2024 Week 1: Rams 20, Lions 26
By far the best game this week, Rams and Lions may face each other in the playoffs, and if the Niners aren’t the NFC representative in the Super Bowl, it will be one of these two teams.
The Lions won this game in OT but the Rams had a chance to win this one in regulation despite missing linemen pre-game, losing 2 more mid-game, and one of their top receivers Puka Nacua. Not to mention their top corner being placed on IR prior to the game. When the Rams are fully healthy they are a real competitor for the best team in the NFL.
In my mind it's 1) San Fran, 2) Detroit, 3) Rams.. including the AFC teams.
The Rams just went into Detroit, a team that was a dropped pass away from the Super Bowl, and almost won outright with tons of key injuries. They need to be respected.
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- The Rams WR situation is the pressing matter right now so lets start there.
- The big winner in the Rams offense will be Cooper Kupp (14-110-1/21, 2 rushes for 10 yards) for the next 4 weeks, just like he was in the second half, and he will put up numbers comparable to his triple crown season a few years ago. Matt Stafford (34/49 for 317 yards, 1 TD/ 1 INT) will lean on Kupp but defenses will key in on him even more so they’ll have to work other weapons as well…
- With all the injuries to the O-line Stafford will have to get the ball out quicker which hurts Demarcus Robinson (4-42-0/7) the most, as he’s more of the mid-deep threat, especially as the weeks go on and Stafford-McVay get accustomed to Johnson and Whittington.
- I think the biggest winner will be Jordan Whittington, I’ve taken a lot of notes on him from pre-season and he is the most similar threat they have to Puka, he’s almost as good as Puka and based on talent, the most likely to fill that role. He had a TD run taken away by penalty.
- Tyler Johnson (5-79-0/7) has more experience and got a good workload in this game so he may be the actual winner in the receiving core. Realistically, it's Cooper Kupp and any of these other options will just be who happens to score a TD.
- Blake Corum might also see some meaningful snaps to help protect Kyren Williams (18-50-1, 3 catches for 4-0/3) and Stafford from an increased workload. Corum is very good but it’s too early for him.
Welp I accidentally talked about the entire Rams offense so let’s talk about the other half of this game:
- Jared Goff (18/28 for 217 yards, 1 TD/ 1 INT) looked great and did exactly what he needed to to win this game. The Lions were running so well late in the game the direction of the offense moved away from him.
- David Montgomery (17-91-1, 1 catch for 2 yards) was having an okay game leading up to overtime, 12 carries for 46 yards, just under 4 ypc. Overtime hit and Montgomery took over with 5 carries for 45 yards and the game winning touchdown. Jahmyr Gibbs (11-40-1, 4 catches for 34-0/6) also aided that drive with an 18-yard reception. The best split backfield in the league on display in OT.
- Jameson Williams (5-121-1/9, 1 rush for 13 yards) had a big game and will likely have a few more random boom outputs because the Lions offense is so good. He isn’t ready for real coverage.
- Amon-Ra St Brown (3-13-0/6) was smothered here but Williams and the run game were working so well they didn’t need to force the ball to him.
D/ST Report:
- Both of these defenses are very good and for real football will compete for best in the league. In terms of betting and fantasy performances, both are good to bet on and avoid using offensive players that are against these two. This goes double for when Damarious Williams is back for LA.
- Detroit’s rookie corner Terrion Arnold (8 tackles) was targeted heavily by Stafford, but that’s a product of Kupp being the focus for the Rams in the second half, thus the high tackle count. This was a fine debut and a challenging matchup trying to quell the Stafford-Kupp connection.
