The Detroit Lions have one more opportunity to get their inconsistent run game rolling in Chicago Sunday.
It will be important to do so because this Lions team has shown that when they can run the football with consistency, they typically come out on top on the scoreboard.
The Lions have seen a stark contrast to their rushing attack in wins versus losses this season. Only once this season have the Lions rushed for at least 100 yards and lost a football game – Thanksgiving vs. Green Bay (119).
Detroit averages 170.5 rush yards and 5.8 yards per carry in the eight wins this season, and 69.4 yards and 3.1 per carry in the eight losses.
Pro Bowl running back Jahmyr Gibbs has rushed for 1,143 yards (5.1 avg.) with 13 rushing touchdowns on the year but hasn't reached 100 yards rushing since his 219-yard rushing performance Nov. 23 vs. New York. He's rushed for 192 yards and three touchdowns in the five games since.
"Well, he's like any other player. He's not done growing and developing. And so, I think so much of it is you always got to look to yourself and what are the little things, the little details that you can improve on personally that can help maybe some of these runs," Lions head coach Dan Campbell said this week when asked about Gibbs and the run game specifically over the last month. "And then you work off of that. And so, just always hone in on the little things - your first step, your landmarks."
One thing Campbell said he'd love to see Sunday against Chicago's 28th-ranked run defense that's allowing on average 135.6 rushing yards per game is hitting on a big run early in the contest to give the offense a boost and put the Bears' defense on its heels a little bit.
"If we can just get (Gibbs) or David (Montgomery) to bust one of these early - if we can just get a breakout run early - it goes a long way," Campbell said. "It really does. And we just haven't been able to do that. We haven't been able to break out of there."
Lions offensive coordinator John Morton said Thursday he really likes the matchup Sunday against Chicago's run defense and thinks it's an opportunity for Detroit's rushing offense to end the season on a strong note.
"I think we can get after these guys a little bit, I really do," Morton said. "They are giving up almost five yards per carry, so, I like our chances there. I like the matchup here."
DECKER DECISION UPCOMING
Taylor Decker could be playing the last game of his NFL career this week in Chicago but the veteran tackle doesn't want to make Sunday's regular-season finale about him.
"Whatever my future may hold, I don't want to make that decision now because I don't want to make it emotionally," Decker said this week. "And I want to give this last game, for our season, the attention it deserves. And it's like, I don't want it to be about me. It's never been about me."
Decker, 32, is still playing good football in his 10th season despite dealing with a shoulder injury all year long. He said finishing strong Sunday is important to him and then he'll sit down in the offseason and decide his playing future.
"While this season hasn't been what we want it to be, winning's become the standard and we have an opportunity to finish with a winning record," he said. "While that's a bull-- consolation prize, that's all we can control that's in front of us. So, that's why it's important. It's a privilege to play this game."
TESLAA TRAJECTORY
Rookie wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa might only have 15 receptions on the season but six of those have been touchdowns, which ties Titus Young (2011) for the second most touchdown catches a rookie wide receiver has logged in franchise history.
TeSlaa's seen his snap count increase exponentially the second half of the season. He averaged 13 snaps per game over his first eight games and that number has risen to 36 per game over his last eight.
"He really has turned it on this last quarter/third of the season," quarterback Jared Goff said this week of his rookie receiver. "And it's starting to - things are starting to click for him, it's all starting to fall into place a little bit and it's been good. It's been really good to see and hopefully it carries on to the next year."
Morton thinks TeSlaa's ceiling is high moving forward and is setting himself up to be a reliable threat in Detroit's offense moving forward. Morton said TeSlaa's hands and catch radius really stick out for a rookie.
EXTRA POINTS
- All-Pro wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown returned to the open portion of practice Thursday after sitting out Wednesday with knee and ankle injuries. "He wants to go," Campbell said of St. Brown earlier in the week. "And he'll be day-to-day. He's improved."
- It's always important on the road to start the game fast but Chicago's defense has been good this season at preventing opposing offenses from starting fast. The Bears have allowed just 10 points all year on opposing offense's first possessions, the fewest by a defense in the NFL this season.
