Football returns to Ford Field on Sunday night when the Detroit Lions host the Los Angeles Rams in the 2024 season opener. The Week 1 matchup is a rematch of January’s playoff win by the Lions, the first-ever postseason victory in the history of the building.
Both teams have had some serious changes since the last meeting. To help keep up with what all is going on with Los Angeles, I turned to Rams Wire editor Cam DaSilva for a few questions about the team, Matthew Stafford, life without Aaron Donald and more.
How is Matthew Stafford looking as he gets ready to face his old team?
He was excellent in the second half of last season, playing some of the best football I’ve seen him play at any point in his career. By all accounts, he carried that over to this summer where he was sharp in practice and more importantly, healthy. There was a minor hiccup with a hamstring strain that forced him to miss a couple of days, but he was on the field for all four joint practices, so that was essentially his preseason.
I expect him to have another strong season in 2024, particularly if Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua can both stay healthy.
It’s still a fairly big deal to many in Detroit, but does Los Angeles care much about the Jared Goff/Stafford angle anymore?
Probably not as much as Lions fans do, only because A) Goff wasn’t heralded the way Stafford was for 12 years in Detroit and B) Stafford has already won a Super Bowl in L.A. Fans are still interested in how Goff plays and from what I can tell, most still want him to succeed, but not at the expense of the Rams. No one in L.A. will be rooting for Goff on Sunday.
No more Aaron Donald. How have the Rams retooled the defense without him?
It’s going to be a group effort without Donald in the middle. Fortunately, they’ve nailed some of their recent draft picks. Byron Young was a stud last season, Kobie Turner could’ve easily won Defensive Rookie of the Year and the incoming tandem of Jared Verse and Braden Fiske might be even better than those two. We haven’t seen either rookie in a game yet because they both sat out the preseason, but they’ve been great in practice and are poised for big years. The Rams will generate pressure with those four, as well as some blitz packages that involve the inside linebackers and nickel corners.
What matchup is your biggest worry for the Rams?
Amon-Ra St. Brown against literally any of the Rams’ defensive backs. Though the secondary should be better this season, the Rams had no answer for St. Brown in January. And with Darious Williams landing on injured reserve, it’s just another disadvantage for Los Angeles entering this game.
Another pretty big concern is the Rams’ ability to stop the run after trading away Ernest Jones and with Donald now gone. They could be susceptible to physical rushing attacks that hammer it between the tackles.
Can the Rams challenge the 49ers for NFC West supremacy?
I think they can certainly contend for a division title this year. They beefed up along the offensive line and with the addition of Blake Corum, they have a two-headed monster at running back that should have sustained success and keep both players fresh throughout the year.
Both teams have some legitimate depth concerns behind their starters but the 49ers could be in serious danger if Christian McCaffrey or George Kittle get hurt.
Who wins and why?
As confident as I am in the Rams this season, I don’t know that they’re going to win this game. The Lions have a lot of playmakers on offense and I’m not sure Los Angeles can match that personnel with Williams out. Plus, stopping the run could be a real challenge for the Rams; they’re slightly undersized up the middle so the Lions should be able to run it consistently. Lions 27, Rams 24