The Lions’ run defense has been “leaky,” according to Detroit coach Jim Schwartz.
They gave up 204 yards rushing to San Francisco on Sunday, including runs of 47 and 55 yards by Frank Gore. He finished with 141 yards on 15 carries.
“The biggest thing was the long runs they popped,” Schwartz said. “They were about half of those rushing yards. That looks a lot different if those two are not there.”
The Lions have allowed 129.5 yards per game, which ranks 26th in the NFL. The Falcons have averaged 110 yards per game, which ranks 10th.
Falcons running back Michael Turner is coming off his best game of the season, a 139-yard effort on 27 carries Sunday against Carolina.
“We need to do a good job of stopping the run,” Schwartz said. “That’s something that we have to do. We have an outstanding run defense. They’ve played very, very well at times.”
Turner rushed for 114 yards and averaged 5.4 yards per carry Sept. 18 against Philadelphia’s wide-tackle scheme. Detroit features the same alignment.
“They have two great ends, but their inside players are probably better than Philadelphia’s,” Turner said. “They are stouter up the middle, so we are not going in there thinking it’s going to be the same as Philadelphia.”
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