Lions matchup at Saints features opposing coaches who have a history together

DETROIT (8-3) at NEW ORLEANS (5-6)

Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, FOX

AGAINST THE SPREAD: Lions 7-4; Saints 3-7-1.

SERIES RECORD: Saints lead 13-12-1.

LAST MEETING: Saints beat Lions 35-29 on Oct. 4, 2020, in Detroit.

LAST WEEK: Lions lost to Packers 29-22; Saints lost to Falcons 24-15.

LIONS OFFENSE: OVERALL (2), RUSH (6), PASS (3), SCORING (7).

LIONS DEFENSE: OVERALL (10), RUSH (5), PASS (20), SCORING (24).

SAINTS OFFENSE: OVERALL (12), RUSH (19), PASS (11), SCORING (18).

SAINTS DEFENSE: OVERALL (12), RUSH (23), PASS (7), SCORING (8).

TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Lions minus-5; Saints plus-6.

LIONS PLAYER TO WATCH: QB Jared Goff. He has six turnovers in two games. Goff lost three fumbles in last week's loss after throwing three INTs in the previous game before helping the team rally from a 12-point deficit to beat Chicago.

SAINT PLAYER TO WATCH: RB Alvin Kamara had 119 total yards last Sunday in Atlanta.

KEY MATCHUP: Goff, the NFL's fifth-leading passer, against a Saints secondary that has ranked in the top quarter of the league in yards allowed passing all season and ranks second in the NFL in interceptions with 14.

KEY INJURIES: Lions LB Alex Anzalone, who was drafted by the Saints in 2017 and played for them for four seasons, is expected to miss the game with an injury. ... G Jonah Jackson (wrist) will likely be out for the sixth time in seven games. ... Saints DE Cam Jordan has an ankle injury while S Marcus Maye has a shoulder injury. WR Rashid Shaheed (thigh), LB Pete Werner (shoulder) and RB Kendre Miller (ankle) also missed some practice time this week. ... WR Chris Olave returned to practice on a limited basis this week as he sought to come back from a concussion last week.

SERIES NOTES: The Saints have won the past two meetings. Lions coach Dan Campbell and Saints coach Dennis Allen not only worked together in New Orleans as assistants under Sean Payton, they also both played at Texas A&M. Campbell also played tight end for the Saints' 2009 Super Bowl-winning team. Allen was the secondary coach for the Saints that year. The Lions and Saints have not played each other since Campbell was hired as Detroit coach in 2021.

STATS AND STUFF: Since the Lions lost to Miami on Oct. 30, 2022, they have won at least three straight games after every setback. ... Detroit WR Amon-Ra St. Brown is eight catches away from joining Odel Beckham Jr. and Michael Thomas as the three players in NFL history with 90-plus receptions and at least 900 yards receiving in each of their first three seasons. ... Rookie Brian Branch and Baltimore's Kyle Hamilton are the two NFL DBs with at least seven tackles for losses and six passes defended this season. ... The Lions are the league's only team that has four players with 500-plus yards from scrimmage: St. Brown, RB David Montgomery, rookie RB Jahmyr Gibbs and rookie TE Sam LaPorta. ... Montgomery, in his fifth season, has a career-high nine rushing TDs. ... Detroit didn't have a sack on Thanksgiving against Green Bay. ... Saints QB Derek Carr passed for 304 yards in Week 12, his fifth game with at least 300 yards passing this season, tied for second most in NFL. … Carr has not thrown a TD pass since throwing two in a Week 9 win over Chicago. … RB Alvin Kamara had 119 scrimmage yards (69 rushing, 50 receiving) in Week 12, his third game with at least 50 yards rushing and 50 receiving this season, the most in NFL. … Kamara leads all RBs with 54 catches and ranks third with 355 yards receiving. … Kamara has 70-plus scrimmage yards in 12 straight games, the longest active streak in NFL. … Saints RB Jamaal Williams spent the past two seasons (2021-22) with Detroit and set the Lions single-season, franchise-record for TDs rushing in a season with 17 in 2022. … WR Chris Olave has been recovering from a concussion this week. He had seven catches for season-high 114 yards receiving in Week 12, his sixth-career 100-yard game. … QB Taysom Hill had a season-high 81 scrimmage yards (55 receiving, 26 rushing) in Week 12 and has at least 50 scrimmage yards in five of his past six games. … DE Carl Granderson led the Saints with career-high 10 tackles in Week 12. … Granderson is one of two defensive linemen this season, along with the Raiders’ Maxx Crosby, with at least 50 tackles and 10 or more tackles for loss. … CB Paulson Adebo has a career-high 13 passes defensed in his third NFL season. … S Tyrann Mathieu had his fourth-career game with two INTs in Week 12 & has 32 career INTs, fourth most among active players. … S Marcus Maye has at least one tackle for loss in each of his past two games.

FANTASY TIP: The Saints have not been consistently good against the run this season, so Detroit's Montgomery could be in for another productive game.

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