After coming off a dominating 44-22 win over the Washington Commanders in Week 10, the Detroit Lions will look to keep the momentum going as they will play the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 11 on Sunday Night Football.
Sunday’s game will be a good test for the Lions, who will get to see how they stack up against the defending Super Bowl champs. However, they might be missing one of their starting CBs, as Terrion Arnold is reportedly in the concussion protocol.
The second-year cornerback suffered a concussion during the second quarter against Washington and didn’t return to the game. Without Arnold, the Lions turned to veteran Rock Ya-Sin, who played opposite Amik Robertson on the outside.
If nothing changes with Arnold’s status for Sunday’s game, the Lions could go with Ya-Sin, who has a 45.5 completion percentage allowed when targeted and a 57.8 passer rating in two starts this season. However, Detroit should also think about getting Nick Whiteside II on the field, who was one of the standout stars in Week 7.
Nick Whiteside Should Be in the Mix for More Playing Time in Week 10
The 25-year-old Whiteside, who became an instant fan favorite for his performance on Monday Night Football a few weeks ago, has only played a total of four defensive snaps in the last two games.
This is a far cry from what the Lions asked of Whiteside in Week 7, where they leaned on him and other backups, who stepped up for multiple key players in the secondary. The preseason star showed that his performance this summer wasn’t a fluke, as he had two combined tackles and three pass deflections across 40 defensive snaps.
Whiteside allowed 22 yards and a touchdown on three completions (four targets), but still posted an 83.9 overall defensive grade and an 84.3 coverage grade, per Pro Football Focus.
Granted, it’s only a one-game sample size, but the 25-year-old defensive back was not scared of the moment and played Detroit Lions football.
Fast forward to Sunday night’s upcoming game against the Eagles, and Detroit will need that type of competitiveness and physicality on the boundary to deal with star WRs A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith.
Now that’s not to say the Lions can’t start Ya-Sin, but when you have a 6-foot-1, 200-pound CB with ball skills, you have to give him some snaps in what could be a high-scoring game.