LOS ANGELES RAMS (10-7) at DETROIT (12-5)
Sunday, 8 p.m. EST, NBC
OPENING LINE: Lions by 3, per FanDuel Sportsbook.
AGAINST THE SPREAD: Rams 9-6-2, Lions 12-5.
SERIES RECORD: Rams lead 45-41-1.
LAST MEETING: Rams beat Lions Oct. 23, 2021, at Los Angeles.
LAST WEEK: Rams beat 49ers 21-20, Lions beat Vikings 30-20
RAMS OFFENSE: OVERALL (7), RUSH (11), PASS (10), SCORING (22)
RAMS DEFENSE: OVERALL (16), RUSH (9), PASS (18), SCORING (12)
LIONS OFFENSE: OVERALL (3), RUSH (5), PASS (2), SCORING (5).
LIONS DEFENSE: OVERALL (19), RUSH (2), PASS (27), SCORING (23).
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Rams minus-3; Lions even.
RAMS PLAYER TO WATCH: QB Matthew Stafford. Detroit drafted Stafford out of Georgia No. 1 overall in 2009 after becoming the NFL’s first 0-16 team. Over 12 seasons with an 0-3 record in wild-card games, Stafford set franchise records with 45,109 yards passing and 282 TDs.
LIONS PLAYER TO WATCH: QB Jared Goff. The Rams drafted Goff No. 1 overall in 2016 and the former California star led them to Super Bowl 53 in his third season. They traded him along with a pair of first-round picks to Detroit for Stafford nearly three years ago.
KEY MATCHUP: Stafford’s passing, particularly to record-breaking WRs Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua against Detroit’s defense. Kupp had 33 receptions in the 2021 playoffs, a record for one postseason, and Nucua set rookie records with 105 catches and 1,473 yards receiving this season. Detroit’s weakness is perhaps its pass defense. The Lions gave up 247.4 yards passing per game, ranking among the league’s worst, and allowed journeyman QB Nick Mullens to throw for more than a total of 800 yards in Weeks 16 and 18.
KEY INJURIES: Rams: S Jordan Fuller (ankle) isn’t expected to practice this week, but the team is hoping its second-leading tackler can still play. … Backup OT Joe Noteboom (foot) is injured and Los Angeles is optimistic TE Tyler Higbee will play after separating his shoulder two weeks ago. … Pro Bowl TE Sam LaPorta (knee) and standout return specialist Kalif Ramond (knee) were hurt last week, putting their status in doubt for Sunday night. … WR Jameson Williams (ankle) is expected to play after being held out last week and TE Brock Wright (groin) may return for the first time since in nearly a month.
SERIES NOTES: In the only other postseason matchup, the Lions beat the Rams 31-21 on Dec. 21, 1952, and went on to win the first of two straight NFL titles and three in a six-year span. … Los Angeles has won two straight in the series.
STATS AND STUFF: Detroit is the No. 3 seed and Los Angeles is No. 6 in the NFC playoffs. … The Rams have won four straight and seven of eight. … Los Angeles was 3-6 at its bye week. … The Rams are 26-27 in the postseason, including Super Bowl wins two years ago and on Jan. 30, 2000. … Los Angeles is in the playoffs for the fifth time in seven seasons with coach Sean McVay. … Nacua, a seldom-used player at Washington and standout at BYU, was drafted in the fifth round. … Kupp has seven TD receptions in six playoff games. … The Rams finished the regular season with 41 sacks, tied with the Lions for 23rd in the league — and the fewest among the 14 playoff teams. … DT Aaron Donald had eight sacks and 16 tackles for losses this season. … The starting QB who wins will become the first to beat a former team in the playoffs after starting for that opponent previously in the postseason. … Detroit is 7-13 in the playoffs, winning 35% of those games for the lowest winning percentage among the 14 teams in the postseason. … The Lions’ most recent playoff victory on Jan. 5, 1992, was their first since winning the 1957 NFL title to end the second-longest drought in league history. The Cardinals went 51 years without a postseason win until Jan. 2, 1999, in what is the longest drought. … The Lions are 20-7, including a franchise-record-tying 12 wins this season, since starting the 2022 season with a 1-6 mark. … Detroit hired GM Brad Holmes in January 2021, after he worked for the Rams for 18 seasons. … Shortly after Holmes was hired, Stafford asked for a trade.. WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, who is from Anaheim Hills, California, and played at USC, has 315 catches and just Justin Jefferson (324) and Michael Thomas (321) had more receptions in their first three seasons in NFL history. … LaPorta and RB Jahmyr Gibbs are the first rookies on the same team to score at least 10 scrimmage TDs in league history. … LaPorta had 86 catches, breaking Keith Jackson’s NFL record for receptions by a rookie TE.
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