<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nfl/detroit-lions/lions-playoff-picture-updated-dvoa-athletic-espn-model-odds-week-15');   ga('set', 'title', 'Lions playoff picture: Updated DVOA, The Athletic, ESPN model odds before Week 15');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Detroit-Lions-head-coach-Dan-Campbell.jpg"><figcaption>Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Lions playoff picture: Updated DVOA, The Athletic, ESPN model odds before Week 15</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-12-12T11:16:01-08:00">December 12th, 11:16am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-12-12T11:16:01-08:00">December 12th, 11:16am</time><address><a href="https://matthew516sports.substack.com/">Douglas Fritz</a>Douglas Fritz has been writing about sports for almost four decades and publishes a Christian sports newsletter and podcast on Substack at Matthew516Sports. He started as a reporter for the student newspaper at East Tennessee State University, worked his way up to Editor-In-Chief, and began his sports writing career at the Johnson City Press daily newspaper while still in college. During 30-plus years at the Press, he covered University of Tennessee football, men's and women's basketball, ETSU athletics, and high school athletics. Among the people he has interviewed are Dale Murphy, Bobby Cox, John Smoltz, and Bruce Smith. He is also a Christian-based screenwriter (five feature-length and one short), book writer (three completed manuscripts and one novel), and songwriter.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Detroit Lions</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/detroit-lions/lions-bold-predictions-for-pivotal-week-15-clash-with-rams">Detroit Lions indeed have a tough matchup against the Rams</a>. And they <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/detroit-lions/why-lions-have-no-chance-to-slow-down-matthew-stafford-rams-offense-in-week-15">will likely struggle to contain Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford</a>. But here is the Lions’ playoff picture with DVOA, The Athletic, and ESPN model before their Week 15 battle.</p><p>The Lions are coming off an impressive 44-30 win over the Cowboys, and stand with a record of 8-5. The Rams are likely the toughest team they have remaining on their schedule, so getting a win here could be crucial.</p><h2><b>Lions need to focus on Wild Card route</b></h2><p>It’s not impossible for the Lions to win the NFC North. However, they have <a href="https://ftnfantasy.com/nfl/dvoa-playoff-odds" rel="noopener">only a 9.9% chance</a>, according to FTN Fantasy. Their best bet is the Wild Card picture, where they stand with a 50.5% chance.</p><p>Key injuries have hurt their chances. They will have to face Stafford without standout safety Brian Branch. He was lost to a season-ending Achilles injury in the Dallas game. Campbell said the <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/dan-campbell-says-brian-branchs-achilles-surgery-went-well" rel="noopener">surgery was successful</a>, according to NBC Sports.</p><p>“He’s had it repaired and it sounds like everything went well,” Campbell said. “They’re always going to give you the whatever — eight to 12 months or whatever that is, from the time of the surgery. But the surgery went well. Everything went well.”</p><p>But Campbell said the loss of Branch doesn’t help the team’s playoff hopes.</p><p>“Anytime you lose somebody like BB, it’s gonna hurt,” Campbell said. “He’s a productive player. He’s an outstanding football player, he’s a team guy, he’s a great locker room guy, teammates love him. So, you lose all of that.”</p><p>However, Campbell <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/dan-campbell-losing-brian-branch-hurts-but-were-not-in-dire-straits-at-safety" rel="noopener">remained strongly positive</a>, according to NBC Sports.</p><p>“We’re good, man. . . . We got options here, but it’s like anything — you lose a good player, it hurts,” Campbell said. “But it’s not like we’re in dire straits.”</p><h2><b>ESPN puts Lions at 54% chance of reaching playoffs</b></h2><p>A lot of the Lions’ chances hinge on Jared Goff. He will need to play at a high level to help the team navigate a tough schedule. After the Rams, they play host to the Steelers before finishing with road division games against the Vikings and Bears.</p><p>Goff is still, after all these years, dealing with questions <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/sports/lions-jared-goff-interrupts-reporter-after-repeated-questions-about-rams-were-still-talking-about-it" rel="noopener">about the trade</a> from the Rams to the Lions, according to foxnews.com.</p><p>“It feels like a long time ago, and I think we kind of talked about it earlier in the year of how it’s kind of my career now [I’ve] spent more time here. It certainly feels like a long time ago,” he said Wednesday, before being asked separately if he still feels an “emotional charge.”</p><p>“No, not so much anymore,” he responded. “And really, we played them in that playoff game, and it was such a big deal, and the next year we played them again, and that felt like even less, and so now it’s even further removed.”</p><p>Goff has been on a roll of late. He has thrown for over 250 yards in each of his last six games. And he has 11 touchdowns with only two interceptions in that stretch.</p><p>And his former head coach said he’s happy Goff has found a good place in Detroit.</p><p>“There were a lot of great memories [in Los Angeles] and a lot of really good ball that he did here that I’ll always cherish,” Rams head coach Sean McVay said. “I’m truly happy for him. He’s married and has a beautiful little girl now. It’s awesome to see. I think I’m reminded of those things, and then you’re also reminded of when you need to be able to grow up and handle things a little bit better. I’ll never run away from that. What I’m grateful for and appreciative of is that he’s got such grace towards me and understanding. I’m happy for Jared.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Lions playoff picture: Updated DVOA, The Athletic, ESPN model odds before Week 15

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nfl/detroit-lions/lions-all-pro-safety-suffers-setback-in-knee-injury-recovery');   ga('set', 'title', 'Lions’ All-Pro safety suffers setback in knee injury recovery');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Kerby-Joseph-holds-knee-in-pain.jpg"><figcaption>© Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Lions’ All-Pro safety suffers setback in knee injury recovery</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-12-12T10:38:18-08:00">December 12th, 10:38am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-12-12T10:38:18-08:00">December 12th, 10:38am</time><address><a>RB Hayek</a>RB Hayek has been writing about sports for over a decade and is currently a member of ClutchPoints' editorial team after primarily focusing on betting content. In addition, he is also a published author of thriller novels, available on Amazon.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Detroit Lions</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>There was some optimism for a while, as <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/detroit-lions/lions-news-kerby-joseph-still-aiming-2025-return-from-knee-injury">Kerby Joseph had intended to return this season</a> after sustaining a knee injury. However, the all-pro safety has <a href="https://x.com/MySportsUpdate/status/1999531419559657837" rel="noopener">suffered a setback</a> and may not return this season, according to a post by NFL beat writer Ari Meirov.</p><p>“All-Pro safety Kerby Joseph suffered a setback in his recovery from a knee injury and could be placed on IR, which would end his regular season. Joseph, who led the NFL in interceptions last year, has not played since Week 6,” Meirov wrote on X.</p><p>It’s been a plethora of injuries on defense for the Lions for the second consecutive season. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/detroit-lions/lions-news-terrion-arnold-out-for-season-will-undergo-shoulder-surgery">Lions already lost Terrion Arnold</a> for the season, and keep substituting different players throughout their secondary. This is a massive blow to a defense that allows 23.8 points per game, which is middle-of-the-road. The last three games have illustrated how important Joseph is, as the Lions have allowed an average of 29.3 points per game. Significantly, the loss to the Green Bay Packers showed how much trouble the defense is in, as they could not make a stop.</p><p>With Joseph out, the Lions have had to try to fill his spot. So far, Thomas Harper and Avonte Maddox have filled in for him with mixed results. As the Lions attempt to navigate surviving without one of their best defensive players, they will face one of the best teams in the NFL this weekend.</p><p>As their season is on the line, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/detroit-lions/lions-bold-predictions-for-pivotal-week-15-clash-with-rams">Lions will face the Los Angeles Rams</a> with almost no hope of Joseph returning. When Joseph sustained his knee injury, the Lions were facing the Kansas City Chiefs and leading the NFC North. Since that game, Detroit has gone 4-3 in seven games. Although it’s not official yet, Joseph sustaining this setback ultimately means he likely might not return this season, even if the Lions were to make the playoffs.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Lions’ All-Pro safety suffers setback in knee injury recovery

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nfl/detroit-lions/lions-news-kelvin-sheppard-warns-defense-matthew-stafford-lies');   ga('set', 'title', 'Kelvin Sheppard warns defense about Matthew Stafford’s ‘lies’');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Kelvin-Sheppard.jpg"><figcaption>Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Kelvin Sheppard warns defense about Matthew Stafford’s ‘lies’</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-12-11T20:32:00-08:00">December 11th, 8:32pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-12-11T20:48:58-08:00">December 11th, 8:48pm</time><address><a>Mike Gianakos</a>Mike Gianakos is a veteran editor and writer for print and digital media. He also created and oversaw video and event production departments for legacy media brands. Mike is a longtime podcaster and even longer suffering NY Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Detroit Lions</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Detroit Lions are coming off a big win over the Dallas Cowboys in Week 14. But Detroit’s banged up secondary faces a major challenge against Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/detroit-lions/lions-news-dan-campbell-crushing-reaction-brian-branch-season-ending-injury">Brian Branch suffered a season-ending Achilles injury</a> in the win over Dallas. It was the latest loss for a group already missing Terrion Arnold and Kerby Joseph.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/los-angeles-rams/rams-news-matthew-staffords-mvp-campaign-continues-breaks-tom-brady-record">Stafford continued his MVP-caliber season</a> last Sunday, shredding the Arizona Cardinals with three touchdowns in LA’s 45-17 rout. It was a strong bounce-back game after throwing two interceptions against the Carolina Panthers in Week 13. Now Stafford sets his sights on a depleted Lions secondary.</p><p>But Kelvin Sheppard is preparing his players for the Pro Bowl passer. And <a href="https://x.com/colton_pouncy/status/1999156864559292537" rel="noopener">his advice</a> leading up to the Week 15 clash stands out. “Don’t trust his eyes. He’s gonna lie to you,” Detroit’s defensive coordinator warned, per The Athletic’s Colton Pouncy.</p><h2><b>Will Matthew Stafford exploit Lions’ banged up secondary?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Matthew-Stafford.jpg"><figcaption>Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/los-angeles-rams/rams-news-puka-nacua-matthew-stafford-no-look-advice">Stafford has a reputation for no-look passes</a>. The 17th-year veteran makes the difficult-to-defend highlight-reel throws look easy. Beyond that, Stafford has a knack for manipulating a defense with his eyes. It’s helped him toss a league-high 35 touchdowns this season while throwing just four interceptions.</p><p>The Lions’ secondary could struggle on Sunday. Branch and Arnold are out for the season and Joseph has been sidelined by a knee injury. He’s yet to return to practice, putting his availability for Week 15 in serious jeopardy.</p><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/detroit-lions/lions-news-claims-ex-texans-db-off-waivers">Lions added DB depth</a> ahead of the Rams game. The team claimed Jalen Mills off waivers after he was released by the Houston Texans. And Detroit signed veteran safety Damontae Kazee to the practice squad.</p><p>But it’s a matchup that Stafford and Sean McVay will look to exploit. Lions fans hope Detroit’s defensive backs can hold up against the Rams. And heeding Sheppard’s warning would certainly help.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Kelvin Sheppard warns defense about Matthew Stafford’s ‘lies’

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nfl/detroit-lions/lions-bold-predictions-for-pivotal-week-15-clash-with-rams');   ga('set', 'title', 'Lions bold predictions for pivotal Week 15 clash with Rams');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Lions-bold-predictions-for-pivotal-Week-15-clash-with-Rams.jpg"></figure><h1>Lions bold predictions for pivotal Week 15 clash with Rams</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-12-11T07:07:11-08:00">December 11th, 7:07am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-12-11T07:07:11-08:00">December 11th, 7:07am</time><address><a>Ben Strauss</a>Ben Strauss is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He is a die-hard NFL fan who cheers for the Detroit Lions. He has previously written fantasy football content for IDPGuys and ImportantNonsense.com.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Detroit Lions</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Detroit Lions are feeling good after their big win in Week 14. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/detroit-lions/lions-news-dan-campbell-drops-f-bombs-galore-fiery-postgame-speech-after-beating-cowboys">Detroit crushed Dallas 44-30</a> and raised their record to 8-5 on the season heading into Week 15. But the Lions are still <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/dallas-cowboys/cowboys-lions-playoff-odds-after-detroits-high-scoring-week-14-win-on-tnf">barely holding on in the NFC playoff race</a> despite last week’s victory.</p><p>Detroit currently has <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/nfl-playoff-picture/2025/" rel="noopener">just a 39% chance to make the playoffs</a> per The Athletic’s playoff simulator. They are projected to finish the season 10-7 and barely miss out on the postseason as the No. 8 seed.</p><p>The odds are slim, but the Lions could still play their way into the playoffs. And anything can happen once you make it into the dance.</p><p>Unfortunately, Detroit would likely have to finish the regular season with four straight wins <i>and</i> get some help to make that happen. That could be a problem given their Week 15 matchup.</p><p>The Lions travel to LA to take on the Rams in one of the most exciting matchups on this week’s slate. They will be heavy underdogs since the Rams are arguably the best team in the entire league.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/detroit-lions/why-lions-have-no-chance-to-slow-down-matthew-stafford-rams-offense-in-week-15">Do the Lions actually have a chance</a> against the Rams? Or is it inevitable that Detroit’s playoff hopes get extinguished before Christmas?</p><p>Below we will explore three Lions bold predictions ahead of their huge Week 15 battle with the Rams.</p><p><i><b>*Watch NFL games LIVE with fuboTV <a href="https://www.fubo.tv/lp/football/?irad=356362&amp;irmp=492408" rel="noopener sponsored">(free trial)</a>*</b></i></p><h2><b>Jared Goff matches Matthew Stafford in passing touchdowns</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Goff-celebrates.jpg"><figcaption>Katie Stratman-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Jared Goff is quietly having a great 2025 season. At least as far as his stats are concerned.</p><p>The 31-year-old veteran has 3,334 passing yards with 26 touchdowns and five interceptions with four games left to play. Goff’s style of play never looks too flashy, but it gets the job done.</p><p>Goff tied for second in the NFL with touchdown passes. The only player ahead of him just so happens to be Matthew Stafford.</p><p>The former Lions quarterback is playing out of his mind in 20025. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/nfl-stories/clutchpoints-week-15-nfl-mvp-power-rankings-josh-allen-jordan-love">Stafford is firmly in the MVP conversation</a>, and his presence in this game is one of the biggest reasons why the Lions might lose.</p><p>Goff is no slouch himself. I think this game has a much better chance of being a high-scoring shootout than being a one-sided beatdown. But football is a team game, so Goff will need his teammates to step up around him both on offense and defense.</p><p>I’m predicting that Goff will match Stafford for passing touchdowns in Week 15. Detroit’s defense is already compromised (more on that later) and the pressure will be on the offense to keep up with LA.</p><p>As long as Goff gets enough help, I think he can keep pace with Stafford.</p><h2><b>Jahmyr Gibbs has 200+ total yards, accounts for half of Detroit’s offensive yardage</b></h2><p>It is no secret that Detroit’s offense now runs through Jahmyr Gibbs.</p><p>Detroit’s third-year running back has 187 carries for 1,062 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns headed into Week 15. But he really shines as a receiver, hauling in 58 receptions for 474 yards and three touchdowns.</p><p>Gibbs already has more receptions than he did in 2024 and he may end up close to the same amount of carries too.</p><p>LA’s run defense unit is about as talented as Detroit’s which means it will be tough sledding for Gibbs on Sunday. He may need one or two explosive running plays to keep the ground game functional for the Lions.</p><p>I’m predicting that Gibbs will do just that. He will have over 200 total yards and will account for half of Detroit’s offensive yards.</p><p>But how realistic is it for Gibbs to account for at least half of Detroit’s offensive production? It’s possible, but it will require him to have a great game.</p><p>The last time Gibbs pulled this off was in Week 12 against the Giants. Detroit had 494 total yards, meaning Gibbs needed 247+ total yards to account for 50%. But Gibbs came through with 219 rushing yards and 45 receiving yards. It really helped that he had a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/detroit-lions/lions-news-jahmyr-gibbs-69-yard-hat-trick-td-first-play-ot-becomes-game-winner">69-yard touchdown run in overtime</a>.</p><p>The beauty of this prediction is that for it to hit, the Lions have to be thriving on offense. Otherwise there’s no chance it will happen.</p><h2><b>Lions win IF offense does not commit a turnover, defense forces one</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Dan-Campbell-1.jpg"><figcaption>Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Remember how I said that Detroit’s defense is compromised? That could end up being the most important factor in this game.</p><p>The Lions are without both Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch in their secondary. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/detroit-lions/lions-news-brian-branch-feared-suffered-achilles-injury-vs-cowboys">Branch tore his Achilles in Week 14</a>, ending his season. It’s possible that Joseph comes back at some point, but not in Week 15.</p><p>Detroit is also without cornerback Terrion Arnold, who is on injured reserve.</p><p>Put that together with QB Matthew Stafford, and the Lions could be in for a long day at the offense on the defensive side of the ball.</p><p>The pressure will be on Aidan Hutchinson and the defensive line to generate pressure on Stafford. If he is left comfortable in the pocket, he’ll carve up the Lions all day long.</p><p>I don’t think it is realistic to expect a great game from Detroit’s defense. But if they make one or two splash plays, it could be enough to make the difference.</p><p>I predict that Detroit will win this game <i>if</i> they can force at least one turnover on defense. The offense also needs to play a clean game and not turn the ball over.</p><p>If this doesn’t happen, the Rams likely win by at least one touchdown.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Lions bold predictions for pivotal Week 15 clash with Rams

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nfl/detroit-lions/lions-news-claims-ex-texans-db-off-waivers');   ga('set', 'title', 'Lions claim ex-Texans DB off waivers');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Jalen-Mills-1.jpg"><figcaption>Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Lions claim ex-Texans DB off waivers</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-12-10T15:15:42-08:00">December 10th, 3:15pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-12-10T15:29:49-08:00">December 10th, 3:29pm</time><address><a>Mike Gianakos</a>Mike Gianakos is a veteran editor and writer for print and digital media. He also created and oversaw video and event production departments for legacy media brands. Mike is a longtime podcaster and even longer suffering NY Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Detroit Lions</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Detroit Lions dominated the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday Night Football in Week 14. Detroit improved to 8-5 with the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/detroit-lions/lions-news-dan-campbell-drops-f-bombs-galore-fiery-postgame-speech-after-beating-cowboys">convincing 44-30 victory</a>. The win keeps the team in the division race as the Lions trail the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears by a game.</p><p>However, Detroit’s secondary is banged up. Already missing Terrion Arnold and Kerby Joseph, the Lions lost <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/detroit-lions/lions-news-dan-campbell-crushing-reaction-brian-branch-season-ending-injury">Brian Branch to a season-ending Achilles injury</a> on Thursday night. Fellow safety Thomas Harper also left the Week 14 matchup early with a concussion.</p><p>The Lions have responded to the rash of injuries by <a href="https://x.com/TomPelissero/status/1998873268217110718" rel="noopener">adding depth</a> at defensive back. On Wednesday, Detroit claimed Jalen Mills off waivers after the veteran safety was cut by the Houston Texans, per Tom Pelissero.</p><h2><b>Lions add veteran safety Jalen Mills amid injuries to secondary </b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Jalen-Mills-2.jpg"><figcaption>David Reginek-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/houston-texans/texans-news-houston-jalen-mills-c-j-gardner-johnson-injury-jimmie-ward">Mills signed with the Texans</a> during training camp this year. After starting on Houston’s practice squad, he was elevated to the active roster and played in four games for the Texans. Mills had four total tackles in limited playing time with Houston.</p><p>The well-travelled defender will now join another playoff hopeful. The Lions are the fifth team Mills has played for in his 10-year career. He debuted with the Philadelphia Eagles as a seventh-round pick in 2016. Mills also spent time with the New England Patriots, New York Jets and Texans.</p><p>Earlier in the week, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/detroit-lions/lions-news-detroit-adds-veteran-safety-brian-branch-injury">Lions added veteran safety Damontae Kazee</a> to the practice squad. The team is also expecting Joseph to return from a knee injury in the coming weeks.</p><p>Detroit faces a tough task in Week 15. The Lions head to Los Angeles to take on the Rams Sunday. LA is currently tied with the Seattle Seahawks for the best record in the NFC at 10-3.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Lions claim ex-Texans DB off waivers

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nfl/detroit-lions/why-lions-have-no-chance-to-slow-down-matthew-stafford-rams-offense-in-week-15');   ga('set', 'title', 'Why Lions have no chance to slow down Matthew Stafford, Rams offense in Week 15');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Matthew-Stafford-of-the-Los-Angeles-Rams-4.jpg"><figcaption>Scott Kinser-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Why Lions have no chance to slow down Matthew Stafford, Rams offense in Week 15</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-12-10T12:53:00-08:00">December 10th, 12:53pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-12-10T12:53:00-08:00">December 10th, 12:53pm</time><address><a>Ben Strauss</a>Ben Strauss is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He is a die-hard NFL fan who cheers for the Detroit Lions. He has previously written fantasy football content for IDPGuys and ImportantNonsense.com.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Detroit Lions</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Detroit Lions are preparing for arguably their most important game of the season. Detroit is 8-5 headed into Week 15 and is <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/dallas-cowboys/cowboys-lions-playoff-odds-after-detroits-high-scoring-week-14-win-on-tnf">barely hanging on in the NFC playoff picture</a>. The Lions have<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/nfl-playoff-picture/2025/" rel="noopener"> just a 39% chance to make the postseason</a> according to The Athletic’s playoff simulator. They need to be flawless during the next four weeks, and maybe get some help, to punch their ticket to the playoffs.</p><p>Unfortunately for the Lions, they have to play the NFL’s best team in Week 15.</p><p>Detroit is heading out to LA to do battle with a very familiar face. Matthew Stafford has the Rams feeling great in 2025. They are 10-3 and essentially have their spot in the playoffs already locked up. But the Rams have plenty to play for, as they are in a tight race with the Seahawks (10-3) and 49ers (9-4) for the NFC West title.</p><p>The Lions are facing their best opponent of the season, and I’m not sure they’re prepared for it.</p><p>Below we’ll discuss why the Lions have almost no chance of slowing down Stafford and the Rams in Week 15.</p><h2><b>Matthew Stafford is a legit MVP candidate in 2025</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Matthew-Stafford-on-Nov.-23-2025.jpg"><figcaption>Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The main reason why I don’t think the Lions have a shot is Matthew Stafford.</p><p>Stafford is playing out of his mind during the 2025 season. He is unquestionably playing the best football, at least during the regular season, of his entire career at age 37. There’s a reason <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/los-angeles-rams/rams-news-matthew-staffords-mvp-campaign-continues-breaks-tom-brady-record">why he is a contender to win MVP</a> this year.</p><p>The veteran gunslinger has 3,354 passing yards for 35 touchdowns and just four interceptions through 13 games.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/los-angeles-rams/rams-news-bonkers-matthew-stafford-stat-good-news-for-mvp-hopes">Stafford has logged several impressive statistics</a> this season that show he is playing like an all-time great quarterback. And unlike his early days in Detroit, he’s not dragging a talentless team on his back.</p><p>Los Angeles has a strong running game with a solid offensive line and a two-headed monster in the backfield with Kyren Williams and Blake Corum. Stafford also has two great receivers, Puka Nacua and Davante Adams, who can do some damage in the receiving game.</p><p>Add on an elite offensive mind in Sean McVay, and it is easy to understand why the Rams are Super Bowl contenders.</p><p>But it’s not just LA’s strengths that could make Sunday’s game a bloodbath.</p><h2><b>Detroit’s secondary is injured, vulnerable ahead of Week 15</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Brian-Branch-.jpg"><figcaption>Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Rams would be a tough matchup for the Lions on a good day. But LA will be catching Detroit in an incredibly vulnerable state.</p><p>Tell me if you’ve heard this before, but Detroit’s defense is dealing with several important injuries ahead of the playoffs. The Lions have been without safety Kerby Joseph since Week 6. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/detroit-lions/lions-news-kerby-joseph-still-aiming-2025-return-from-knee-injury">Joseph is apparently still aiming for a 2025 return</a>, but there is no sight of him days before Detroit’s next game.</p><p>Meanwhile, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/detroit-lions/lions-news-brian-branch-feared-suffered-achilles-injury-vs-cowboys">Lions just lost Brian Branch to a season-ending Achilles injury</a> on Thursday Night Football. That puts Detroit’s two best secondary players out of the picture, which completely changes the entire defense.</p><p>To make matters worse, the Lions are without cornerbacks Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw Jr.. They are both on injured reserve.</p><p>Thankfully the Lions do have D.J. Reed, Amik Robertson, and Rock Ya-Sin at cornerback. That gives Detroit a fighting chance against Nacua and Adams, but still leaves them at a disadvantage.</p><p>When looking at raw accounting stats, Detroit’s defense is okay against the pass. But as injuries continue to mount, it feels inevitable that Stafford and the Rams will pick on the Lions’ biggest weakness.</p><h2><b>How can the Lions beat the Rams in Week 15?</b></h2><p>But let’s not pretend that the result is already decided. This is the NFL after all, where any team can win on any given Sunday.</p><p>Plus the Lions will never give up with Dan Campbell as their head coach.</p><p>Detroit’s path to victory in this game will require their offense to be at the height of their powers. The defense will likely give up plenty of points, and the offense needs to be ready to answer when that happens.</p><p>If Jared Goff and all his friends come ready to play, and Detroit’s defense has some plays bounce their way, then there’s a chance they can win.</p><p>But the most likely outcome is that the Lions’ playoff hopes get extinguished by Stafford and the Rams on Sunday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Why Lions have no chance to slow down Matthew Stafford, Rams offense in Week 15

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nfl/detroit-lions/lions-rumors-espn-insider-makes-bombshell-jahmyr-gibbs-contract-prediction');   ga('set', 'title', 'Lions rumors: ESPN insider makes bombshell Jahmyr Gibbs contract prediction');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Jahmyr-Gibbs.jpg"><figcaption>Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Lions rumors: ESPN insider makes bombshell Jahmyr Gibbs contract prediction</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-12-10T08:07:51-08:00">December 10th, 8:07am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-12-10T08:07:51-08:00">December 10th, 8:07am</time><address><a>Yago Antunes</a>Yago Antunes is a Brazilian journalist and writer with experience covering esports, the NFL, NBA, and soccer. He has contributed to online outlets and reported on major international tournaments, building a strong background in sports journalism and digital media while displaying his passion about storytelling and sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Detroit Lions</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Thursday night in Detroit felt like a statement more than just another win. The Lions throttled the Cowboys 44-30 to move to 8-5, and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/detroit-lions/lions-news-jamhyr-gibbs-td-feat-1952-cowboys">Jahmyr Gibbs was at the center of everything.</a></p><p>The second-year back punched in three rushing touchdowns, becoming the first Lions player since Cloyce Box in 1952 to have three separate games with three or more scores.</p><p>He finished with 43 rushing yards on 12 carries, plus 77 receiving yards on seven catches, once again looking like the most dynamic weapon on the field.</p><p>That kind of production is exactly why ESPN <a href="https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/47257276/nfl-week-15-buzz-news-updates-fantasy-intel-questions-predictions#notes" rel="noopener">is already framing</a> Gibbs as the next mega-extension on Detroit’s books. The Lions are closing in on $1 billion committed to their core, and four more homegrown stars are soon eligible for new deals: Gibbs, linebacker Jack Campbell, safety Brian Branch, and tight end Sam LaPorta.</p><p>Branch and LaPorta are both out for the year, which could push their negotiations back while the team waits to see how they return from a torn Achilles and back surgery, respectively. That reality, per ESPN, leaves more immediate flexibility to take care of Gibbs.</p><p>The expectation in league circles is that Detroit will try to make him the highest-paid running back in football in the near future.</p><p>Coaches have steadily expanded their role in the passing game, feeding him 31 targets over the last month alone, and Dan Campbell summed up the organization’s belief after the win over Dallas: “He’s just getting started.” The sense is the Lions will push hard to lock Gibbs in, explore the right number for Campbell, and take a longer view with Branch and LaPorta.</p><p>Gibbs’ production is already brushing up against franchise legend territory. His three-score outburst against Dallas pushed him to 47 career touchdowns before his 24th birthday, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/lions-news-jahmyr-gibbs-barry-sanders-nfl-history-tds-cowboys">tying Barry Sanders for the most by any Lion</a> before turning 24.</p><p>With his birthday not arriving until March, it would be a shock if he doesn’t move past Sanders soon.</p><p>Detroit’s front office now faces an expensive but welcome problem. If Gibbs keeps stacking historic nights while the Lions chase another postseason berth, the “rumor” of a record-setting deal may start to look more like a deadline.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Lions rumors: ESPN insider makes bombshell Jahmyr Gibbs contract prediction

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nfl/detroit-lions/lions-news-dan-campbell-crushing-reaction-brian-branch-season-ending-injury');   ga('set', 'title', 'Lions HC Dan Campbell’s crushing reaction to Brian Branch’s season-ending injury');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Brian-Branch-.jpg"><figcaption>Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Lions HC Dan Campbell’s crushing reaction to Brian Branch’s season-ending injury</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-12-08T12:10:29-08:00">December 8th, 12:10pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-12-08T12:10:29-08:00">December 8th, 12:10pm</time><address><a>Dan Fappiano</a>Dan Fappiano is a Connecticut-based sports journalist with over five years of professional experience. After graduating from Central Connecticut State University with a bachelor's degree in journalism, he has covered every sport from fencing to football in the online and print medium. Dan hopes to see his beloved Bears win a Super Bowl someday.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Detroit Lions</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>While the Detroit Lions moved to 8-5 with their Week 14 win over the Dallas Cowboys, they <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/detroit-lions/lions-news-brian-branch-feared-suffered-achilles-injury-vs-cowboys">lost safety Brian Branch to a season-ending Achilles injury</a>. Head coach Dan Campbell didn’t hold back when discussing that injury’s impact.</p><p>Branch entered the year off of a Pro Bowl nomination and was playing like one of the best safeties in the league. Campbell <a href="https://x.com/colton_pouncy/status/1998107139639034105" rel="noopener">knows his loss will be a major blow</a> to the Lions at large, via Colton Pouncy of The Athletic.</p><p>“Anytime you lose somebody like BB, it’s gonna hurt,” Campbell said. “He’s a productive player. He’s an outstanding football player, he’s a team guy, he’s a great locker room guy, teammates love him. So, you lose all of that.”</p><p>In the 12 games Branch did appear in during the 2025 season, the safety put up 75 tackles, nine passes defended and 2.5 sacks. Furthermore, Branch’s <a href="https://www.pff.com/nfl/players/brian-branch/123907" rel="noopener">77.5 grade</a> from Pro Football Focus ranked eighth/93 safeties. He ranked top 10 in both pass rush (81.5, fifth) and run defense (82.6, fourth). The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/detroit-lions/lions-news-detroit-adds-veteran-safety-brian-branch-injury">Lions signed Damontae Kazee</a> to help replace Branch, but Detroit was never going to find a true one-for-one replica.</p><p>Regardless, the Lions defense must find a way to step up without Branch. They are entering Week 15 ranked 15th in total defense, allowing 323.9 yards per game. At 8-5, Detroit cannot afford many more losses. The lack of Branch won’t be accepted as an excuse.</p><p>Still, Campbell can’t just ignore what Branch brings to the franchise. He has become a part of the team’s defensive core and has helped given the unit an identity. He’ll hope when Branch returns to the field he brings the same level of firepower.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Lions HC Dan Campbell’s crushing reaction to Brian Branch’s season-ending injury

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/detroit-pistons/pistons-news-cade-cunningham-cowboys-lions-super-bowl');   ga('set', 'title', 'Cade Cunningham wishes both Cowboys, Lions could go to Super Bowl');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Cade-Cunningham-gets-major-props-for-beautiful-missed-free-throw.jpg"><figcaption>David Butler II-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Cade Cunningham wishes both Cowboys, Lions could go to Super Bowl</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-12-08T11:25:03-08:00">December 8th, 11:25am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-12-08T11:25:03-08:00">December 8th, 11:25am</time><address><a>Zachary Draves</a>Zachary Draves is a sportswriter and broadcaster based in the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa. Zachary covers a variety of different sports as well as sports history, sport and society, and sport and culture. He is also a professor of sociology.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Dallas Cowboys</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Before the Detroit Pistons <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/detroit-pistons/cade-cunningham-reveals-why-win-over-bucks-is-the-best-kind-for-pistons">defeated the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday</a>, Cade Cunningham found time to talk about something else: the Super Bowl.</p><p>An avid Dallas Cowboys fan, Cunningham <a href="https://x.com/ClutchPoints/status/1998071384652615794" rel="noopener">naturally wants</a> to see them in the Super Bowl. At the same time, he also wants to see the Lions there, even though they both won’t be able to play against each other.</p><p>“You still think your Cowboys are going to the Super Bowl?” Eric Vincent of ClutchPoints asked him.</p><p>“I still got faith in my Cowboys. … I think will be all right,” Cunningham said. “But every year, I think it’s Super Bowl or bust. … Hopefully [the Lions] go to the Super Bowl too, I mean it’s not possible… we both can’t go to the Super Bowl. Hopefully one of us.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">. <a href="https://twitter.com/IAmEricVincent?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IAmEricVincent</a>: "You still think your Cowboys are going to the Super Bowl?"</p><p>*Cade Cunningham walks away, then comes back*</p><p>"I still got faith in my Cowboys. … I think will be all right. But every year, I think it's Super Bowl or bust. … Hopefully [the Lions] go to the… <a href="https://t.co/WB6VkeibxZ">pic.twitter.com/WB6VkeibxZ</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1998071384652615794?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 8, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Currently, the Cowboys are 6-6 and in second place in the NFC East behind the Philadelphia Eagles. Meanwhile, the Lions are sitting at 8-5 and in third place in the NFC North, trailing the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers.</p><p>Last Thursday, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/dallas-cowboys/cowboys-news-dak-prescott-pissed-off-dallas-team-lions-loss">Lions defeated the Cowboys 44-30</a>.</p><p>The Pistons are 19-5 and have the best record in the Eastern Conference. Cunningham is averaging 27.5 points, 9.3 assists, and 6.4 rebounds per game.</p><h2><b>Cade Cunningham’s longstanding fandom over the Cowboys</b></h2><p>Cunningham grew up in Arlington, Texas in the shadow of the Cowboys. During his upbringing, he was a quarterback before focusing entirely on basketball after seeing his brother play while at college.</p><p>However, Cunningham’s love for football remains intact.</p><p>Since then, he has become one of the Cowboys’ most passionate supporters, oftentimes seen wearing Cowboys gear.</p><p>At the Cowboys/Lions game, Cunningham was in attendance, cheering them on. He loves Dallas, but he respects the Lions.</p><p>His dual fandom has led him to build a following in both Michigan and Texas, without contradicting anyone.</p><p>Lucky for him, because not too many get that flexibility.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Cade Cunningham wishes both Cowboys, Lions could go to Super Bowl

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nfl/detroit-lions/lions-news-detroit-adds-veteran-safety-brian-branch-injury');   ga('set', 'title', 'Lions add veteran safety after Brian Branch injury');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Dan-Campbell-1.jpg"><figcaption>Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Lions add veteran safety after Brian Branch injury</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-12-08T10:50:55-08:00">December 8th, 10:50am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-12-08T10:50:55-08:00">December 8th, 10:50am</time><address><a>Dan Fappiano</a>Dan Fappiano is a Connecticut-based sports journalist with over five years of professional experience. After graduating from Central Connecticut State University with a bachelor's degree in journalism, he has covered every sport from fencing to football in the online and print medium. Dan hopes to see his beloved Bears win a Super Bowl someday.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Detroit Lions</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>While the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/detroit-lions/lions-news-dan-campbell-drops-f-bombs-galore-fiery-postgame-speech-after-beating-cowboys">Detroit Lions earned a win over the Dallas Cowboys</a> in Week 14, they saw safety <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/detroit-lions/lions-news-brian-branch-feared-suffered-achilles-injury-vs-cowboys">Brian Branch suffer a season-ending Achilles injury</a>. Now, the Lions have found his potential replacement.</p><p>Detroit <a href="https://x.com/MikeGarafolo/status/1998087590944322004" rel="noopener">has signed</a> safety Damontae Kazee to their practice squad, via Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network. Their plan is to elevate Kazee to the active roster as soon as he is ready.</p><p>It’ll be difficult to replace what Branch brought to the field. Over the 12 games he did appear in, the safety put up 75 tackles, nine passes defended and 2.5 sacks. Furthermore, Branch’s <a href="https://www.pff.com/nfl/players/brian-branch/123907" rel="noopener">77.5 overall grade</a> from Pro Football Focus ranked eighth/93 safeties. He ranked top five in both the pass rush (81.5, fifth) and against the run (82.6, fourth). Needless to say, Kazee will have big shoes to fill in the secondary.</p><p>The newest member of the Lions most recently appeared in four games with the Cleveland Browns during the 2025 season. However, he didn’t register a stat.</p><p>Kazee spent the three previous seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he registered 112 tackles, seven passes defended and five interceptions. Over his entire nine-year NFL career, Kazee has put up 363 tackles, 24 passes defended and 17 interceptions.</p><p>He is joining the Lions at a crucial time in the season. With their win, Detroit is now 8-5. In the midst of the playoff chase, they cannot afford to let up even with Branch done for the year. Kazee will now take the reigns and try to keep Detroit’s secondary afloat. The Lions are at least confident of his success in their system.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Lions add veteran safety after Brian Branch injury

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nfl/detroit-lions/lions-news-jared-goff-drug-test-smoking-cowboys');   ga('set', 'title', 'Lions QB Jared Goff got a drug test right after smoking Cowboys');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Jared-Goff-of-the-Detroit-Lions.jpg"><figcaption>Peter Casey-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Lions QB Jared Goff got a drug test right after smoking Cowboys</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-12-05T08:12:06-08:00">December 5th, 8:12am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-12-05T08:12:06-08:00">December 5th, 8:12am</time><address><a>Jaren Kawada</a>Jaren Kawada is a former full-time sports bettor and is now a NFL, College Football and Betting Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. Kawada was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, but now resides in Indianapolis, Indiana, after graduating from Butler University with a B.A. in sports media. Aside from football, Kawada is an avid combat sports and basketball bettor.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Detroit Lions</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Jared Goff claims to be the latest player to receive a suspiciously timed “random” drug test immediately after an impressive performance following the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/dallas-cowboys/cowboys-lions-playoff-odds-after-detroits-high-scoring-week-14-win-on-tnf">Detroit Lions’ 44-30 win over the Dallas Cowboys</a> in Week 14.</p><p>Goff led the Lions to the 14-point victory by completing 25 of his 34 passes for 309 passing yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions. Upon being late for his media availability after the game, he <a href="https://x.com/E_Woodyard/status/1996814834902749328" rel="noopener">claimed the performance</a> warranted an immediate drug test.</p><p>“Sorry about that guys, NFL drug-testing rules,” Goff told reporters, according to ESPN’s Eric Woodyard.</p><p>Every NFL player receives about one drug test per season, which can come at any random time. They just tend to occur immediately after players put forth outlier performances.</p><p>Week 14 marked Goff’s third 300-yard performance of the season, and his sixth game of the season without a single turnover. He did his damage <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/detroit-lions/lions-news-amon-ra-st-brown-knew-would-play-through-injury-vs-cowboys">without a healthy Amon-Ra St. Brown</a>, who battled through an ankle injury in the game.</p><p>With another efficient performance, Goff now <a href="https://x.com/PFF/status/1996802661627449655" rel="noopener">leads the NFL</a> with an 81.2 percent adjusted completion rate, according to Pro Football Focus. The stat removes plays such as spikes, batted passes, throwaways, drops and passes affected by a quarterback hit to gain a better understanding of a quarterback’s true accuracy.</p><p>As a team, the Lions’ 44-point outing now has them as the highest-scoring offense in the league. Detroit tied its second-highest single-game output of the year in Week 14 and now averages 30.3 points per game, surpassing the Indianapolis Colts’ 29.8.</p><p>The Lions have now breached 30 points in three of their last five games, including two 44-point outings in that span. Assuming Goff’s drug test comes back negative, he will look to extend Detroit’s hot stretch in Week 15 against his former team, the Los Angeles Rams.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Lions QB Jared Goff got a drug test right after smoking Cowboys

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nfl/detroit-lions/lions-news-dan-campbell-drops-f-bombs-galore-fiery-postgame-speech-after-beating-cowboys');   ga('set', 'title', 'Dan Campbell drops F-bombs galore in fiery postgame speech after beating Cowboys');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Campbell-reacts.jpg"><figcaption>Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Dan Campbell drops F-bombs galore in fiery postgame speech after beating Cowboys</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-12-05T07:22:41-08:00">December 5th, 7:22am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-12-05T07:22:41-08:00">December 5th, 7:22am</time><address><a>Ben Strauss</a>Ben Strauss is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He is a die-hard NFL fan who cheers for the Detroit Lions. He has previously written fantasy football content for IDPGuys and ImportantNonsense.com.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Detroit Lions</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Detroit Lions got a much-needed win on Thursday Night Football. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/dallas-cowboys/cowboys-most-to-blame-pivotal-tnf-loss-lions">Detroit took their anger out on Dallas</a>, stomping them 44-30 in a game that had huge <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/dallas-cowboys/cowboys-lions-playoff-odds-after-detroits-high-scoring-week-14-win-on-tnf">ramifications for the NFC playoff picture</a>. The Lions are still on the outside looking in, but they took an important step forward with last night’s victory.</p><p>Lions head coach Dan Campbell was fired up <a href="https://x.com/Lions/status/1996849619142431214" rel="noopener">during his postgame locker room speech</a> after TNF.</p><p>“That’s a damn good win, guys, f****** real good” Campbell said during his locker room speech. “Nobody f****** tells us who we are. Nobody man. We write our own story, we said it all along. That’s a way to show up, man. Way to f****** show up. We do what we want to do and how we’re gonna do it.”</p><p>Campbell praised his team for showing up in a big moment. But he also made it clear that they’ve got plenty of work to do moving forward.</p><p>“You guys showed up,” Campbell continued. “Was it perfect? F*** no. Do we have a lot of clean up? F*** yeah. That’s a good win, man. That was a hot team. Alright? And that’s one down. We got another one to go after this. But we get a little breather here.”</p><p>Detroit finally has some optimism heading into the final quarter of the regular season.</p><h2><b>Lions come alive on offense against Cowboys on TNF</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Jared-Goff-on-the-field.jpg"><figcaption>Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Detroit’s offense has been streaky ever since <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/detroit-lions/lions-news-dan-campbells-play-calling-change-permanent">Campbell took over play-calling duties</a>. But they had one of their best games of the season on Thursday night.</p><p>As usual, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/lions-news-jahmyr-gibbs-barry-sanders-nfl-history-tds-cowboys">Jahmyr Gibbs had a great game</a>. The speedy running back had 12 carries for 43 yards and three touchdowns against the Cowboys. But he was most effective as a receiver, hauling in seven receptions for 77 yards.</p><p>But it was Jared Goff who kept Detroit’s offense humming at peak efficiency. He went 25-of-34 for 309 passing yards with one touchdown. Goff primarily spread the ball around to Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams, but also sprinkled in targets for Gibbs, David Montgomery, and other tertiary targets.</p><p>It also helped that Detroit’s defense contributed three takeaways, giving the offense extra opportunities to score.</p><p>Hopefully Detroit can carry this momentum into their next game.</p><p>Now the Lions have some extra time to rest before a huge Week 15 matchup with the Rams.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Anthony
Firkser

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• Lions HC Dan Campbell’s crushing reaction to Brian Branch’s season-ending injury

• Cade Cunningham wishes both Cowboys, Lions could go to Super Bowl

• Lions add veteran safety after Brian Branch injury

• Lions QB Jared Goff got a drug test right after smoking Cowboys

• Dan Campbell drops F-bombs galore in fiery postgame speech after beating Cowboys

Anthony Firkser

Latest Related Team News

Lions playoff picture: Updated DVOA, The Athletic, ESPN model odds before Week 15

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Kelvin Sheppard warns defense about Matthew Stafford’s ‘lies’

Lions bold predictions for pivotal Week 15 clash with Rams

Lions claim ex-Texans DB off waivers

Why Lions have no chance to slow down Matthew Stafford, Rams offense in Week 15

Lions rumors: ESPN insider makes bombshell Jahmyr Gibbs contract prediction

• Lions HC Dan Campbell’s crushing reaction to Brian Branch’s season-ending injury

• Cade Cunningham wishes both Cowboys, Lions could go to Super Bowl

• Lions add veteran safety after Brian Branch injury

• Lions QB Jared Goff got a drug test right after smoking Cowboys

• Dan Campbell drops F-bombs galore in fiery postgame speech after beating Cowboys

Anthony
Firkser