Detroit Lions Home Field Advantage Disappears On The Road: Can They Change That?

Detroit Lions’ Home-Road Split: The Numbers

A.J. Reilly: One of those things I was watching on Sunday and I was like, man, if this wasn’t like such a huge split thing, this would be so fun to watch. But the Detroit Lions’ offense at home, at Ford Field, compared to when they’re on the road. That was one of my huge takeaways from this game. That offense was out there on Sunday against the Chicago Bears. Now listen, the Bears’ defense is not phenomenal, okay? But they did exactly what you’re supposed to do when you have a top-five offense and they have a below-average offense, right?

You impose your will. Yep. I just want to see that more often outside of the walls of Ford Field. Because we can’t take Ford Field to Green Bay, Wisconsin, and put it down and play there. We’re gonna have to find a way to play on the road. And statistically offensively as a team, we are not as good on the road as we are at home.

And for this week 18 matchup and for what potentially could loom post week 18. We’re not playing at Ford Field again. So for me, I like that was, I was like, man, Jared Goff is a pretty darn good quarterback at Ford Field. Yep. His pass rating is 22 points higher at Ford Field than it is on the road.

He has 17 more touchdowns in two games. Two more games. He’s played nine games at home, and seven on the road. 17 more touchdowns at home than he does on the road. One more interception on the road in two fewer games than he does at home. I just want to see consistency and maybe that’s my biggest beef with Jared Goff.

Yep. Come on man. If you could be, maybe take a little bit off when you’re at home and add it to when you’re on the road, you got a solid quarterback. 

Eric Vincent: Yep, you could. 

A.J. Reilly: But when you’re, that, there’s that much of a discrepancy, that’s where we start to have a problem. And that offense was fun on Sunday.

Eric Vincent: Luckily we got the compliment that we’ve been needing from Goff because for whatever reason this run game has been terrible for the past few weeks. Now you get a much-needed game from D’Andre Swift where he’s involved in the run game and the passing game. Yes. Jamaal Williams got that last run that helped hit his instead of in his contract to go over certain thousand yards of the season.

Yeah. To get over a thousand yards. But again, him, them both having that complimentary game and we talked about Jamo’s big run, that splash x-factor effect that he brings to the game that you can’t predict and stop, that needs to be a part of it. It can’t just be Goff winging it 40 times. He threw it 29 times I think in this game.

A.J. Reilly: Yeah. He’s 21 for 29.

Eric Vincent: if he’s throwing between 25 and 30, yeah, we’re good. If he’s thrown between 25, and 30, I’m happy. Because if he has to throw more than that, it means your run game’s not doing anything or you’re behind a lot and you don’t want either of those things being the case right now. 

A.J. Reilly: Especially in week 18. Yes. When you are at the frozen tons, tun, sorry. Wew. It’s been a while. 

Eric Vincent: You can mess that name up. I don’t care. I’m so sick of that term. Go ahead. Frozen tundra, whatever. 

A.J. Reilly: Frozen Tundra, Wisconsin. But when you’re up there at the frozen field that resides in Lambeau, you have to, you can’t throw the ball 40 times.

No. If you end up throwing the ball 40 times, things have not gone well for us. I’m so intrigued because now. Sunday night football. As the news broke today, our Detroit Lions got their primetime game. 

Eric Vincent: Yeah. 

Key Factors in the Lions’ Offensive Performance

A.J. Reilly: This is interesting for a number of reasons. But one of our writers at DSN just wrote an editorial, which everybody should check out about how the NFL has now screwed the Detroit Lions again. Because they give them a primetime game, but that primetime game might not mean anything.

So, my question to you is, how do you feel about that? My question to everybody watching is how do you feel about this Sunday night football game? Do you think that the NFL kind of did the Detroit Lions a little bit dirty by potentially taking the meaning out of this game for them? And kind of highlighting the Aaron Rodgers effect? Because if the Green Bay Packers win, they’re in the playoffs. 

Eric Vincent: That’s really why they did it. 

A.J. Reilly: if they win, it doesn’t matter what Seattle does. Yep. So did the NFL prop up? I was gonna say something, but I’m not gonna say it. They’re longhaired hippie poster boy, there’s a different direction I was gonna go.

Eric Vincent: No, it’s, I know exactly. You’re doing It’s ok. A family show, right? Family show. Yes. 

A.J. Reilly: So how are we feeling about this Sunday night football game? 

Eric Vincent: You know what, I think this is a big game, but I think it’s a bigger game for a different reason. Okay. It kind of goes to, SOL, and I think we’ve talked about it a lot.

This game I think is bigger for us as fans than it is for the Detroit Lions team. We are exercising the demons of getting past the Green Bay Packers. You just said it. If Seattle wins, it doesn’t matter. This game doesn’t mean anything now. 

A.J. Reilly: For the Detroit Lions. 

Eric Vincent: For the Detroit Lions, exactly. So it means something to us because we wanna see them finally put the stake in the heart of the Green Bay Packers and, rip their hopes out.

I’m fine with that. But in terms of what it does for this team, like for me, they’ve already surpassed expectations. They don’t have to prove anything with this game. Like I don’t look at this as, oh, this is gonna decide who they are and put the stamp on what they did. No, I don’t look at this game at all.

Now, would I like to see them win? Yes. Do I think they’re going to win? Tune in to see later, but I think this is just a bigger game for us as fans to exercise the demons of SOL from our minds, not this young rookie-led team that is learning to win on the fly in their first season. No, I don’t look at it the same, in that regard. 

A.J. Reilly: No, man. Okay. You said it twice and I think I’m gonna start buzzing you every time, but we’ll talk about this a little bit more. Okay. At the end of the show, that acronym is no longer allowed. Okay? 

Eric Vincent: Okay. Okay. 

A.J. Reilly: Do not, do not if you have not exercised, and we talk about this coming out of the Carolina game, right?

Eric Vincent: Yeah. 

A.J. Reilly: If we have exercised the demons of SOL, this team is not SOL. The only thing that is SOL right now is maybe the PTSD that some fans have. Okay. 

Eric Vincent: That’s it. That’s it. 

A.J. Reilly: Sure. I understand that and that’s legitimate. But given what this team experienced in Carolina, and then did what they did against the Bears on Sunday. SOL teams would’ve lost on Sunday. Okay. 

Eric Vincent: I agree. 

Primetime Matchup on the Road: Challenges and Opportunities

A.J. Reilly: They wouldn’t have bounced back. Yep. They would’ve had the playoff hopes hanging out there. This team fought, and this team stayed alive to live another day. So I do not want to hear unless you are referring to it in this way, as Ricky so eloquently put up. Okay. 

Eric Vincent: Strong offensive. 

A.J. Reilly: That is, that’s the only way that SOL is allowed to be said, is the strong offensive line. 

Eric Vincent: Which they are. 

A.J. Reilly: 265 rushing yards on the Chicago Bears. Huge. That’s it. At first, and I’m gonna answer the question, how do I feel about the Sunday night game? At first, I was like, dang it, man. I don’t like this. I don’t like it at all. Because I wanna go in at one o’clock. I wanna handle our business and then let the chips fall where they may. That’s it. I don’t wanna come into this game knowing that Seattle had beat the Rams, which I’m not so sure they’re gonna do, by the way.

So all we’re doing now at this point is playing Spoiler. Pretty much. I didn’t want that set up. But then talking to our buddy Jeff, and actually my brother Matt, who’s been on the show too, he said it’s a win-win situation, right? Because if we win, we’re in. If Seattle loses. If Seattle wins and we win, we spoil the Green Bay Packers. So there’s really nothing for the Detroit Lions to lose at this point on Sunday night football. Yep. And I’m okay with that. 

Eric Vincent: Me too. 

A.J. Reilly: Yes. Did the NFL potentially take the meaning out of the game? Should Seattle beat Los Angeles? Yeah. They potentially did ensure they set up the Rogers storyline and all. Okay. Whatever. But this team has been surprising all season long and it will not shock me to see them go in and stop the run. Cuz I don’t think Rogers has passing. I’ll have to look. All we’re talking about, I don’t think Rogers has passed for over 250 yards in the last six games, 

Eric Vincent: Bruh. No. 

A.J. Reilly: And so if the Detroit Lions can concentrate their efforts to stopping the run like they did against Chicago. Now listen, people are gonna look and they’ll be like, they didn’t stop the run. Yes, they did. They did actually, the Chicago running backs, I think only had 55 yards. Justin Fields had 130 yards. Okay.

Yeah. They gave up 130 of them, but that was on two runs. A 64-yard run and a 30-yard run. He had 105 yards after the first quarter and only gained 27 the rest of the game. 

Eric Vincent: He didn’t run after James Houston, Rodrigo collision that he had where he fumbled the football. After that, he stopped running completely.

A.J. Reilly: Yeah, I know. And there are elements of his injury playing a part in that. But this game on Sunday just got especially after Saturday night, and we’re gonna talk about the Michigan game against TCU. But especially after Saturday night, this game on Sunday, like re-energized me. I feel very sports-hungover after this weekend. With all of the emotion of the Michigan game on Saturday night. 

Then I took the first quarter of OSU Georgia off. I was like, I can’t watch any more football right now. Like I’ve literally been glued to my TV for four hours, right? I cannot do it. I gotta take like a mental break. I tune back into Georgia and Ohio State and can’t even like, pull myself away because of how exciting that game was.

And then I get to the Detroit Lions game and I’m like at least it wasn’t emotional and nerve-wracking. I’m glad they had it like in the bag by the second quarter. Yes. So I’m like, I’m ready to go for Sunday. Hoping that the Detroit Lions can just pull one more rabbit outta the hat a little bit. 

Because, Calvin thinks that the NFL’s definitely throwing shade on the Detroit Lions to play at night. The NFL wants Aaron in Green Bay as long as possible. I think that’s true, but I think the Aaron Rodgers stick is getting old for just about everybody. 

Eric Vincent: I agree. 

A.J. Reilly: Green Bay Packers included. So I will not be surprised if Aaron Rodgers not a Packer next year. 

Eric Vincent: They gotta do something with Jordan Love at a certain point, but at a certain point.

Yeah. I think this is okay. I’m okay with this game because for one Sunday night football has been the premium game. There have been some Monday night games that haven’t been that good. Yeah. Sunday night football’s been pretty good as before. Who’s trying to watch the Jags and the Titans in their Sunday night match-up?

Like I had no interest in that whatsoever. No. So even with it being set up where, Seattle’s predicating, the end result of the postseason, and how things progress in the Detroit Lions game, I’m okay with seeing that. Again, this is gonna be a huge game for them to prove that they’re for real.

In the division, you’re going up against. We talk about Aaron Rodgers, but we talk about the running game too. That’s the focal point of what they really need to focus on. Yeah. Stopping AJ Dillion. Stopping Aaron Jones is the number one key. And protecting the football and protecting Jared Goff too.

I think their defense gets after it. If there’s any time when he can crack that streak of not turning the football over, it could be in Lambeau. So they have to be able to protect him and the football to get outta this game alive with a W. And you’re gonna be facing conditions that are gonna be similar to what you had in Carolina. So you just gotta be ready to go.

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