Detroit Lions vs. New Orleans Saints: 3 Biggest Keys to a Lions Upset

The Detroit Lions are not going to get blown out by the New Orleans Saints...as long as they follow three simple rules.

Matthew Stafford wasn’t completely healthy for the 31-17 regular season loss and Ndamukong Suh was suspended. Safety Louis Delmas was injured as well.

It’s not going to be easy, but here are the three keys to beating Drew Brees and the Saints:

Detroit Must Establish the Run

The Lions have had a patchwork running game since losing Jahvid Best for the year and that needs to change on Saturday.

Kevin Smith will be the starter, with Maurice Morris getting touches as well. If they can find holes in the Saints font four, the Lions will be able to control the clock and more importantly, keep Brees off the field. They don’t need a 100-yard rusher, just four yards per carry. The Lions have to keep their offense balanced.

The Lions don’t want to get in a shootout, and keeping the chains moving on the ground is the key to avoiding one.

Matthew Stafford Must Stay Calm

This is the biggest game of the third-year pro’s life and he’ll be playing it in one of the most hostile environment’s in the NFL. The noise in Superdome is going to be at a defying pitch and the offense will likely have to use silent counts.

Luckily for Stafford, he plays home games in a dome and is used to the unique sound situation. As long as he keeps his O-Line away from false starts, Stafford should be able to carve up a mediocre Saints secondary.

Stafford threw for over 5,000 yards and is more than capable of having a big game as long as he keeps his nerves under control.

Force Turnovers

The Lions pass defense progressively got worse as the season wore on and they ended up finishing 22nd in the league (240 YPG).

With the guidance of Suh and Kyle Vanden Bosch, the Lions frontline has to get pressure on Brees. Flushing him from the pocket is going to be imperative to force the potential MVP into poor throws.

If Brees is getting sacked, knocked down and hurried on a regular basis, the Lions will be in this game until the very end.