While both the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams are making respective late season pushes towards the postseason, they couldn't be in more different positions.
Los Angeles feels firmly in the driver's seat in the NFC, just needing to put the finishing bells and whistles on their remaining schedule. Detroit, on the other hand, needs to win out in order to have the surest shot at making the Wild Card.
It's what's making their Week 15 clash beyond interesting. Aside from the obvious, but tired, storyline involving Jared Goff and Matthew Stafford, these two teams need to win to get a clearer picture of their postseason.
For the Lions, they're going to have to hope that their pass defense can hold up against an extremely explosive Rams offense - and, that's a big sore spot for them, per team reporter Tim Twentyman.
Lions' pass defense can make or break them in Week 15 vs. Rams
Per Twentyman, the team has so far allowed 47 20-plus yard plays this season. That's 2nd most in the NFL, and a dire indictment of a secondary that has been decimated by injuries, player by player.
"This is an important statistic to note this week because Detroit travels to Los Angeles to play a Rams passing attack that is tied for the NFL lead with Buffalo with 50 completions of 20-plus yards on the season. The Rams have turned eight of those into touchdowns," writes Twentyman.
READ MORE: Lions' best shot at postseason includes final shot at revenge against Ben Johnson
He added, "Detroit's Week 18 opponent, Chicago, ranks top 10 in the NFL with 43 completions of 20-plus yards with also eight of those going for touchdowns. Detroit will see some explosive passing attacks down the stretch. The Rams will try to attack the Lions vertically in the pass game Sunday. Detroit should expect it and needs to do a good job forcing incompletions when they are in phase and tackling well to limit run after the catch."
One way that the Lions can combat this issue is with their pass rush. That unit had a powerful Week 14 against the Dallas Cowboys, reaching 29 quarterback pressures and 19 hurries generated on Dak Prescott. Matthew Stafford dealt with a ton of pressure generated by the Carolina Panthers defense in Week 14, throwing him off his in-pocket game.
Detroit, with a healthier line thanks to the return of Marcus Davenport, could make this a point of emphasis against Stafford. Los Angeles' tackles are quite elite, though, and it's likely Hutchinson faces a ton of double teams in this contest as he has been all year.
However, Al-Quadin Muhammad has been thriving in big moments this year, and he'll need to step up if Hutchinson is completely locked down. Jack Campbell and Alex Anzalone also factor in here, as both are extremely adept at stopping the run and any scrambling quarterbacks.