Detroit Lions vs. New England Patriots: 3 key matchups for Week 5
By Zach Payne
Matchup 1: Lions CB Amani Oruwariye vs. Patriots WR Jakobi Meyers
It has been a vey rough couple of weeks for Oruwariye. Entering camp he stood unrivaled as the de facto top corner on the team. Just four weeks into the season, he has been unseated by Jeff Okudah and has been relegated to secondary matchups.
Across the last two weeks Oruwariye has matched up against Adam Thielen and Tyler Lockett, struggling against both.
So far this season, Oruwariye is dead last in Pro Football Focus grade among qualifying corners, and “leads” all corners in both penalties and missed tackles. His play has deteriorated significantly from last season, a trend that needs to reverse itself as soon as possible. Detroit does not have the secondary depth to afford one of its starter playing this poorly.
The matchup with Meyers has less to do with the Patriots wideout and a lot more to do with the fact that Detroit simply needs Oruwariye to provide some competent play. Meyers will not be an easy matchup by any means. He currently leads New England in targets despite missing each of the last two games. Granted, Meyers is nursing a knee injury, and his status for Sunday is up in the air. But given he was a surprise inactive, odds are pretty good he will play this week.