Rams travel to Detroit for Wild Card Round playoff game vs. Lions
The Rams are headed to Detroit for their playoff opener, taking on the Lions at Ford Field as part of Super Wildcard Weekend. Coverage on Sunday begins at 5 p.m. pacific time on NBC, Peacock and Universo.
In advance of the contest, here is your First Look at Rams-Lions, presented by Toyota.
Notable Lions additions
- Selected Alabama RB Jahmyr Gibbs 12th overall in this year’s draft: The all-purpose back has 182 carries for 945 yards and 10 touchdowns, plus 52 carries for 316 yards and 1 touchdown in his rookie season as part of a strong backfield tandem with RB David Montgomery.
- Selected Iowa TE Sam LaPorta 34th overall in this year’s draft: LaPorta set the NFL record for most receptions by a rookie tight end this season and has been QB Jared Goff’s second-favorite target this season (120 of them, WR Amon-Ra St. Brown’s 164). He and Gibbs became the first rookie duo to each score 10 or more touchdowns each in NFL history.
Top performers in Week 18
Goff completed 23 of 32 pass attempts for 320 yards and 2 touchdowns in the Lions’ 30-20 win over the Vikings.
Montgomery was Detroit’s leading rusher with 40 yards and 1 touchdown on 10 carries, but Gibbs wasn’t far behind with 30 yards and 1 touchdown on 13 carries.
St. Brown led all Lions receivers with 7 catches for 144 yards and 1 touchdown.
LB Jack Campbell paced Detroit’s defense with 12 total tackles and 1 sack, DE Aidan Hutchinson added 2 sacks.
On special teams, K Michael Badgley made his lone field goal attempt (39 yards) and 2 of his 3 extra point attempts, while P Jake Fox averaged 53.6 yards per punt across 5 punts.
Early storylines to watch, and what they mean for the Rams
You’re probably well-versed in the obvious ones by the time you’re reading this, so we’ll focus on ones specific to the product on the field.
The potential absence of LaPorta looms largest when it comes to the Rams defense’s preparation for this game. Lions head coach Dan Campbell told reporters there’s an “outside chance” LaPorta could play on Sunday, and his numbers – 86 catches for 889 yards and 10 touchdowns – show just how big of a loss he would be for Detroit should he be unavailable.
LaPorta or no LaPorta, Detroit still features plenty of offensive weapons for Los Angeles to prepare for, between Gibbs’ abilities as a runner and pass-catche, St. Brown’s route running and yards-after-catch ability, Montgomery’s physical running style and WR Jameson Williams’ speed.
Stopping the run will be priority No. 1, but Goff has made plays in the passing game, too. Either way, it will be an offense quite different from what they’ve prepared for this season.
As for the Rams’ offense, they’ll be preparing for a Lions defense that got a big boost recently with the return of safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson and defensive tackle Alim McNeill from injury.
