How Detroit Lions Match Up with San Diego Chargers in Week 1

More often than not, the preseason raises more questions than it answers.

Yes, you get clarity regarding the Detroit Lions' fourth and fifth receivers, but who will handle the main returning responsibilities? And you want to know which running back to draft in fantasy football? Good luck.

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Ameer Abdullah looks like an NFL starting running back, but the Lions plan to use several RBs in 2015 http://t.co/VdnumlcLvn

— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) August 24, 2015"

The Lions play the San Diego Chargers in a late-afternoon game during which we will learn a lot about two teams. Las Vegas doesn't expect much from either squad, though. According to Odds Shark, both have 40-1 odds to win the Super Bowl, placing them squarely in the middle of the pack.

There are a few questions that will determine the outcome of this game—and both teams' seasons—but before we get to those, let's take a peek at the advantages for each side.

Detroit's Advantages

1. Antonio Gates' Suspension

Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

The Lions gave up the fifth-most catches (84) to tight ends in 2014, per FFtoday. While they generally did well in containing them after the catch (16th-most yards allowed), they still gave up almost 10 yards a toss.

However, the Chargers won't have eight-time Pro Bowler Antonio Gates for the opener since he was suspended four games "for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing substances," per Chargers.com.

San Diego's loss is a big gain for Detroit. Everyone remembers Jason Witten pulling a nickel and a first down from behind safety James Ihedigbo's ear last January, so the Chargers needing to turn to the unproven Ladarius Green only improves Detroit's odds of winning.

2. Calvin Johnson's Health

Conversely, Detroit will welcome back its best receiving threat in a form few have seen him in lately: healthy.

Calvin Johnson has made numerous practice observation notes because of his spryness, but none were more encouraging than Tim Twentyman's on DetroitLions.com.

"He’s the healthiest and strongest he’s felt in years and his comfort level in the offense in year two is extremely high," he wrote. "He and quarterback Matthew Stafford have always had a good rapport, but Johnson told DetroitLions.com that it’s been even stronger this offseason and in camp."

Don't forget he's only 29 years old. A healthy Calvin Johnson is still one of the scariest things to ever split out wide.

3. Better Front 7

There's not much of a comparison between the defensive front sevens. Detroit has proven talent in DeAndre Levy, Stephen Tulloch, Haloti Ngata and Ezekiel Ansah with defensive coordinator Teryl Austin pulling the strings.

San Diego is hoping that linebacker Melvin Ingram can get after the quarterback with more frequency because Dwight Freeney and his team-leading 53 quarterback pressures are gone. Corey Liuget was next on that list with 38 and nobody else had more than Ingram's 26.

San Diego's Advantages

1. Philip Rivers

Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Philip Rivers has posted a quarterback rating of at least 100 in a full season four times. His career rating of 95.7 is better than all but one of Stafford's NFL seasons. And the latter's best season-long completion percentage (63.5) would qualify as Rivers' seventh-best season.

We'll dig into Stafford more below, but it's impossible to argue that Rivers isn't the more distinguished quarterback.

Obviously, if the Packers can still be considered a Super Bowl favorite (11-2 odds) without Jordy Nelson or a strong defense, the positional value cannot be understated.

2. Strong Secondary

The issues with San Diego's front seven don't stretch back to the secondary. It's stocked with enough talent to give any offense pause.

Eric Weddle is one of the league's best safeties. The return of cornerback Jason Verrett should help out a secondary that was already highly respected, as Eric D. Williams of ESPN explained here:

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At 5-foot-9, Flowers is considered one of the better corners in the NFL, making the Pro Bowl in 2013 and leading the Chargers in interceptions last season with three. His presence alongside Pro Bowler Eric Weddle helped solidify a San Diego pass defense that held teams to just 214 passing yards per contest in 2014, ranking No. 4 in the NFL.

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Detroit's wide receivers generally have more trouble with physical secondaries, but the Chargers will offer their own sort of challenge with sticky coverage.

3. Home Field

People love to dismiss home-field advantage because of the perks of modern-day life, like chartered planes and luxury hotels. However, it's common knowledge that a Stafford-led team has never won a road game against an opponent with a winning record.

Obviously, these Lions haven't done their best work on the road.

In fact, the offense averaged just over 11.6 points in games at Green Bay, Arizona and New England last season. This trend could be halted this week, but until it is, the game location is relevant for our analysis.

The Big Questions

1. Which Rookie Running Back Lives Up to the Hype?

Both teams will rely on rookies to jumpstart rushing attacks that ranked in the bottom five last season.

Ameer Abdullah had the electrifying performance against the New York Jets in the first preseason game and has mostly been kept under wraps since.

Melvin Gordon, meanwhile, didn't hit the ground running. His natural instinct to hesitate behind the line of scrimmage and stutter-step is keeping him from hitting the hole quickly, which Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune described:

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It's just being decisive with my runs. Just being sharp and clean. ... You've got to calm down and keep telling yourself, 'It'll come to you.' I think that's what a lot of players and probably a lot of rookies have to learn. You want to be great so fast. Sometimes, it just doesn't happen that way. It's a process.

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It doesn't help Gordon's case that Detroit's dominant rushing defense will still be stout with Ngata in the middle. The answer to this question will go a long way toward determining which team sustains drives and wins the field position battle.

2. Which Revamped Offensive Line Holds Up?

When two rushing attacks are as poor as these two were last season, the offensive line is going to catch some heat. Both teams were aggressive in fixing the problem.

Detroit replaced two starters and nabbed two guards, including Laken Tomlinson with a first-round pick. San Diego went out and signed arguably the best guard on the free-agent market in Orlando Franklin.

So which one will spring those rookie running backs and keep their quarterbacks upright? Again, it would appear San Diego has the stiffer challenge, although Detroit has a few lingering injury concerns which could aid the Chargers' cause. MLive.com's Kyle Meinke has the details:

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DeAndre Levy missed #lions practice today. Now out 2 weeks. Really gotta wonder whether he'll be ready for opener. Warford, Reid out too.

— Kyle Meinke (@kmeinke) September 7, 2015"

3. Has Matthew Stafford Truly Improved?

The margin for error for Detroit's defense was often slim last season because of the offense's incompetence. Yes, the offensive line must open rushing lanes and protect better, but Stafford can ease those burdens with quicker decisions and accurate throws.

Through three preseason games, he's displayed improved mechanics and an excellent understanding of an offense that made Drew Brees a Super Bowl winner.

Those are two things that should carry over to the regular season.

The Lions have quite a few advantages, but San Diego knows the answer to its quarterbacking question. This is the first of many coin-toss games that could go either way for the Lions. The sooner they find out the truth about their signal-caller, the sooner we can all adjust our season outlook accordingly.

All advanced stats, grades and positional rankings are courtesy of Pro Football Focus.

Brandon Alisoglu is a Detroit Lions Featured Columnist who has written about the Lions on multiple sites. He also co-hosts a Lions-centric podcast, Lions Central Radio. Yell at him on Twitter about how wrong he is @BrandonAlisoglu.