I don’t know if anyone noticed on Sunday, but the Detroit Lions have a really good run game. Of course you noticed it. It was hard not to noticed 200 yards and three touchdowns.
This duo did something very special on Sunday. Something I was shocked to see. They ran for 200 or more yards for a third time this season. That might not seem like a huge deal, but it is. The Lions haven’t rushed for 200 yards more than twice in a season since 1997. Even worse, they haven’t rushed for 200 yards more than once in a season since 1997. Even worse, the Lions have only rushed for 200 yards 10 times in the last 26 years. Three of those were from this season.
The last time the Lions hit that third 200 yard game was in a 38-15 win over the Minnesota Vikings on November 16th, 1997. Barry Sanders ran for 108 yards and Ron Rivers and Tommy Vardell chipped in with 51 and 45 respectively.
200 yards isn’t easy. There’s only three teams that have hit 200 yards rushing more than once this season. The Dolphins did it twice, the Lions have done it three times and the Browns have done it four times. Most of the remaining teams haven’t even done it once.
Could the Lions continue to do it? We mentioned that 1997 team. The Lions ran for 200 yards six times that year. Can the 2023 Lions match or beat that feat? Let’s take a look at the run defenses they’ll face down the stretch. This is each teams ranking in rushing yards allowed.
- Week 11: Bears are fourth in the league against the run
- Week 12: Packers are 25th against the run
- Week 13: Saints are 21st against the run
- Week 14: Bears are fourth against the run
- Week 15: Broncos are 27th against the run
- Week 16: The Vikings are 13th against the run
- Week 17: The Cowboys are 12th against the run
- Week 18: The Vikings are 13th against the run
They’ll have some trouble running on the Bears defense, but they face a lot of defenses that aren’t so great against the run in their final eight games. We’ll see if they can make Lions history. They did it in 1997, but this wasn’t something the Lions just did through the 90’s.
Before 1997, the Lions hadn’t rushed for 200 yards in three games since 1991. The last time the Lions won a playoff game.