E.J. Speed / Zaire Franklin vs. Jahmyr Gibbs / David Montgomery
Gibbs & Montgomery have combined for over 1.800 scrimmage yards and 19 overall touchdowns, spearheading the Lions’ offense. They are far and away the best running back duo in the NFL, and could be a real headache for a Colts’ run defense that has been up and down this year. Speed and Franklin are the Colts’ most important players when it comes to stopping opposing running games, and they will be put to the test against the best running game in the NFL. Colts need to keep on winning if they are to sneak into the playoffs, and to win, Gibbs and Montgomery cannot be allowed to run free.
DeForest Buckner vs. Graham Glasgow / Frank Ragnow
On their only loss this season, Glasgow and Ragnow allowed a combined 11 pressures from the interior, clearly rattling Goff. Vita Vea tormented the duo all game long, so the key for the Colts’ defensive success on Sunday could also be on the interior of the line. Since coming back from his ankle injury in Week 8 Buckner has racked up 11 total pressures and two sacks on 82 pass-rushing reps.
Dalton Tucker vs. Alim McNeil
The Colts recently signed veteran right guard Mark Glowinski to the practice squad, so Tucker’s status as the starter has been put on jeopardy. After edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson went down with a season ending leg injury, McNeil has stepped up as the Lions’ best pass-rusher, and he has a favorable matchup this Sunday. Anthony Richardson can handle pressure coming from the edges, but interior pressure is much more difficult to deal with for a scrambling quarterback.
Jaylon Jones / Sam Womack vs. Amon-Ra St. Brown
St. Brown has nearly twice as many targets as the closest Lions’ receiver, as when they are not running the ball Jared Goff really likes going to his #1 receiver. So far he has close to 700 yards and 9 receiving touchdowns on 78 targets. Jones and Womack are fresh off a solid showing against Adams and Wilson, and they will need to step up once again against one of the best receivers in the NFL.
Gus Bradley vs. Jared Goff
When an opposing offense has scored over 50 points twice more than you have scored over 30, that is where the key to the game is going to be. There is no way that the Colts can outlast the Lions in a shootout, so containing Goff and that offense seems like the way to go. Their only loss was against the Tampa Bay Bucs, and that time they scored just 16 points. Goff went 34 of 55 with two interceptions.
