Jameson Williams could be in for a big day Sunday. Check out our Lions vs. Colts bold prediction of the week.
The Detroit Lions are unstoppable right now. The Indianapolis Colts, on the other hand, are quite stoppable. Sunday, we’ll see what happens when an unstoppable force meets a very movable object. Will it be another 50-point game? I’m not so sure. But what I am sure of is that the Lions will continue to see the success they had last week in the intermediate passing game.
Bold prediction of the week: Jameson Williams has career-best 6+ receptions against the Colts
I never want to get ahead of myself, as anything can happen any given week in the NFL. However, the Lions are fairly indisputably the best team in the league right now and the Colts are… not. They enter the week 5-6 with serious questions remaining over quarterback Anthony Richardson’s head despite him reclaiming the starting quarterback spot last week.
We’re not here to talk about Richardson, though. The Colts have just as many question marks on defense as they do at quarterback. They’ve been Swiss cheese all season, allowing the third-most rushing yards in the league with 1,574 so far this season (143 yards/game). They’re similarly bad against the pass, allowing the fifth-most yards in the league so far. When you dig deeper, the numbers tell that it’s more an issue of coverage than tackling—the Colts are seventh-worst in the league in net yards allowed per pass, at 6.7.
How does that translate to Jameson Williams? Last week, what stood out to me the most was not just that the Lions’ offense was playing well, but how they were playing well. Ben Johnson and Jared Goff are continuing to extend this offense deeper into the intermediate parts of the field, especially now that Tim Patrick is acclimated and Jamo is back from suspension. That translated to four receptions and 124 yards for Jamo in Week 11. This week, I expect that to continue, even if the Lions are playing from ahead.
One of the things we learned last week is that the Lions are not afraid of hurting their opponents’ feelings. They’ll throw the ball often, even when they’re up several possessions. In fact, four of Jamo’s six targets—as well as his lone rush of the day—came in the second half when the Lions were up at least four possessions against Jacksonville.
This week, if the Lions see a big lead, they’ll have even more incentive to throw the football. While the Colts look bad on paper against the run, they’ve gotten better as of late. Defensive tackle DeForest Buckner returned from a high ankle sprain in late October, and the Colts have since held two of their four opponents to less than 100 yards on the ground. If the Colts continue that momentum and the Lions have a lead, then Detroit will have no choice but to keep picking on the Colts in the passing game.
A lot has to go right for this to come together. The Lions have to take an early lead, Goff has to find the same comfort in the middle of the field that he had last week, and the Colts D has to put pressure on the Lions run game. If it does, though, expect the Lions to lean on Jamo to keep the chains moving, enough so that he finishes with a career-high of six or more receptions in Week 12.
