The general consensus is that when the Los Angeles Rams acquired Matthew Stafford from the Detroit Lions, that was the final ingredient that transformed the Rams from a playoff team to a Super Bowl champion. And as BetOnline customers are well aware, Jared Goff, who went the other way in that trade, has had to live with it.

Well, now it is Goff's opportunity to place the shoe on the other foot. His Lions are the NFC North champions, due in no small part to his stewardship of the explosive Detroit offense, and he takes the favored team into action on Sunday night against the Rams in an NFC wild card playoff game that kicks off shortly after 8 PM ET at Ford Field in the Motor City.

Goff has compiled some very impressive numbers - 4575 yards and 30 touchdowns.The important thing for the offense that is orchestrated by Ben Johnson (a hot head coaching candidate) is that Goff has been able to execute play action passes, throwing more of them, for more yards, than anyone in the NFL.

And he's been able to do that because Detroit made a commitment to the run after a lot of years of coaches ignoring it. Arguably, their duo of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs is the best in the NFL. They've got almost 2000 yards between them.

Stafford got voted into another Pro Bowl this season. His numbers didn't overwhelm (3965 yards) but he was not 100% for the whole season.

If you would have said that Cooper Kupp would have only 737 yards receiving, that would have sounded like a danger sign for the Rams. But out of nowhere (the fourth round, to be exact) they found a rookie who shattered record. Puka Nacua, who they got out of BYU,caught 105 passes for 1486 yards, both of which are the most ever for a rookie. And if you asked Sean McVay, the real difference-maker has been running back Kyren Williams, who has mowed down offenses for 1144 yards and five per carry, and he is working behind an offensive line that is the fifth-highest graded by analytics site Pro Football Focus. So this is a complete unit.

In the NFC wild card playoffg odds that have been posted on this game by the people at BetOnline, the Lions are the favorites:

Detroit Lions -3 (-115)
Los Angeles Rams +3 (-105)

Over 52.5 Points -115
Under 52.5 Points -105

The Lions are actually the team that might be in the better position to stop the run, as they've been pretty steady in that regard, surrendering just 3.7 yards per rush attempt. Of course, we don't forget that Aaron Donald, one of the top defensive tackles ever, anchors that L.A.front line. Detroit's O-Line, where tackle Penei Sewell and center Frank Ragnow are All-Pros, is rated #1 by Pro Football Focus in run blocking.

Speaking of PFF, neither team grades very high when it comes to pass coverage, ranking among the bottom four in the league. That opens things up for these quarterbacks. And the Lions' receivers simply can't be ignored, especially as they include Amon-Ra St. Brown (119 catches, 1515 yards) and rookie tight end Sam LaPorta, who should be in the lineup despite nursing an injury.

What has to be considered is the experience of the Rams, who won the Super Bowl just two seasons ago and still have a lot of the players from that team. And if you've been watching them down the stretch, you know that they have been red hot, winning seven of the last eight and covering six of the last seven. If they can avoid massive special teams blunders (which they've been known to sustain), they have a real chance to advance.

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