(2) Ben Johnson knows what he's doing on offense
I think Ben Johnson is one of the best offensive coordinators/play-callers in this league- right up there with Mike McDaniel and Andy Reid amongst play-callers the Chargers have seen this year.........even though one could argue the Chiefs have been more about Matt Nagy this season.
Regardless, good offenses have been able to score on the defense pretty regularly this year- Mike McDaniel with Miami, Kevin O'Connell/Wes Phillips with Minnesota, and Andy Reid/Matt Nagy with Kansas City. Offenses that know what they're doing have fared well against us. Offenses that don't know what they're doing have not fared well. It's been pretty cut-and-dry like that. And Ben Johnson with the Lions firmly fits into that former group with McDaniel, O'Connell, Reid etc.
Remember that stat about Justin Herbert's record when his defense allows less than 27 points? I've got a pretty strong feeling we're going to be looking at a Lions team going well over that 27-point threshold this week, so chances are we're going to have to score ourselves as well.
The Lions are averaging 25 points a game this season -- just barely fewer than the Chargers.
They're also second in yards per game (390.6) trailing just the Dolphins.
And in both the run game and passing game, they have proven themselves to be one of the most well-rounded offenses in all of football:
- 259.3 passing yards per game (6th in the league)
- 131.4 rushing yards per game (6th in the league)
This is a pretty lethal unit that can beat you in a variety of ways. I think we're looking at another Miami Dolphins type game if the defense can't continue the rhythm it's been in the last month.