Can the Lions defense rebound as one of the league’s best running backs comes to town?

This season, the Detroit Lions defense has shown to be formidable against the run. Notwithstanding the catastrophe in Baltimore last week, they are second in the league with 76 run yards allowed per contest. A cursory examination of their results vs RB1s provides a powerful narrative:

This was a few weeks before the Lions held the whole Tampa Bay Buccaneers squad to 46 running yards. That’s not a joke, considering that the league’s best rushing assaults are those of the Packers, Falcons, and Seahawks. Josh Jacobs is the same.

Weekly bold prediction: Josh Jacobs is limited to under 50 running yards by the Lions defense.
Jacobs just finished a season in which he led the league in running yards and yards from scrimmage and was selected to the first team of the All-Pro team. Though that hasn’t happened, there was no reason to think he wouldn’t continue where he left off. The Raiders’ rushing assault has been the team’s biggest weakness this season.

The narrative is a story about volume rather than effectiveness with Jacobs. He has had difficulty averaging more than about 3.0 yards per rush this season, week in and week out. He makes a lot of touches, which is why he rushes for big yards. Jacobs averaged 13 carries in the three games in which he was unable to reach the 50-yard mark. He averaged slightly less than 20 carries in each of the four games in which he exceeded that mark.

Examining the games in further detail reveals a certain pattern: playing from behind. Jacobs uses the ball the least in games where the opposition establishes a big lead early and the Raiders must rely on their passing game to stay competitive. Just now With just 11 carries during the Raiders’ 30–12 defeat to the Bears last week, Jacobs experienced his second-lowest amount of carries all season. That’s not how an All-Pro back should win.

That’s excellent news for the Lions. They just suffered a defeat that highlighted their greatest vulnerability: playing from behind. Ben Johnson will undoubtedly be focused on keeping the Raiders in the rearview mirror on Monday night and getting off to a great start. Josh Jacobs won’t have the ball in his hands for the remainder of the game if the offense can carry out that plan.

But it won’t be simple. Coming into this game, the Lions offense is hobbling. RB LG Jonah Jackson and David Montgomery have already been eliminated. C Frank Ragnow, this offense’s real rock, is questionable due to a number of lower limb ailments. Although Graham Glasgow has done a commendable job of filling in for G Halapoulivaati Vaitai, his qualifications are in doubt. Going into Monday night, that raises a lot of questions about your entire interior offensive line. Amon-Ra St. Brown’s health has become dubious, which exacerbates the situation.

An offensive scheme like the Lions’ would take this game early and never look back. However, the club will need to put in a strong effort on Monday night to make it happen. Josh Jacobs will be repelled and the Lions will be well-positioned to win if they can maintain possession of the ball frequently. If not, the Lions defense might be exposed by the All-Pro rushing back. More than anything, it reminded me of the Ravens game.