
One of the key reasons for the improvement of the Lions’ defense has been its ability to stop the run. Star running backs like New York Giants’ Saquon Barkley and Minnesota Vikings’ Dalvin Cook have been shut down by this unit. Carolina has a very run-heavy offense, even after trading Christian McCaffrey to the San Francisco 49ers. Carolina’s Chuba Hubbard is a decent back. If the Lions’ defense can keep doing what it has been doing against the run, it should have a relatively easy time against the Panthers.
Just win, baby
The Lions are getting very close to being able to control their own playoff destiny. They just need to keep focusing on the task at hand. They can’t look ahead. They need to beat the team that’s in front of them on Saturday. Don’t worry about the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers that follow. Focus on the Panthers. They can only control what they can control. Remembering this is important for the rest of the season.
Matthew Scheidel is a freelance writer.