Lions second-year tight end Sam LaPorta had a hamstring injury in training camp that kept him out of action a few weeks back in August and might have contributed to his slow start to the regular season.
But LaPorta has really come on strong the last month with three of the last four games being his biggest receiving performances of the season, including a seven-catch, 111-yard game in the loss to the Bills Week 15. LaPorta has 22 receptions for 272 yards and two touchdowns over Detroit’s last four games.
I’ll have to go back at the end of the year and look at why it didn’t click sooner, offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said of LaPorta this week. I really felt like early in the year we were going to have some of the games he’s had the last few. I know he’s feeling as healthy as he has all year long.
It’s no coincidence LaPorta’s increased production the last month has coincided with Detroit’s best stretch of offensive football all year, a stretch where they’ve scored 30-plus points in their last four contests.
LaPorta has 53 catches for 663 yards and seven touchdowns this year. He’s the first tight end in NFL history to record 600 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns in each of their first two career seasons.
He’s playing confident football right now. I know Jared (Goff) has a lot of faith in him, Johnson said. I certainly felt that way earlier in the year, too. I can’t tell you why it’s different now than it was before, but we’ve always seen him as an integral part of what we do in the passing game and the ball just seems to be finding its way there right now.
PHYSICAL MENTALITY
The Lions have stumbled upon a little wrinkle they like offensively bringing in swing tackle Dan Skipper (6-9, 330) and reserve guard Christian Mahogany (6-3, 322) as eligible extra blockers together. They did it twice last week in San Francisco with some success and it could be something the Lions feature some Sunday night and moving forward.
It’s a personality that we’re putting in and we think that is our personality quite honestly, Lions assistant head coach and running backs coach Scottie Montgomery said Friday. “You’ve seen some of the clips where David (Montgomery) was back there one time when the big guys came in and he was like, ‘Oh, it’s big boy ball time.’
That mentality is just saying we’re going to get behind our pads and it’s going to be a physical play.
Both Skipper and Mahogany have a nastiness and physical presence to their game. We’ve already seen Skipper catch a touchdown pass from Goff this year so there’s that wrinkle defenses have to be aware of too.
THIRD DOWN IMPORTANCE
Detroit ranks in the Top 10 in every major statistical category on offense, as follows: First in points, second in total offense and passing, third in red-zone efficiency, fourth in third-down efficiency and fewest giveaways, and sixth in rushing.
They face a Vikings’ defense that is fourth in points allowed and second against the run, but 28th against the pass.
Minnesota is also the fourth best defense in the NFL on third down, allowing a first down just 35.3 percent of the time they face a third down situation.
Detroit’s offense gets a first down on third down nearly 50 percent of the time (47.9) and isn’t afraid to try their luck on fourth down too, as they’re successful 69 percent of the time on fourth down.
In a game that’s expected to feature scoring, third down for both teams is going to be such a big statistic Sunday night. Who can sustain more drives and pad the time of possession by being better on third down?
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