▶ Start: 8:20 p.m. Sunday, Ford Field, Detroit
▶ Television/Radio: 97.1
▶ Line: Lions with 3½
▶ Series: Los Angeles leads the series 45-40-1 (Last: January 14, 2024, NFC Wild Card Game – (at) Detroit 24, Los Angeles 23)
Richard Silva of The Detroit News analyzes the Lions’ season opener against the Los Angeles Rams.
Important duel
LIONS SECONDARY VS RAMS WIDE RECEIVERS
Stop me if you’ve heard this before: The Lions have revamped their secondary and replaced the majority of their core defensive backfield players. Of course you’ve heard this before, as this is the second straight offseason in which Detroit is hoping a new crop of talent will make the difference on the back end. Two core players are back: safety Kerby Joseph and defensive back Brian Branch, but Joseph is the only one returning to the same position; Branch goes from being a full-time slot cornerback to a versatile player who plays both nickel and safety.
Notable additions to Detroit’s secondary include cornerbacks Carlton Davis III, Amik Robertson, Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw Jr. On Sunday, Arnold, who is expected to start alongside Davis, and Rakestraw will make their NFL debuts. There will be no tryout period, as they will face one of the league’s better receiver duos: Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua. Kupp had a quiet game against the Lions in the wild-card round last year — 27 yards on five catches — but Nacua had nine catches for 181 yards and a touchdown. Good luck to the rookies.
Rams to watch
▶ Puka Nacua, WR: We’ve already talked about how good Nacua is, but it can’t be overstated how dominant he’s been in 2023. Nacua, a fifth-round pick who quickly began to outperform his draft selection last season, posted the most receiving yards (1,486) and receptions (105) ever for a rookie. The majority of Nacua’s offensive snaps last season (68.8%) came with him wide out. He’ll do some work from the slot, but expect the Rams to target Arnold if he ends up in a one-on-one matchup with Nacua.
▶ Joe Noteboom, OT: With left tackle Alaric Jackson suspended for two games for violating the NFL’s rules of conduct, the Rams will have to look for someone else to protect quarterback Matthew Stafford’s blind side. Did we mention that Stafford is returning to Ford Field for the second time since being traded? I’m not sure if you’ve heard about that. Anyway, according to LA’s unofficial roster, the Rams are opting for Noteboom. He’s played predominantly left tackle since 2020 (63.2% of his offensive snaps were at that position), but last season he switched and moved all over the line – 25.1% as left tackle, 29.7% as left/right guard, and 45.2% as right tackle. We’ll see how well he remembers playing left tackle while facing Aidan Hutchinson.
▶ Jared Verse, EN: Replacing Aaron Donald’s impact on defense is virtually impossible, but the Rams are trying to do so by adding a couple of former Florida State stars to their front line. They selected edge rusher Verse with the No. 19 pick before taking defensive lineman Braden Fiske with the No. 39 pick. Verse began his college career at Albany, appearing in four games in 2019-20 before tormenting the Colonial Athletic Association with 10½ sacks in 2021 and earning all-conference honors. He joined the Seminoles in January 2022 and has two straight seasons of nine sacks and 89 total tackles (29½ for loss). Just as Arnold faces a tough test against Nacua and Kupp, Verse will have his hands full against Taylor Decker, Penei Sewell and perhaps the best offensive line in football.
Facts and figures
▶ Heading into the season opener, Stafford needs 128 passing yards to pass Sam Bradford (11,065) for eighth place in Rams history. Stafford, who has 10,938 yards in three seasons in Los Angeles, is Detroit’s record holder with 45,109 yards. Jared Goff is fifth in Detroit with 12,258 yards.
▶ Sophomore offensive lineman Steve Avila started all 17 games at left guard for the Rams last season. He had a solid year, finishing with the second-best pass blocking grade (67.2), fifth-best total offensive grade (61.1) and 10th-best run blocking grade (55.8) of all rookie O-linemen, according to Pro Football Focus.
@rich_silva18
