3 Keys to Victory for Lions against Jaguars
The Lions (1-3) come off their bye week, direly needing a win Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars (1-4) if they want to have any shot at turning around their season.
Here are the three things they must do if they aim on pulling off the Week 6 victory.
Stop Gardner Minshew II
From an offensive standpoint, the Jaguars are the best at throwing the football.
With Minshew under center, they rank 10th in the league in both passing yards (1,340) and passing touchdowns (10).
In each of Jacksonville's last two games -- against the Cincinnati Bengals and Houston Texans, respectively -- Minshew has thrown for at least 300 yards and two touchdowns.
He's also, however, thrown at least one interception in three of the five games he's played this season.
If the Lions are able to generate some sort of a pass rush and force a couple of Minshew turnovers, they should be able to pull out the victory this Sunday.
Establish the passing game early
It'd be nice to get Matthew Stafford on the right track coming out of the bye week.
And he has a great opportunity to do so facing a Jaguars pass defense that has allowed the 29th-most yards (1,401) and the 25th-most touchdowns (11) thus far this season.
Stafford's also due to throw a touchdown against Jacksonville, as the Jags are the only NFL team he has yet to throw a TD against in his NFL career.
I think he'll do that plus throw a few more (three total), outplaying Minshew and helping lead the Lions to a Week 6 victory.
Limit the production of running back James Robinson
The Lions have struggled with stopping the opposition on the ground all season.
In fact, they've allowed the 26th-most rushing touchdowns (six), the 29th-most yards per rush attempt (5.2) and the most rushing yards in the league (681) through their first four games.
It presents a great chance for Jaguars lead running back James Robinson to have a big game on Sunday.
The rookie back has averaged 4.6 yards per attempt and 66.6 yards per game on the ground through five games in 2020.
He also already has a 100-yard rushing game under his belt, having amassed 102 yards in Week 2 against the Tennessee Titans.
I'm not predicting he's going to produce another 100-yard rushing game this weekend.
But, I do think he'll easily be able to amass 70 yards out of Jacksonville's backfield, giving the Jaguars a chance to notch their second win of the season in the process.
More from SI All Lions:
Who Should Be the Odd Man Out on the Lions' Offensive Line?
Stafford: 'I've Got as Much Juice as I've Ever Had'
Lions' Week 6 Wednesday Injury Report
Lions Announce 3 Players Returning From Injury
4 Teams that Could Trade for Matthew Stafford
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