The Los Angeles Rams welcome the Detroit Lions on Sunday for a matchup featuring two of the NFL’s top four scoring units. Los Angeles rebounded from a surprising stumble in Carolina by steamrolling the Arizona Cardinals 45–17, while Detroit handled the Dallas Cowboys 44–30 to stay within striking distance of an NFC wild-card berth. Despite that win, the Lions still have work ahead to earn a third straight playoff appearance. This will be the fourth meeting between the teams since the 2021 blockbuster trade that exchanged quarterbacks Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff.

Lions player to watch

QB Jared Goff. After being traded away by the Rams in favor of Stafford, the former No. 1 pick has revived his career in Detroit. Goff enters the week leading the league in completions of 25-plus yards, is tied for second with 26 touchdown passes, and owns the third-best passer rating in the NFL.

Rams player to watch

RB Blake Corum. The rookie delivered his best performance yet with 128 rushing yards and two touchdowns on just 12 carries in last week’s decisive win over Arizona. All four games this year in which Corum has received at least a dozen carries have come in blowout victories of 16 points or more, showing how Sean McVay is spreading the workload to ease the burden on starter Kyren Williams.

Key matchup

Rams RT Warren McClendon Jr. vs. Lions DE Aidan Hutchinson. McClendon has held up admirably while filling in for Rob Havenstein (knee, ankle), but Hutchinson represents his most difficult assignment so far. The Detroit edge rusher has 8.5 sacks—three shy of his personal best—as well as a strong track record against the Rams. Hutchinson posted two sacks in Detroit’s tight playoff win after the 2023 season and added another in the 2024 opener, making his battle with McClendon a major factor.

Injury updates

Lions: Safety Kerby Joseph (knee) may return after missing two months. Thomas Harper, who replaced Joseph, cleared concussion protocol. Receiver and punt returner Kalif Raymond could also be back after two weeks out with an ankle issue. Safety Brian Branch recently underwent Achilles surgery and is expected to miss 8–12 months.

Rams: Davante Adams (hamstring) should play, though the team plans to manage his workload. Tutu Atwell (hamstring) is set to come off injured reserve. Meanwhile, the status of edge rusher Byron Young (knee) remains uncertain.

Series notes

Detroit is making only its second trip to Los Angeles since the Rams returned in 2016. The Lions dropped their previous visit in 2021, which doubled as Goff’s homecoming game at SoFi Stadium following the trade. In that matchup, he threw for 268 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Los Angeles had to rally late to win, foreshadowing the problems Dan Campbell’s Lions would later present for Rams head coach Sean McVay. Six of the last seven meetings have been won by the home team.

Stats and storylines

Since starting 4–1 on Oct. 5, the Lions have alternated wins and losses every week.

Detroit has gone 58 straight regular-season games without dropping two in a row—an NFL best since San Francisco’s 60-game stretch without back-to-back defeats.

Former USC star Amon-Ra St. Brown now holds the record for most receptions (511) by any player through his first five NFL seasons.

Jahmyr Gibbs has scored 47 touchdowns, tying Barry Sanders for the most by a player within his first three seasons or before turning 24.

Gibbs also joins Eric Dickerson and Earl Campbell as the only players to reach at least 4,500 scrimmage yards and 45 TDs in their first three years.

The Lions’ defense produced five sacks, forced three fumbles, and grabbed two interceptions against Dallas—something Detroit hadn’t done in a single game since 2007.

Edge rusher Al-Quadin Muhammad earned NFC Defensive Player of the Week after posting a personal-best three sacks, giving him nine on the season.

Tom Kennedy became the first player since Josh Cribbs in 2007 to record three kickoff returns of 35-plus yards and a punt return of 20-plus yards in the same game.

Matthew Stafford has thrown three or more touchdowns without an interception in seven games this season, including last week’s 281-yard, three-TD outing against Arizona.

Stafford has 35 touchdown passes with four games left; his personal single-season high is 41 (2011 and 2021).

Davante Adams saw his six-game touchdown streak snapped in the win over Arizona.

Byron Young opened the season with a sack in seven straight games, then went quiet for four weeks, and now has one in each of his last two outings.

Kyren Williams needs 48 rushing yards to secure his third consecutive 1,000-yard campaign—the first Ram to achieve that since Steven Jackson’s eight-year streak from 2005–2012.