This is a game between two really awful football teams.  The Rams have lost 17 games in a row dating back to last season and they are 2-21 in their last 23 games.  The Lions are 1-21 in their last 22 games so something will have to give in this game.  The last time that the Rams played on the road they lost 23-20 in OT at Jacksonville.  This could be the game that the Rams’ offense gets back on track.  The Rams will likely mix it up more than usual.  Steven Jackson will still be the focal point of the offense against a Lions’ D that is allowing 112.3 yards rushing per game and 4.6 yards per carry.  If the Rams can keep Marc Bulger upright he will likely be able to shred the Lions’ D through the air.  The Lions are allowing 258.5 yards passing per game this season and opposing QBs have a 118.7 QB Rating against them this year.

The Lions still aren’t sure who will start at QB this week as all three of the active QBs (Matt Stafford, Daunte Culpepper and Drew Stanton) are all hurting right now.  It’s looking like Stafford might get the start for the Lions.  The Rams are allowing 249.6 yards passing per game this season so if Calvin Johnson is able to play he will have a huge game.  But, Kevin Smith will be the major guy in the offense in this game for the Lions.  The Rams are allowing 135.9 yards rushing per game this season and 4.3 yards per carry so Smith will have more running room than he has had this whole season.

PREDICTION:  LIONS 30, RAMS 27

Rookie QB Matt Stafford appears almost ready to return as the starting QB of the Lions and they need him.  Daunte Culpepper and Drew Stanton are both banged up like Stafford is.  Stafford has completed 79 of 139 passes (56.8%) for 894 yards with 3 TD passes and 6 interceptions (65.5 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 7 times for 50 yards (7.1 ypc) with 1 TD run this season.  Stafford has looked much better than I thought he would this season and the Lions need to get him back on the field.

The Detroit Lions (1-5) were shut out today by the Green Bay Packers (3-2) and things keep going wrong for the Lions.  Injuries are playing a big role in the Lions struggles, as they were without their starting quarterback Mathew Stafford and their star wide-receiver Calvin Johnson.  The injury bug got to their back-up quarterback Daunte Culpepper too, when he left the game in the 3rd quarter with a hamstring injury and Drew Stanton replaced him.  Culpepper was 6/14 for only 48 yards and an interception before leaving.  Stanton was worse, throwing two picks and going 5/11 for 57 yards.  Running back Kevin Smith was effective, getting 61 yards on 15 carries (4.1 avg), but with the Packers up 14-0 after the first quarter the Lions were forced to throw early and often.  The defense did their best to keep the Lions in the game, but the offense gave them nothing to work with it.  The Lions only got 149 total yards on offense.

The Lions defense was able to take advantage of the Packers’ weak offensive line, pressuring Aaron Rodgers all game and getting five sacks and forcing a fumble.  Julian Peterson accounted for 2.5 of those sacks and DeAndre Levy was able to get an interception.  Although the Lions defense was able to put a lot of pressure on Rodgers, it didn’t stop the Green Bay quarterback from throwing two touchdowns and 358 passing yards on 29/37 attempts.  Detroit also gave up 107 rushing yards, with Ryan Grant getting 90 yards on 24 carries.  The Lions have a lot of things to improve on, but they have to get healthy first.  They take on the 0-6 St. Louis Rams next week.

While rookie QB Matt Stafford has been out of action Daunte Culpepper has played pretty decent football.  He has completed 29 of 48 passes (60.4%) for 336 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception (79.9 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 3 times for 44 yards (14.7 ypc) so far this season.  Culpepper should be able to have another good game this weekend against the Packers who are allowing 223.0 yards passing per game.  He just needs to quit fumbling as he has already done that 3 times this season luckily not losing any of them. 

The Detroit Lions (1-4) are on the road Sunday against the Green Bay Packers (2-2) at Lambeau Field.  The Lions have lost 17 straight in Green Bay and things are not looking good going into this weekends game.  Lions quarterback Mathew Stafford may miss his second straight game with a knee injury and his favorite target, Calvin Johnson, also might be out with a knee injury.  It seems like Johnson will be out since the Lions just signed wide-receiver John Standeford, who had 15 catches for 244 yards in nine games for Detroit last season.

If Stafford does sit this one out, then Daunte Culpepper will start his second straight game.  Culpepper showed flashes of the Culpepper from the Minnesota Vikings years ago, but he did not take care of the ball very well.  He went 23 of 37 for 282 yards with one touchdown and one interception.  He held on to the ball too long and was sacked seven times while also fumbling three times.  The Lions should come with a strong running attack, as the Packers do not do a good job stopping the run.  They give up 112 rushing yards per game and the Lions running back Kevin Smith has rushed for 287 yards on 94 carries (3.1 avg) with three touchdowns.

The Lions do have a chance in this game, even if Stafford and Johnson are out.  The Packers offensive line is one of the worst in the league and they have given up a league high 20 sacks, so the Lions front line should be able to get to the Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.  Rodgers has proven he can still do a lot of damage despite his poor offensive line though, as he as already passed for 1098 yards with six touchdowns and one interception in only four games.  Rodgers has shown that he is one of the top quarterbacks in the league and the Lions secondary will be in trouble.  The Lions only chance is if they can control the time of possession by feeding it to Kevin Smith and attacking Aaron Rodgers and forcing some turnovers.  The Packers are the better football team, so I think they will prove that and win their 18th straight at home against the Lions.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Detroit Lions 21, Green Bay Packers 35

The Detroit Lions signed DB DeMarcus Faggins along with WR John Standeford.  Faggins has played his whole career with the Houston Texans where in seven seasons he played in 82 games and made 36 starts.  In those 82 games Faggins had 181 tackles, 5 interceptions, 1 touchdown, 3 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries, 38 passes defended, and one sack.  The Lions also picked up WR John Standeford.  Standeford played for the Lions last year.  He made four starts in nine games for the Lions, where he made 15 catches for 244 yards (16.3avg).  The Lions released DT Chuck Darby to make room on the roster.

The Lions gave the Steelers quite a fight in this ball game.  Daunte Culpepper got a start in place of the injured Matt Stafford and he was very solid completing 23 of 37 passes for 282 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  He also was solid running the ball as he carried it 3 times for 44 yards (14.7 ypc).  Kevin Smith found running yards hard to come by against the Steelers as he carried the ball 20 times for 53 yards (2.7 ypc) but he also caught 3 passes for 40 yards (13.3 avg).  Dennis Northcutt was the top receiver for the Lions in this game with 5 grabs for 70 yards (14.0 avg) and a TD.  The Lions finished up with 335 total yards in this game (110 rushing, 225 passing).

The defense had some issues in this game for the Lions.  Safety Marquand Manuel led the way for the Lions in this game with 8 tackles.  Former Steeler LB Larry Foote was solid with 7 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss.  CB William James only had 2 tackles and 1 pass defensed but he picked off a Roethlisberger pass and he returned it 38 yards for a TD.  The Steelers finished up with 344 total yards in this game (82 rushing, 262 passing).  The Lions are now 1-4 on the season.

The matchups are great in this game for the Steelers who will likely try to keep more balanced on offense now that Rashard Mendenhall had stepped in the starting role at running back.  He’s a load to bring down and the Lions have not defensed the run too well this season as they are allowing 121.3 yards rushing per game and 5.2 yards per carry.  Rookie WR Mike Wallace had stepped up into the #3 WR role making the Steelers even more potent in the passing game with WRs Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes and TE Heath Miller all running routes.  Opposing QBs have a 118.8 Rating against the Lions who are allowing 240.3 yards passing per game.  The only hope the Lions have of slowing the Steelers down in this game is by blitzing early and often trying to bait Ben Roethlisberger into making some mistakes (he has 4 interceptions this season).

The consensus thought in this game is that the Lions will come out running the ball in a attempt to control the clock.  But, with Kevin Smith (234 rushing yards) only averaging 3.2 yards per carry the Lions might be better off throwing the ball downfield trying to make this game a shootout.  The problem with that is that Daunte Culpepper will likely be starting this game and he has had happy feet since injuring his knee while with the Vikings.  The Steelers will no doubt be double covering Calvin Johnson so it might be up to Bryant Johnson and Brandon Pettigrew to step up.  The Steelers are allowing 218.3 yards passing per game this season so it’s not a impossible task to throw the ball on them.

PREDICTION:  STEELERS 38, LIONS 10

The Lions have released 25-year old outside linebacker Darnell Bing.  Bing played in all four games for the Lions this season and he made 4 tackles.  The bottom of the roster for the Lions is going to be a revolving door as they try to catch lightning in a bottle.

The Lions have claimed 25-year old safety Marvin White off waivers from the Cowboys.  White played in 3 games for the Cowboys this season before his release and he had 2 tackles.  White has now played in 30 games in his three year NFL career and he has made 90 tackles, has defensed 8 passes and he has 1 interception.  This was a good pickup for the Lions as it gives them depth in the secondary and on special teams.