The stakes couldn’t be clearer for Detroit.
At 8–5 and firmly in the NFC playoff mix, the Lions head to Los Angeles for a Week 15 showdown against the 10–3 Rams -- a measuring-stick matchup between two of the conference’s heaviest hitters. And in these kinds of moments, the formula never changes: your biggest stars have to take center stage.
For Detroit, that responsibility rests squarely on the shoulders of No. 97.
Hutchinson has to go off in Week 15 vs. Rams
The defense goes as its tone-setter goes, and few players in the league tilt a game plan the way Detroit’s 25 year old defensive powerhouse does. Now fully healthy for an entire season, he’s put together a monstrous campaign already -- 80 pressures through 13 games, 10 sacks, and a relentless motor that forces protection plans to bend around him.
Even in the last two weeks, despite failing to register a sack, the disruption hasn’t disappeared piling up 12 pressures. And that’s the version Detroit needs in Los Angeles. Maybe even more.
For Rams HC Sean McVay, his offense is built to overwhelm you with precision and tempo. Matthew Stafford remains one of the league’s premier rhythm passers, and the Puka Nacua–Davante Adams pairing gives Los Angeles a devastating mix of physicality and explosiveness on the perimeter.
If Detroit allows Stafford to sit comfortably and play pitch-and-catch, the Rams can light up a scoreboard in a hurry -- and Dan Campbell’s group knows that as well as anyone.
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That’s why everything starts up front. When Hutchinson wins early in the down, the entire Lions defense transforms.
To counter him, the Rams will chip, double team, and slide protection his way, forcing Detroit’s front to earn every inch -- and still, he’s the one who has to break through. Splash plays matter more in games like this: that one strip, that one drive-killing pressure, that one moment where everything tilts.
Detroit doesn’t need him to dominate every snap, that's not reality, but they need the moments that change outcomes.
Because pressure on Stafford forces the Rams out of their comfort zone. It disrupts timing. It closes windows. It limits McVay’s play sheet. And if Detroit wants to walk out of L.A. with a season-defining win, their catalyst off the edge has to lead the charge.