Which Lions player returning from injury will make the most of his opportunity against the Ravens?
Some key Lions players are returning from injuries. Who will have the most influence on Sunday?
As they prepare for a tough road game against the 4-2 Baltimore Ravens, the Detroit Lions are getting some much-needed help from a few key players who have returned from injury. Safety Brian Branch and running back Jahmyr Gibbs will be ready to go because they don’t have any injury designations, while Josh Paschal appears to be on the mend and might make his first action since Week 1.
That brings us to today’s Daily Question…
Which of the Lions’ injured players will have the most impact versus the Ravens?
Brian Branch is my response.
While the return of Gibbs is a significant boost for the offense, the Lions may still struggle on the ground against Baltimore’s seventh-ranked run defense. I expect Gibbs to have a bigger impact in the passing game than the running game on Sunday, but given how thin the Lions’ backfield is right now, Gibbs should get plenty of opportunities in both phases, so I wouldn’t rule out a big day for him.
Branch makes his return after recovering from a high ankle sprain that he suffered against Green Bay. His return couldn’t have come at a better time, because the Lions’ elite run defense will be facing their toughest test yet against the Ravens’ fourth-ranked rushing attack, and Branch has proven to be one of the best run defending DBs in the NFL in his short stint so far. In fact, according to PFF, Branch has the highest run stop percentage among all DBs, and his seven defensive stops in the run game—a stop being a tackle that constitutes a “loss” for the offense—is the most among all CBs despite missing two games.
The Ravens love to move their weapons around on offense, as Mark Andrews, Zay Flowers and Nelson Agholor have all received a good amount of reps in the slot this year. Those are the Ravens’ top three targeted players in the passing game, so you may be seeing a healthy dose of Brian Branch on your television screen come Sunday.
Your turn. Let us know what you think in the comments below.
