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Five things to watch as Lions face Jets in crucial game; plus prediction

Meaningful football in December continues for the Lions on Sunday when they play at the N.Y. Jets. “We’re both jockeying for playoff positions, this is critical for both of us,’’ LIons coach Dan Campbell said. “This is a heavyweight fight. I love our O-line and this is a worthy, quality opponent, especially their front. This is going to be pretty fun.’’

The Lions (6-7) have won five of their last six, making them one of the NFL’s hottest teams. However they’re making up for the 1-6 start. A win over the Jets would increase their odds of a postseason berth.

Meanwhile, the Jets (7-6) have lost three of their last four and are just 3-3 at home. After being benched for three games, Zach Wilson will get the start at quarterback.

Five things to watch:

1. The Jets’ defense is its strength front to back. “This is a defense that makes you earn anything you can get,’’ Campbell said. “Our offense, we have our work cut out for us. It’s the strength of this team. …Top to bottom our receivers are going to have to fight to get off the ball, they’re going to have to fight for separation and our O-line is going to have to finish in the pass game and the run game.’’ The stingy Jets allow just 18.7 points per game which is rated sixth in the NFL. The Lions offense has scored an average of 32 points in the last five games. Something’s got to give.

2. Jets quarterback Zach Wilson, who was benched three weeks ago, will get the start with Mike White’s rib injuries keeping him out. The quarterback decision was announced on Friday. Campbell said it doesn’t make much difference which guy they face. “So, we’re ready. We knew (Wilson) was going in the game anyway, so we figured they were going to play him. So, it’s really – same thing, man, it’s about being disciplined and we know what kind of game this will be, what they’re going to want to do offensively,’’ Campbell said. “So, we’ve got to play our keys, we’ve got to be disciplined. We’ve got to run, we’ve got to hit, all the same things that we know here.”

3. No question Jared Goff is tough too but he’s been protected by an offensive line that is one of the NFL’s best. He’s been sacked just 19 times this season and just four times in the last four games. Goff (22 touchdowns, 7 interceptions) has gone five games without throwing a pick and feels he is playing the best ball of his career. While the offense is rolling up the numbers, the run game needs to be more effective. “I think in the last few weeks, it’s a number of things when you look at the few games, offensive line, it might just be aiming points or angles, targeting is always a big thing. Receivers, at times, just making sure they’re taking care of their force responsibilities and then making sure our running backs are seeing the holes properly,’’ offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said. “Each play’s got an intent to it, and the more we meet together, and we’re all aligned, I think the vision comes together, so end of the day, we’ve been able to move the ball and score points on offense, so certainly, an area for us to improve though.”

4. One way to beat the Jets’ defense is with speed. Rookie Jameson Williams will play his third game in the NFL and Campbell said the point of emphasis is easy: Speed all the time. Williams scored his first NFL touchdown on his first NFL catch with a 41-yard play early in the win over the Vikings last Sunday. Look for him to get more work at the Jets. “Certainly getting the touchdown with him was good, it was what you would expect. It was better than the week before but he’s got a ways to go like anybody would who hadn’t played a ton of football in this league and he will,’’ Campbell said. “He’s very coachable. … Certainly we like where he’s going, it was better and we expect it to be even better this week.’’

5. It’s key for the Lions to play their game, the way they have in the past six weeks. In that stretch Campbell has done a good job of keeping them focused on the next opponent, not the big picture. The veterans will need to keep the young guys in line and the rookies will have to respect their “elders” to go on the road and get a huge win. They know they can do it – they beat the Giants at MetLife Stadium on Nov. 20 – they just have to prove themselves again.

INS and OUTS: LB Derrick Barnes (ankle) and guard Kayode Awosika (ankle) have been ruled out. Defensive lineman Michael Brockers (illness) is doubtful. Fullback Jason Cabinda (ankle), cornerback Mike Hughes (illness), defensive lineman Aidan Hutchinson (illness) and center Frank Ragnow (foot) are all questionable. Everyone else is a go.

PREDICTION: Lions 31, Jets 24.

Lions coach Dan Campbell credits veteran players for team’s growth

ALLEN PARK — While many of the Lions rookies have been drawing well-deserved praise for the recent turn-around, coach Dan Campbell opened his Monday presser with words of appreciation for the veterans.

After Sunday’s 34-23 win over the Vikings, the Lions have now won five of their last six and playoffs remain a possibility. The team has matured after a 1-6 start, with the veterans leading the way for the talented class of rookies.

“Sometimes you lose sight of it, you don’t ever want to take it for granted, but they play at such a high level week in and week out. They’re a huge part of our success,’’ Campbell said.

He specifically named left tackle Taylor Decker, center Frank Ragnow, linebacker Jarrad Davis, fullback Jason Cabinda, linebacker Alex Anzalone, special teams C.J. Moore and defensive lineman Romeo Okwara. He also mentioned defensive lineman Michael Brockers who hasn’t been activated in recent games.

“He’s a huge part, he’s helped develop those young guys in that D-line room. I don’t want that to be lost. Those guys are damned good players for us, they’ve been outstanding in the locker room, they’re great leaders,’’ Campbell said. “They’re workers and they set the tone for everybody and those young bucks fall right in line. We have a number of those guys.’’

Of all the veterans, Decker has the longest tenure in Detroit. A first-round draft pick in 2016, the left tackle has seen the ups and downs from a playoff loss in his rookie season to struggles to get back to the postseason or even just to win more than a handful of games.

“Honestly I know they’re all kind of similar. Decker is one of the guys I think about. He’s the player who has been around here the longest, he saw some early success then some rough times,’’ Campbell said. “Now to be able to have some hope back is the best way to say it. I know he’s having fun, he’s very much invested in this team. He’s all in. That’s one of the guys you want to win for, you want to help him get there. But we appreciate him, man. He’s putting in the work, he’s all in, he’s a true pro.’’

On Sunday the Lions will play at the N.Y. Jets (7-6), a team that has lost three of its last four. The final three games are at the Carolina Panthers (5-8) on Dec. 24, home to Chicago (3-10) on Jan. 1 and at Green Bay (5-8) on Jan. 7/8.

Five reasons the surging Lions handed a loss to the Vikings

DETROIT – Dan Campbell is drained and exhausted, but in a good way. He can’t wait for the Lions winning to continue through the next four weeks. The playoffs remain a posssibility.

The Lions took another step in the right direction with a 34-23 win over the division rival Minnesota Vikings on Sunday at an electric Ford Field. The win boosted Detroit’s record to 6-7 and 3-1 in the division. The Lions have won five of their last six and had no intention of the Vikings (10-3) clinching the division at Ford Field.

“The guys know how I’ve felt all week about this game. But yeah, look I don’t think there’s a surprise here. I’ve said it before, it’s hard when you get down in the dumps and you were where we were at, it’s easy to lose faith, but these guys never did and we stayed true to what we’re about and they knew, they believed we were one play away and that’s where we’ve been,’’ Campbell said.

It seems a long way since the 1-6 start.

“Now we’re making the play, we’re making the one extra play, this – it’s not costing us. And we’re able to overcome some of these mistakes we were making earlier. So no, our guys, they know they belong,’’ the coach added. “They know they belong and they know when they play football like we’ve been playing the last six weeks we can play with anybody. That’s the truth.”

Campbell, who has made coaching mistakes and is the first one to admit it, called a game that was not absolutely perfect but was perfect for the opponent and the minute.

He and his coordinators dialed up a fake punt, a crucial third-down pass to right tackle Penei Sewell and set up a 48-yard touchdown pass play to rookie wide receiver Jameson Williams. It was a little edgy and just the right mode for a young team that develops more confidence with every snap.

Five of the main reasons the Lions won:

1. Two plays stood out to Campbell. One was the fumble forced by Isaiah Buggs and recovered by Kerby Joseph late in the first half. The Vikings were deep in the Red Zone and a touchdown would have tied the game going into the half. Instead Buggs forced the fumble at the Lions’ 3-yard line and the Lions got the ball back with 59 seconds in the half. They couldn’t score — Michael Badgley’s 49-yard field goal attempt was wide left — but they maintain a 7-point halftime lead. The other notable play was the fake punt early in the third on a fourth-and-8 at Detroit’s 26. Failure would have given the Vikings optimum field position, but the ball was snapped directly to C.J. Moore who ran it for 42 yards. “We knew the look they were going to give us and we’ve – and I’ve got a lot of trust in our guys. We’ve worked things a number of ways, seen all kinds of looks and those guys just make it work and I trust Moore.”’’ Campbell said.

2. Talk about efficiency in action, the Lions’ first two touchdowns were on passes of 48 yards to Jameson Williams and 41 yards to D.J. Chark. Campbell said the run game can be better but they can make up for it with explosive plays. “To be able to deliver that element to our offense is huge because I feel like with that we’re pretty well-balanced. We can do – we can kind of play any type of game we need to offensively and that’s a good thing. And it all starts with our offensive line,’’ Campbell said. On that Williams touchdown, quarterback Jared Goff said he couldn’t believe how wide-open he was due to busted coverage.

3. Jared Goff said he is playing the best ball of his career and you won’t find Campbell disagreeing with that assessment. Somebody has to get the receivers those deep balls and run the offense with efficiency. Goff was 27-39 for 330 yards and three touchdowns. It was his fifth straight game without an interception. “He’s playing outstanding and he’s a direct link as to why we are playing better. He’s playing really good football and he’s taking care of the football. He’s making big throws, man. He’s been highly accurate and just – man, there’s a lot of faith. A lot of faith in him and he’s got a lot of faith in us. And so, man, I thought he had another hell of a day,’’ Campbell said. “He stepped in there and I’ll tell you what, he’s cool, he’s calm, he’s collected, he’s making these throws. And the O-line is blocking well. They’re protecting the heck out of him, so I don’t disagree. It was good to see, man.’’

4. The defense’s swagger grows each week thanks to defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn. “He rallied the troops. He never let them give in, he never let them lose faith and he just kept coaching his ass off, as did that whole staff. And they’ve begun to grow, they’ve grown and we had to – we kind of had to bring some stuff. We had to pull everything back to the studs, man, we had to break it down and simplify and now we’re able to start pulling it back in, man, we’ve started to implement a lot of things that we were doing even last year,’’ Campbell said. “So, now that we’ve got them back to where – to where they are playing with confidence, they trust the guy next to him. And all these young guys are growing, now we can be a little more complex.” Linebacker Alex Anzalone’s 9 tackles pushed him to 100 for the season. Defensive lineman Isaiah Buggs finished with three quarterback hits, 1.0 sack and one forced fumble. Rookie linebacker James Houston became the third rookie in team history to record a sack in three-straight games. Rookie Aidan Hutchinson had two solo tackles, two tackles for loss, two quarterback hits and a sack.

5. That defense stuffed running back Dalvin Cook who had 15 carries for just 23 yards, his lowest total yardage since Week 2. “We put a lot of strain on the front seven is what we did. Honestly, and it was gap responsibility, we asked the nickel to do a lot of things, but man we had to fit it. We asked our big boys in the middle to have to bang away (Alim McNeill) Mac and Buggs, we put a lot on those guys, and so really it was more about those guys up front and our linebackers,’’ Campbell said. They were going to have to take that away because we used an enormous amount of resources on the backend with (Vikings WR Justin) Jefferson, as you can see.’’

BONUS: On third-and-7 with 2 minutes left at the Vikings’ 41, Goff threw a 9-yard completion to Sewel, the right tackle who had reported eligible. “That was part of the package we were going to have that we could use in the red zone if needed. And then, it felt like that was the right time to bring it out. We had practiced – had good practice reps with it. We’d used him earlier in that fast motion, and so we just – we felt really good about it being there because when you see him coming you’re not going to just think he’s going to the flat, he’s going to block you one more time like he did before,’’ Campbell said. “So, it was a great call, we trusted him. Look, we know what kind of athlete he is, he’s a phenomenal athlete. I mean, we talk about – who knows what kind of tackle he’s going to be, I think a pretty dang good one, he already is. But he could be a Hall of Fame tight end in my opinion too if he wanted to lose a little bit of weight. But he is, he’s got real good hands. He’s got real good feet, we felt like he was going to be wide open, which he was. And we told him to stay in bounds and he did.”

(Photo courtesy of Detroit Lions.)

(Up next: Lions (6-7) at N.Y. Jets (7-6) at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 18. The Jets lost 20-12 to the Bills on Sunday.)