Detroit Lions vs Pittsburgh Steelers – Week 16 Preview & Prediction
Aaron Rodgers, DK Metcalf, Mike Tomlin (TJ Watt-possibly ?) and the Pittsburgh Steelers face Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St.Brown, Jahmyr Gibbs and the Detroit Lions in a huge game with playoff implications for both teams.
The Lions fell on the road last week and badly need a home win at Ford Field if they want any chance at playing in the Postseason. Aidan Hutchinson is a game wrecker and had an interception vs the Rams with the Brian Branch injury and Kerby Joseph injury, its paramount that he make plays and be the best player on the field.
Joseph may return soon but without him the Lions have suffered in the secondary and likely will need to double Metcalf and force the ball to Pat Freiermuth or Calvin Austin. The run game is critical for both teams, Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell are versatile backs with necessary receiving abilities, in order to take the pressure of Rodgers, they’ll have to have a decent day on the ground. The Lions duo with David Montgomery and Gibbs is still the best in the league but they had no success a week ago and with guys like Joey Porter Jr, Jalen Ramsey lurking in coverage they’ll need their balance on offense.
TJ Watt is still a question mark on when his return will come, Penei Sewell and Dan Campbell would love a tough test against one of the best edge players in the NFL, but if he does not play, that will be a big advantage, not too dissimilar to the Micah Parsons injury and teams playing the Packers without him. Jameson Williams is having a tremendous season and with the Sam LaPorta injury it has been much welcomed by Lions fans, he’ll need to continue his production to keep the Lions operating at a top of the league level which is far beyond what the Steelers offense can do with Arthur Smith.
It may be Aaron Rodgers last career game against the division he terrorized for almost 2 decades, this will be an awesome game with huge stakes on the line for both the NFC North & AFC North as either the Packers or Bears would clinch a playoff birth Sunday with a Lions loss.
Enjoy this Blitz With Blinder Video hosted by Josh Blinder.
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