Lions vs. Chargers: What's the Game Plan for San Diego?

The San Diego Chargers' first opponent of the 2015 season doesn't show up often on the schedule. In fact, the Detroit Lions have only shown up twice on the Chargers' schedule in the last 10 years.

The most recent meeting occurred at Ford Field in 2011. The Lions beat the Chargers 38-10 behind a masterful performance from quarterback Matthew Stafford, who threw for 373 yards and three touchdowns while completing 80 percent of his passes. Wideout Calvin Johnson surpassed 100 yards receiving on just four catches, and the Lions defense didn't allow a score until the second half.

Fast forward to four years later, and the Chargers seem better equipped to make Sunday's matchup against the Lions competitive. For more on that, let's take a look at the offensive and defensive game plans for San Diego while highlighting a couple of key players and some of the more intriguing matchups.

Offensive Game Plan

First things first, the Chargers will be without All-Pro tight end Antonio Gates, as he prepares to serve the first of a four-game suspension for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing drugs, thus taking away the most trusted target of Philip Rivers on third down, as well as the team's leader in receiving touchdowns a year ago.

Fourth-year pro Ladarius Green is expected to fill in for Gates as the starter, but his status for Sunday is questionable after he was diagnosed with a concussion, reported by ESPN. The Chargers re-signed veteran John Phillips, whom they only released on September 5, as a temporary insurance policy should Green not receive clearance to play, but there's only so much he can do in the passing game compared to what Green offers as quicker, more athletic brand of tight end.

Todd Warshaw/Getty Images

To put it into perspective, Phillips has just five catches in two seasons with San Diego and 35 catches for his career. Not having Green in the lineup would essentially turn Phillips into an extra blocker for most of the game, limiting some of the play calls for offensive coordinator Frank Reich. But in the scenario Green does play, he presents matchup problems for Detroit's secondary with his combination of size—6'6" and 240 pounds—and speed.

Name	Games Started	Career Receptions	Career Yards	Career TDs
Ladarius Green	15	40	658	3
John Phillips	27	35	249	3
David Johnson	28	23	220	1
Kyle Miller	0	0	0	0

Moving on to the general game plan for Reich's unit, it's tough to say where Detroit's weaknesses on defense lie with this being the first game of the regular season. Just a year ago, this was the league's second-ranked defense and the No. 1 rush defense, but a lot changed in the offseason.

All-Pro defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh signed with the Miami Dolphins in free agency, and one-time first-round draft pick Nick Fairley, another key piece of the Lions' front, joined the St. Louis Rams, leaving defensive coordinator Teryl Austin with two huge holes to fill.

The Lions went out and traded for All-Pro Haloti Ngata and signed ex-New Orleans Saints tackle Tyrunn Walker to suffice, but Suh's pedigree as arguably the best player at his position will be missed. Also, leading tackler DeAndre Levy has been ruled doubtful for Sunday with a nagging hip injury, reported by Paula Pasche of the Oakland Press. Granted, the Lions are still good up front despite all those concerns, but it might influence the Chargers to put more faith in the running game.

Reich has a bevy of backs at his disposal, including first-round draft choice Melvin Gordon, and the improvements made along the offensive line surely weren't all for the purpose of keeping quarterback Philip Rivers upright. Back in May, Reich said in an interview with Dan Sileo of the Mighty 1090 AM he's focused on improving the running game after a poor effort last season, during which the Chargers averaged 3.4 yards a carry.

Lenny Ignelzi/Associated Press/Associated Press

Once the run is established, that should help open things up for Rivers and his receivers. Without Gates as his go-to option, look for Keenan Allen, Malcom Floyd and free-agent pickup Stevie Johnson to get well acquainted with Rivers. Receiving back Danny Woodhead will also get his fair share of targets.

Defensive Game Plan

As if the tandem of Stafford and Johnson wasn't enough to worry about already, the emergence of ex-Seattle Seahawks receiver Golden Tate in his first season with Lions should make defensive coordinator John Pagano wary  at all times.

Tate can beat you in a number of ways, but the most obvious of those in 2014 was after the catch. He led all receivers in YAC with 691, and as Marlowe Alter explained in a film review for the Detroit Free Press, Tate had a knack for making big plays in space. He and Johnson will be an excellent first test for San Diego corners Brandon Flowers and Jason Verrett.

Chris Keane/Associated Press/Associated Press

Stafford, though, will need time to get his receivers the ball, and that could be a problem given how good Chargers outside linebacker Melvin Ingram has looked rushing the passer in the preseason.

The fifth-year pro and one-time 18th overall pick in the draft shed a couple of pounds in the offseason and has looked better for it, showing off increased athleticism and more explosiveness off the snap. Lions head coach Jim Caldwell even mentioned Ingram during a recent conference call with reporters, referring to him as a potential game-wrecker, reported by the official Chargers website.

Detroit no doubt has some concerns on the offensive line after giving up 45 sacks last season. Right guard Larry Warford, quite possibly the team's best lineman, has been ruled out for Sunday with a high ankle sprain.

Moving on to the running game, the Lions were nearly as bad as the Chargers last season, averaging 3.6 yards per carry, forcing the front office to take action. Detroit selected a running back with its second-round pick this year, placing Nebraska product Ameer Abdullah into a committee role with Joique Bell and Theo Riddick. But as Lombardi told reporters, relayed by ESPN, Abdullah is expected to take on a full workload, rushing and catching passes.

San Diego struggled to stop the run last season, but Detroit's tendency is to air it out and get the ball to its playmakers.

Key Players and Matchups

Jason Verrett

Verrett has admitted, per XTRA 1360 FSSD, the receiver he's most looking forward to covering this season is Johnson, who is a matchup nightmare for any defender, let alone the smaller ones.

Pro Bowler and Miami Dolphins cornerback Brent Grimes, who is of a similar height and weight, squared off with Johnson last season, and although he succeeded in robbing Detroit's receiver of a touchdown, Johnson beat his man convincingly with over 100 yards in catches, one of which he pulled in for a 49-yard touchdown despite good coverage by Grimes.

Like Grimes, Verrett is also at a disadvantage right off the bat, but he didn't shy away from covering bigger receivers in college, which seems to have carried over to his pro career. Pay close attention to this matchup. It's got all the makings of a cliche underdog story, much like David versus Goliath.

Stevie Johnson

After countless seasons of bad quarterbacking in Buffalo and being underutilized with the San Francisco 49ers in 2014, Johnson is in a good spot to succeed this season. For starters, he finally gets to play with an elite-level passer. Secondly, the Chargers fully intend to use him.

As the newest addition in the slot receiver role, look for Johnson to be targeted often by Rivers, especially with the absence of Gates.

Danny Woodhead

After missing most of the 2014 season with a broken fibula, Woodhead is back to fulfill his duties as the team's change-of-pace back and third-down savant, whether it's catching passes, toting the rock on a draw play or picking up the blitz. He seems to do a lot of things well for San Diego, and he'll be counted on to do a little bit of everything against the Lions.

Prediction

The oddsmakers favor the Chargers at home, but not by much. This game isn't receiving the hype it should. Rivers verus Stafford is a marquee quarterback matchup, and both of these teams feature a lot of weapons on offense. Those two factors tend to make for a lot of scoring and entertaining television.

Ultimately, it comes down to which defense can hang in there and make a stop or force a turnover. Had this been scheduled for last season, the Lions would've been the pick simply because of how dominant their defense was. But it's 2015, and the Chargers will scrape out a victory in their home opener.

The defensive starters played well in the preseason, and while exhibition games should be taken with a grain of salt, Pagano's unit might end up surprising some people.

Predicted Score: Chargers 23, Lions 21