The Detroit Lions' pass rush remains their bread and butter on defense this season. That's partly because they have no other major strengths defensively, but partly because of how dominant that room has been. They lead the NFL in sacks (20), are rostering one of the best defensive tackle rotations in the league, and have Aidan Hutchinson on their team.
This could be a major benefit to them against the Green Bay Packers, who they host this coming Sunday afternoon. Green Bay's offensive line is beyond shoddy - if you still care for PFF grading or rankings, they placed 31st in their offensive line ranking ahead of Week 6. The Lions, for prosperity's sake, were first in those same rankings.
Getting to Jordan Love early and often will be the key to securing a better shot at victory in this game.
Pressuring Love will be key to a Lions win in Week 7
Love is currently averaging 2.57 seconds to throw, which is third-shortest in the league. That's due to the lack of protection around him, and why he's been reliant on bigger throws to try and gain yards on drawn DPI calls. He's also not been immune to turnovers, posting four interceptions already this year as a result of that lack of protection.
The Lions' pass rush could deeply impact how the Packers' offense operates in this game. Yes, they may have their hands full also trying to contain the run with Josh Jacobs active for this contest, but assuming he's both rusty and unable to make something out of the nothing provided by the O-line, the onus will be on the Lions' defensive line to force Love to be unbelievably accurate.
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This may be Detroit's best shot at generating turnovers in a game in the air all year.
Brian Branch's return could be second punch behind pass rush
While the Lions' defensive line has done their job well this year, when they're unable to get to the quarterback the teams' secondary has rarely managed to hold up their end of the bargain. Their best game was in Week 5 against the Arizona Cardinals, who aren't exactly a big threat in the air thanks to Jacoby Brissett's lack of explosiveness this season.
This contest will potentially offer our first real glance at the Lions' "fully" healthy secondary (assuming Kerby Joseph doesn't suit up this season). Branch can help to cover those deeper passes alongside Chuck Clark, adding a wrinkle to the Packers' plan to air it out against a piecemeal Detoit secondary.
He's a big turnover threat, covering space and acting as a final line of defense for any missteps by the Lions' linebacker room in coverage. He could be the missing punch for Detroit's defensive line, as they can generate pressure and more errant passes from Love and into the hands of Branch.
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