Detroit Lions vs New Orleans Saints

A key to his completion rate this season, Brees said, has come down to decision-making, such making multiple reads and often opting for the easiest throw.

Drew Brees is completing passes at a career-best rate this season.

This past Sunday, after a competitive and high-scoring first half against Los Angeles, New Orleans’ (5-6) defense shut out the Rams.

“Listen, I loved him as a player here”, Saints coach Sean Payton said. A few months later, both wound up suspended for 2012 in connection with the NFL’s bounty probe. They’re concerned with taking care of their business, not figuring out how many games they’ll have to win to clinch the division.

The recent adoption of the “Lion King” theme song is coincidental, said Strief, who declined to get into specifics of why the song has meaning to the club beyond saying it has to do with “the position that we’re in and the mentality that we need to have going forward”.

The running and passing games work hand in hand, but Ingram said after the Rams game that the running game gives the entire offense a push in the right direction. “We want to put it all together”. One interesting game happening between two NFC Playoff contenders in the 1:00 p.m. ET hour will feature the Detroit Lions (7-4) and the New Orleans Saints (5-6). He’s a fantastic player and a good man and we have a great relationship. “Win-loss goes out the window”, he said. Stafford’s arm, meanwhile, is considered among the league’s best by none other than Brees. “We’ve got to do a better job coaching”.

The matchup is an interesting one, because you have a team in Detroit that hasn’t looked great for much of the season, but gets it done when it absolutely needs to win games. Goff was 20 of 32 for 214 yards and three touchdowns to Tavon Austin, Kenny Britt and Lance Kendricks.

“He talked to me, he gets it”, Cooks said.

The Saints have three receivers with at least 50 catches.

Detroit has the edge between these two defenses, which should be a major impact on this game. The Rams finished with 247 yards.

The Lions rank 16th against the run, allowing 102.5 yards per game, so the Saints, who are up to ninth at 114.6 and are averaging 145.2 in the last six outings, will certainly go that route early in the game.

Since the Lions rank around the middle of the National Football League pack against the run and the pass, the run-pass balance the Saints have been getting in their most recent games should come in handy Sunday. RB Mark Ingram had 167 scrimmage yards (146 rushing, 21 receiving), and one TD each rushing and receiving last week. “We were ready to go play (Monday), after how we felt on Sunday”. While previously sharing the workload out of the Saints’ backfield with fellow running back Tim Hightower, Ingram also recently encountered a concussion despite notching his breakout performance in Week 12 against the Rams. Lions QB Matthew Stafford has thrown one interception in last seven and just six in last 18, dating to November 22, 2015 win over Oakland.

Ingram said he felt good and that his production stemmed in part from an entire offense playing with objective against Williams.

Meanwhile, New Orleans has run the ball better lately, which forces defenses to respect play-action fakes. Marvin Jones is his leading receiver with 42 catches for 730 yards and four scores.