Five games that will define the Detroit Lions season

DETROIT, MI - DECEMBER 16: Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford #9 attempts to run against the Chicago Bears during the second half at Ford Field on December 16, 2017 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI - DECEMBER 16: Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford #9 attempts to run against the Chicago Bears during the second half at Ford Field on December 16, 2017 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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ARLINGTON, TX – JANUARY 04: Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh #90 of the Detroit Lions stands during the national anthem before taking on the Dallas Cowboys during the NFC Wildcard Playoff Game at AT&T Stadium on January 4, 2015 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TX – JANUARY 04: Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh #90 of the Detroit Lions stands during the national anthem before taking on the Dallas Cowboys during the NFC Wildcard Playoff Game at AT&T Stadium on January 4, 2015 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

Weel 13: The Los Angeles Rams

The week thirteen game against the Los Angeles Rams will be a test for almost every position group. The deep L.A. receiver corp is going to test the Lions secondary depth, particularly late in the season. The Rams running game is top notch. The Lions front seven going to have difficulty in week 13. Jared Goff looked like a budding superstar in 2016. His synthesis with Sean McVay flipped a downright awful rookie season on its head.

The Rams pass rush off the edge is not great, but it can capitalize on the insane pressure coming up the middle. Ndamukong Suh and Aaron Donald on the same line makes me lose sleep. I can only imagine what it will do to the Lions O-line coaches. The Rams linebackers are the same level of question marks as the Lions running backs. Both groups have proven ability in the passing game more than the running game. The Rams secondary is one of the few that matches up very well with the Lions receiving group.

This is one of the elite teams of the NFL. It is hard to find a matchup that looks good for the Lions. This is the sort of game that a coaching staff needs to steal for the players. That was not something that happened under the previous coaching staff.