3 Keys to Victory for Lions against Titans
After dropping their first contest with Darrell Bevell as interim head man a week ago against Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay, the Lions (5-8) will try to get back on the right track Sunday against the Tennessee Titans (9-4).
Here are the three things Bevell & Co. must do in order to secure the upset victory.
Limit the production of Titans running back Derrick Henry
There's no doubting the fact that the 6-foot-3, 247-pound Henry is a beast.
He's rushed for 100-plus yards in eight of Tennessee's 13 games this season, including two 200-plus-yard games.
One of the times the Alabama product went for over 200 yards on the ground in a game came just last week against the Jacksonville Jaguars, when he rushed for 215 yards and two touchdowns.
For the season, he's amassed NFL-best marks in rushing attempts (297), rushing yards (1532), rushing TDs (14) and rushing yards per game (117.8).
To put it mildly, he'll be a handful for Detroit defenders to contain.
The Lions must prevent him from going for over 100 yards on the ground, in order to give themselves a chance to pull off the upset win.
Easier said than done, but in two of the Titans' four losses this season, "King Henry" has been limited to under 100 rushing yards.
Making sure he doesn't hit the triple-digit threshold is the biggest key to victory for Bevell & Co. in this Week 15 clash.
Get D'Andre Swift more involved on the ground
The rookie runner was back in the lineup in Week 14 against the Green Bay Packers, after missing three straight weeks.
He proceeded to rush just seven times for 24 yards and a score, to go along with four catches and 26 yards.
Swift runs by Washington Football Team defenders.
Kirthmon F. Dozier, Imagn Content Services, LLC
I understand that Bevell was likely being conservative with the first-year pro, because it was his first game back.
However, there should be no more of that for the Georgia product in Week 15.
As has been said many times in the past at SI All Lions, he's already Detroit's best back. So, Bevell needs to let him run loose, and needs to make sure he amasses double-digit carries.
This is the only way to ensure that the Lions' ground game is performing at its highest possible level come Sunday.
Provide better protection for whoever's behind center
Detroit's offensive line allowed four sacks a week ago against the Packers.
In the contest, one of the line's poorest performers was Matt Nelson, who was making his first career start.
He proceeded to get beat by Green Bay's Rashan Gary for a second-quarter sack of Matthew Stafford, and was called for a holding penalty late in the fourth quarter that negated a Chase Daniel touchdown run.
The line, as a whole, needs to produce a bounce-back performance in its Week 15 tilt in Tennessee.
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