Lions' Recipe to Stack Wins: 4 Keys

What must Lions do to win out over final three regular season games?

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell. | Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

The Detroit Lions have the roadmap to the playoffs — but it won't be a smooth ride.

In its simplest form, the Lions will make the postseason if they win out and the Chicago Bears lose one of their next two games against either the Green Bay Packers or the San Francisco 49ers.

On Wednesday, Lions coach Dan Campbell expressed his vision for stacking wins, and emphasized the importance of securing a victory in this week's matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“Well, you’ve got to win the first one. Like I mentioned the other day, we’ve got to win this one to have a chance to win the next one. So, that’s really where it all starts. Man, it’s – like I told the team, it’s one week, it’s one game, and it’s one win. That’s all we can focus on," Campbell said. "Let’s go back to the drawing board, go back to the fundamentals of the things we talked about, man, urgency out here. And let’s go, man. We’ve got to get ready."

Here are four keys for the Lions as they look to win each of the final three games of the regular season.

Limit explosive plays

The Lions have been inconsistent on both sides over the ball through the last nine games, a stretch in which they have gone 4-5. Part of the issues lie with the defense, which has been prone to giving up explosive plays during their recent period of struggles.

Per Sharp Football Analysis, the Lions rank tied-for-fifth in explosive plays allowed rate at 6.7 percent. They are also tied-for-16th in the NFL in EPA allowed per play at -0.01. They're missing some key players in the secondary, namely Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch, and they are feeling these absences.

On Sunday against the Rams, they were exposed in a different way as they struggled to stop the Rams' run game. It was an unusual poor performance for a group that has been mostly solid against the ground game, and the Lions are hoping that this doesn't extend past the previous week.

If the Lions are going to secure three-straight wins, they must be better about slowing opposing offenses.

Win on first down

A theme for the Lions throughout the year has been their struggles on third-down offensively. For the year, the team ranks 17th with a 38.4 percent conversion rate. The key to this success often times has been success on first-downs.

When the Lions are able to generate positive plays early in drives, they have not had issues converting. However, when backed into third-and-long, the team has had difficulty with extending drives.

A big key the Lions can emphasize is to avoid penalties on first-down. By avoiding being thrust into first-and-15 or first-and-20, Campbell can stay on schedule with his play-calling and allow Jared Goff to manage the offense in an efficient, less predictable manner.

Gibbs must score

One unique stat that has followed the Lions for the duration of the year is the fact that every win has featured a Jahmyr Gibbs touchdown, and every loss has gone without one. As a result, finding ways to get Gibbs going will be a big part of the team earning wins.

Gibbs has had a phenomenal third NFL season overall, already rushing for 1,100 yards through 14 games. However, there have been games where the team has struggled to find big plays for him and more often than not, his struggles have been emblematic of the offense's overall ailments.

In wins, Gibbs has averaged 145.1 all-purpose yards between rushing and receiving. This features games like that against the Giants, in which he had 264 all-purpose yards and scored a huge game-winning touchdown in overtime. However, in losses he has been held to an average of 72 yards.

If the Lions are going to string wins together, there's no doubt that Gibbs' success will be at the center of it.

Pressure the quarterback

Getting after the quarterback is another element of the Lions' game that has directly impacted wins and losses. As a team, they rank seventh in sacks with 39, and Aidan Hutchinson leads the way with 9.5 through 14 games.

Of those 39 sacks, the Lions have recorded 28 in wins and 11 in losses. That equates to 3.5 in each win, and 1.5 in each loss. Detroit is 5-2 in games where they record at least three sacks, with the two losses coming against Minnesota and Kansas City.

If Detroit is able to pressure the likes of Aaron Rodgers, J.J. McCarthy and Caleb Williams, they should be able to take some of the heat off of their secondary.

When Campbell's team is able to do all four of these things, they are incredibly difficult to beat. They have the talent to make a run, not just through the end of the regular season but into the playoffs, but must handle business to even have a chance to push for a championship.