Week 15 Staff Predictions – Lions at Rams

Will the Lions keep the back-and-forth win and lose streak going, or will they break through and win two in a row for the first time since Week 4 & 5? This will be a great game even if storylines will still be centered on the Stafford and Goff dynamics, with the teams being more evenly matched than some would like to state. The rams have a healthy upper hand over the Lions, but the Lions tend to feed off adversity and having their backs against the wall. This is not a “must win” but would be super helpful to have a W over the NFCX West leader heading into the final weeks of the season.

Lost in the emotion of last week's Dallas win, was that the Grey Manes have a NEW leader for the weekly pickem. Dan has clawed his way back, and the only one that had faith the Lions would beat the red-hot Cowboys, and is now in the lead due to the tiebreaker. Brent is second

Mike

Week 15 has the Lions traveling to the west coast to battle the LA Rams. The Rams have been on a very good roll this year (minus the bump in the road against Carolina, more on that in a few). The Rams Offense has been humming along in 4th place in the NFL currently. They have a very nice balance between the run and the pass and are very proficient in the Red Zone. They also seem to be very good on the injury front. Meanwhile the Lions are mid pack in Defense in the NFL. The Lions showed some life on the D-Line last Thursday against the Cowboys. They will need to get home and pile up some sacks on Rams QB Matt Stafford (remember him ??) He is the No 1 QB in the NFL this year while under pressure. So, the Lions need to get home, getting pressure on him is not enough.

On Defense the Rams are also midpack but a few spots higher than Detroit’s Defense. The Rams give up an average of 315 yards per game. They are very good in 3rd Down Defense and are spectacular in Red Zone Efficiency ranked No 2, they are also good at taking the ball away. The Lions come in as the No 1 Scoring Offense and No 3 overall. The Lions average 378.7 yards per game. Just a few more yards per game than LA.

This game has potential for a Shootout. The Rams are 5.5-point favorites in this game per Fan Dual on 12/11/2025. I think the teams are evenly matched offensively and the best shot the Lions have is to run the ball and have long drives to keep the Rams Offense on the bench (this is how Carolina beat the Rams); however the Lions are missing playmakers on both sides of the ball. This will impact this game. The Rams will cover and outright win the game. Just too many injuries to overcome against one of the best teams in the NFL.

Rams: 31, Lions 24

Brent

It is getting close to NFL playoff football as we enter December of the 2025 season. The LA Rams have the best record in the league and the Detroit Currently sit at 8-5 and one game outside of the playoffs if they were to start today. The Lions are one game back of the Chicago Bears and will need to finish one game better than the Bears to make the final game in Chicago matter for the Lions. On the journey toward that clash, the Lions fall from 74% to make the playoffs to 52% with a loss. Also complicating the Lions making the playoffs is the fact that they play on the road in LA, Minneapolis, and Chicago with the Pittsburgh Steelers coming to Detroit prior to Christmas. In contrast, the Bears host three games and only have a single game on the road. It certainly seems like the Lions needs to win as many games as possible with only winning out locking the Lions into the Wild Card Round. The Lions would win the tie-breaker with Chicago if they win out given they whipped the Bears in game two this season.

Having laid out the scheduling and win/lose scenarios, The keys to this game appear to be straight forward. In order to win, the Lions must do a few things to lock down a victory against the Rams. The Lions did a fantastic job of mixing up coverages last week against the Cowboys similarly to what they did against Tampa and Baltimore. Of note, Matthew Stafford is one of the top NFL quarterbacks when facing teams that play a high-percentage of man-to-man coverage. Stafford excels in throwing against teams that match up primarily in that coverage. Of significance, Stafford has the fourth largest drop off in passing rating against zone coverages. The Lions must do as they did in earlier games this season and mix up coverages well to ensure Stafford doesn’t get into a routine.

Second, the Lions did a masterful job against Dallas using inside runs and getting Gibbs into the passing game early. The offensive line must hold up and give Goff time against a very strong LA Rams defensive front. The Lions are the #1 offense in the NFL and have weapons all over that side of the football. Amon Ra and Jamo need to have big games to continue drives and must limit drops to a minimum to aid in converting. Monty represents a change of pace back that can be used later in the game to wear on the Rams defense.

Third, Goff and the offense must limit turnovers while creating turnovers by the Rams offense and special teams. Takeaways and converting on third downs, or preferably earlier, will allow the Lions to control the clock, elongating drives and controlling the time of possession. Special teams are essential to winning this game and keeping the Lions in control of making the playoffs. In the end, there is little margin for error.

You all may recognize the score from last week! Since y’all are superstitious, I am keeping the score!

Go Lions!!!!!

LA Rams 38, Lions 17.

Chris

The Lions roll into Los Angeles facing a Rams offense that's been absolutely surgical since Week 9. First in passing, first in receiving, first in rushing, first in run blocking. When Matthew Stafford returns to face his old team, he'll have locker room livestream weirdo Puka Nakua making catches that defy physics (23 of 29 on contested targets, potentially historic) and an offensive line that's finally protecting at a top-10 level instead of the usual disaster we saw last year.

Here's the problem for the Lions: Terrion Arnold's done for the season, Brian Branch is out, and Kerby Joseph's status is unclear. You can't show up to a shootout with half your secondary in street clothes. The Lions will need to control this game the old-fashioned way, leaning on Jahmyr Gibbs, who's quietly been the best running back in football over the last two years. His 6.3 yards per touch leads all backs this season, and if Detroit can dominate time of possession like Carolina did a few weeks back, they've got a shot.But asking a banged-up defense to slow down Stafford, Nakua, Davonte Adams and this raging hot Rams attack at SoFi? That's a tall order. Expect fireworks, expect Gibbs to cook, and expect the Rams to pull away at home and put the Lions playoff hopes in jeopardy.

Rams 38, Lions 28

Dan

Two weeks ago when the Lions were coming off the Thanksgiving day loss to the Packers, I looked at the remaining schedule and thought that they would have to 4-1 the rest of the way to ensure they make the playoffs Of course, that was before Branch ripped his Achilles against Dallas, but I still am holding to that projection.

The team I figured the loss would be against was the Rams, on the road, and I am sticking with that here. I do have some doubts that our Cardiac Kitties may pull this out though, as they do have a favorable matchup on offense, and the way the Lions use their LBs does counteract a lot of what LA likes to do with running game and play action passing.

Regardless, I am hoping they win, but I think the Lions lose in a close one.

Rams 31, Lions 28