PERSONNEL NEWS

Strategy And Personnel

The Sports Xchange

December 06, 2018 at 1:12 am.

PLAYER NOTES

–LB Devon Kennard’s status for Sunday’s game with the Arizona Cardinals is in doubt because of a hip injury he suffered last week against the Rams. Kennard leads the Lions with six sacks.

–TE Levine Toilolo had a career-high 90 yards receiving on four catches against the Rams. Toilolo had just 60 yards receiving entering the game, and has played primarily as a blocking tight end throughout his career.

–LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin went on injured reserve Wednesday with a recurring neck injury. Reeves-Maybin, a core special-team player, had missed three of the Lions’ last five games with the injury.

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: DE Ziggy Ansah. Ansah saw his most extensive playing time of the season in last week’s loss to the Rams, but he did not register a tackle while playing 41 of 69 defensive snaps. Ansah will be a free agent after the season and likely is down to his final four games as a Lion. He has four sacks this season, but has missed six games and been limited in most others because of a shoulder injury. Ansah does have a chance to make a favorable impression on his would-be free-agent suitors over the next month. He practiced in full last week for the first time all year and faces an Arizona Cardinals team on Sunday that starts three rookies on its depleted offensive line.

GAME PLAN: The Lions have played things cautiously on offense the last few weeks with no Marvin Jones Jr. and no Kerryon Johnson, but they might feel more comfortable opening things up Sunday against a Cardinals team that ranks last in the NFL in scoring. The Lions remain short-handed on offense, but they’ve done a better job incorporating their tight ends of late. Top receiver Kenny Golladay has a tough matchup against Patrick Peterson, so perhaps this is the week Luke Willson finally gets going. And as well as LeGarrette Blount has run the ball in Johnson’s absence, it’s imperative the Lions get him going earlier in games.

Defensively, the Lions have not been a big pressure team this year, and they should be able to get after rookie quarterback Josh Rosen with their four-man rush Sunday given the state of Arizona’s offensive line. Nevin Lawson had great success against the best slot receiver the Lions have faced this season, Minnesota’s Adam Thielen, and could draw the assignment on Larry Fitzgerald this week. The bigger concern, though, is David Johnson as backs like Ezekiel Elliott and Christian McCaffrey have had nice days receiving against the Lions this year.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH:

–Lions LT Taylor Decker vs. Cardinals DE Chandler Jones. Sacks have been an issue for the Lions offensive line this year, and there aren’t many players rushing the passer better right now than Jones. Playing primarily on the right side, Jones has a team-high 12 sacks to go with three forced fumbles on the season. Decker should have the book on Jones from Lions head coach Matt Patricia, who was Jones’ defensive coordinator for four seasons with the New England Patriots. Decker had a couple rough days against the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears last month, but he’s been better of late.

–Lions LB Jarrad Davis vs. Cardinals RB David Johnson. The Lions have made major improvements to their run defense over the past month, but they’ve still had their share of struggles against top running backs this year. Ezekiel Elliott had 240 yards from scrimmage in September and Todd Gurley II ran for two fourth-quarter touchdowns last week. Johnson isn’t quite in that class of back, but he’s an excellent all-around player who can hurt teams both rushing and receiving. Davis has been hit and miss with his tackling this year, and the Lions can’t afford to have him off his game Sunday.