The Detroit Lions host the Los Angeles Rams tonight in a primetime Wild Card matchup at Ford Field. It’s win or go home, and this game is full of interesting matchups.
Here are five things to watch out for tonight:
The atmosphere at Ford Field will be the most electric in the building’s 22-year history, and that includes the Monday night game in 2011 where it was so loud the Chicago Bears false-started nine times and my ears didn’t stop ringing until a few hours after the game.
Lions fans have been so hungry for a division title and a home playoff game they could threaten the NFL record for decibel level. Linebacker Alex Anzalone gave the Ford Field faithful a friendly reminder to be loud while the Rams are in the huddle to disrupt communication there and not just at the line of scrimmage.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford has been doing this for a long time and has faced plenty of loud road environments and having to play with silent counts and hand communications, but it’s always advantage defense in those situations. The Rams do a lot of pre-snap motions and have some young players upfront, and it just takes one miscommunication to lead to a big play on defense.
Can the crowd ramp up the noise to a level where it can have an effect on the game?
