Lions Defense vs Chargers Offense
I won’t sugar coat it. The Lions have questions on defense coming into this game. Besides Ansah, where does the quarterback pressure come from? How does Tyrunn Walker do as a full-time player? With DeAndre Levy out how much does that hurt the team? Plus make no mistake about it, Phillip Rivers is an underrated quarterback and should be considered in the top five.
The good news for the defense is Rivers’ bread and butter, Antonio Gates is out but that’s not what concerns me. The San Diego offseason focus was on one thing, get Rivers help. They invested in two offensive linemen and drafted Melvin Gordon out of Wisconsin. Gordon is easily the most talented player Rivers has had to work with in years. This is where the loss of Levy hurts, instead of the Charger focus being on staying away from a tackling machine and playmaker like Levy, the field is opened up, and if these upgrades stop the Lions from getting pressure Rivers will pick them apart making this game more of a shootout then it needs to be.
I expect Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin to mix up some blitz packages and different looks to confuse Rivers.
