It won't be easy, but there's no other way. The Lions have to contain Matthew Stafford and the Rams' passing attack Sunday, which means their secondary has to contain Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp.
The same secondary that just allowed 12 catches and 192 yards to Justin Jefferson in the regular season finale, a week after allowing 13 catches and 227 yards to CeeDee Lamb, a week after allowing six catches for 141 yards to Jefferson.
The same secondary that conspired with the rest of Aaron Glenn's defense to allow the second most yards per pass, the second most yards per completion and the most air yards this season in the NFL. The same secondary that rarely has an answer for one great receiver, never mind two. Yeah, that secondary.
Dan Campbell is confident that secondary can get it done.
"I'm very confident. Here’s why I’m confident, because that’s what it’s going to take to win this game, and they’re going to do it," Campbell said Tuesday on 97.1 The Ticket. "We have our hands full. Those are two really good receivers. Kupp has a full resume here, the rookie has had a really good first year, and then they got a guy who can throw it."
More specifically, a guy who can sling it. Matthew Stafford loves to air it out, not that anyone around here needs the reminder. He had the fourth most completions of 20-plus yards this season in the NFL -- Jared Goff had the second most, if it makes you feel any better -- and the fourth highest passer rating on throws of 20-plus yards: 120.5.
Nacua, the fifth-round draft pick who finished fourth in the NFL in receiving, had the fourth more receptions of 20-plus yards. The Lions, who talked all last week about limiting explosive plays through the air, proceeded to allow nine completions of 20-plus yards against the Vikings thanks to a slew of busted coverages in the secondary.
Yeah, that secondary.
"I say this again, AG is going to put guys in the best position to have success. He’s going to ask guys what they do well and then ask you do that at a very high level," said Campbell. "All we can do is give you a one-on-one and now it’s your turn to go win it. There will be nothing different for this game. We’ll have a good game plan put together, AG is going to find the things that we feel like we can attack them with and how we need to attack, and then it will be about our guys going out and making plays."
There is talent back there. The Lions are suddenly deep at safety with the return of C.J. Gardner-Johnson, a ballhawk who slid back into the lineup last week in a rotation with Kerby Joseph and Ifeatu Melifonwu and sealed the game with an interception. Rookie Brian Branch is a playmaker at nickel and Cam Sutton is a proven vet on the outside.
Sutton grabbed his first pick of the season last week, but was also burned by Jordan Addison for a long touchdown. The Lions need him to raise his game as their No. 1 corner; he allowed a passer rating in coverage of 113.9 in the first year of a $33 million contract. The obvious weakness opposite Sutton is Kindle Vildor, who hasn't been much better than Jerry Jacobs since replacing him as Detroit's No. 2 corner. Vildor was torched by Jefferson for a long touchdown last week and lost Lamb on a 92-yard touchdown the week before.
Stafford has to be licking his chops.
"He’s a highly-accurate passer, but man, we gotta go to work," Campbell said. "We gotta challenge these (receivers) and we gotta be able to make our plays on the backend. We’re playing pretty good defense now, we have for a while. We’ve been aggressive. I think we’re physical, disruptive and our backend will be ready."
The Lions amped up the pressure on the quarterback down the stretch, and forced more turnovers as a result. They had nine takeaways in their final four games, starting with their Week 15 win over the Broncos. That's their best path toward slowing down Stafford, Nacua and Kupp. Campbell is professing faith in his secondary, and the Lions do have safeties with a penchant for game-changing plays.
But the questions they face in the backend on Sunday will likely have to be answered up front.
"They’re going to want to hit Goff, we want to hit Stafford," said Campbell. "That doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy to do. I know this, you gotta get there fast, because this guy can get the ball out and it’s right on point. There will be nothing easy about this, but this is why you do it. This is as good as it gets.
"You get the best of the best, and you win and move on or you lose and go home."