WEEK 11 PREVIEW: Lions back home but face tough matchup with Carolina

DETROIT — Matthew Stafford and the Detroit Lions have three straight home games coming up - probably their last chance to turn their season around and make a run at a playoff spot.

The opposition is formidable, though.

After three consecutive losses, the Lions host Carolina on Sunday. That game is followed by a Thanksgiving matchup with Chicago and another home test against the NFC West-leading Rams. There's time for Detroit to rally, but the path forward looks difficult.

"I think everybody's doing everything they can to try and get us going," said Stafford, whose team has scored only 20 first-half points over the past three games. "I think it's a total team effort. Everybody's trying to play better at all positions."

Past Panthers coverage

The Lions (3-6) will face a Carolina team that's in a much better spot, although the Panthers (6-3) are trying to rebound as well from their most recent outing, a 52-21 loss to the Steelers on Nov. 8. The 52 points allowed tied the most in franchise history. Pittsburgh scored on seven of its first eight possessions.

"I don't think that is indicative of who we are as a football team," Panthers coach Ron Rivera said. "One game is not going to define who we are going forward. It is an example of what happens if we don't play to our abilities and stick to our fundamentals, don't play the defense, offense or special teams play the way that it is called."

The Lions and Panthers are in different divisions, but they did meet last season, when Carolina won 27-24 in Detroit. Cam Newton threw for three touchdowns in that game, and Stafford threw for two.

A few more things to watch when the Lions host the Panthers:

MISMATCH?

The Lions are 28th in the NFL against the run, and now they'll have to face Carolina's versatile running back Christian McCaffrey, who has seven touchdowns in the past three weeks. McCaffrey has run 45 times for 201 yards and caught 14 passes for 150 yards during that span.

McCaffrey has been on the field for 96 percent of his team's offensive snaps, more than any running back in the NFL.

ROLLING

Newton has thrown for at least two touchdowns in eight consecutive games, a franchise record.

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"Obviously one of the most dangerous quarterbacks in the NFL and someone that can really change the outcome of the game all by himself," Lions coach Matt Patricia said. "Still has obviously all the athletic ability, the arm strength now just kind of combined with the experience and his knowledge of the game. And he's just really been able to take it to the next level and carry those guys around him."

SPEED ON TURF

The Panthers will get to see how their much-improved team speed does in their first game this season on artificial turf.

Carolina added D.J. Moore from Maryland in the first round of the NFL draft, while fellow wide receiver Curtis Samuel back after an injury-plagued rookie season.

"It's going to be fun to see," Rivera said. "We've got some quick guys who will be even quicker on turf."

Detroit has allowed 16 sacks in the past two games, and the Lions put guard T.J. Lang on injured reserve this week. The Lions still have a couple of recent first-round draft picks on their offensive line in Taylor Decker and Frank Ragnow, but pass protection will be an area to watch this week.

Detroit's running game has improved a bit, but it wasn't of much use last week after the Lions fell behind 26-0 in the second quarter of a loss at Chicago .

MEETING AGAIN

DE Julius Peppers of the Panthers is still a factor at age 38. He had a sack in the game against Pittsburgh.

Back in 2010, Peppers sacked Stafford, injuring his right shoulder. Peppers played for Chicago then, and he's also spent time with Green Bay, so the Lions have seen plenty of him.

"He's 6-6, 295 pounds, whatever he is. Extremely athletic, very smart player," Stafford said. "He's seen a lot of football, he's a smart rusher. We've seen him do just some things late in the pass rush, getting sacks, that's pretty special."

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Panthers defense aims to put 'humbling' loss behind them

Thomas Davis said Carolina's most recent loss could turn out to be a positive for the Panthers moving forward.

That's why Davis thanked Steelers coach Mike Tomlin at midfield for "humbling" the Panthers after his team put up 52 points on Carolina's once-vaunted defense last Thursday night.

The 13-year NFL veteran explained Wednesday that the embarrassing performance might have been just what Carolina (6-3) needed to regain its focus on defense, for players to get on the same page and make a playoff run beginning this Sunday when the Panthers visit the Lions.

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"If you are true competitor, you want to bounce back and you want to do something about it," Davis said. "I'm a competitor and I want to get that taste out of my mouth."

The Panthers have been a perennial top 10 defense since middle linebacker Luke Kuechly's arrival in 2012, making their performance against Pittsburgh all that much more surprising. The Steelers scored on seven of their first eight possessions; the only time they failed to do so was when they took a knee before halftime to run out the clock.

"It's not something that happens a lot around here," Kuechly said of surrendering 52 points.

Things have gone so well for Carolina on defense in recent years that the last two coordinators left to take head coaching jobs - Sean McDermott in Buffalo and Steve Wilks in Arizona.

But things aren't going so well for Eric Washington, Carolina's third defensive coordinator in three seasons.

The Panthers are 15th in the league overall and 31st in red zone defense.

Washington said a "myriad of things" went wrong against the Steelers.

"We had execution issues," said Washington, the team's defensive line coach from 2011-2017. "... We have calls, we have leverage, we have gap responsibility. We have things that we have to do from one down to the next in terms of our assignment. And we did not get that done."

Washington's body of work as a defensive line coach was impressive.

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Since 2012, the Panthers have more gotten more sacks from their defensive linemen (234) than any team in the league. So for the Panthers to have only 22 sacks this season is disappointing to him.

"We're his pride and joy," defensive tackle Kawann Short said. "That's one of those things where he demands more out of us, and he knows what every guy in that room is capable of."

The Panthers didn't watch game film from Steelers loss as a team, instead electing to move on to preparations for Detroit. But Short said it feels like players are trying to do too much on their own instead of playing as a team.

"We just need to light our hair on fire, and just go," Short said.

Washington called the Steelers game an "anomaly," guaranteeing the Panthers will rectify their problems.

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When players returned from a long weekend off he reminded them of this team's long-standing identity as a defensive power, as well as the amount of talent in the locker room. Along with defensive end Julius Peppers, Kuechly has a chance to be a Hall of Famer.

"We have a high opinion of what we should be able to do every time we step on the football field," Washington said.

Kuechly said now it's time to focus on Detroit.

"One game doesn't define a season," Kuechly said. "And I don't think you can waste time thinking about something in the past when you play a good team this week."

CAROLINA (6-3) at DETROIT (3-6)

Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, Fox

OPENING LINE - Panthers by 3

RECORD VS. SPREAD - Carolina 5-4, Detroit 5-4

SERIES RECORD - Panthers lead 6-2

LAST MEETING - Panthers beat Lions 27-24, Oct. 8, 2017

LAST WEEK - Panthers lost to Steelers 52-21; Lions lost to Bears 34-22

AP PRO32 RANKING - Panthers No. 8, Lions No. 25

PANTHERS OFFENSE - OVERALL (18), RUSH (3), PASS (24).

PANTHERS DEFENSE - OVERALL (15), RUSH (9), PASS (7).

LIONS OFFENSE - OVERALL (23), RUSH (23), PASS (22).

LIONS DEFENSE - OVERALL (19), RUSH (28), PASS (8).

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STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES - Carolina QB Cam Newton threw for 355 yards and three touchdowns in last meeting with Lions. Detroit's Matthew Stafford threw for 229 yards and two TDs. ... Panthers DE Mario Addison has 3 ½ sacks in past two meetings with Lions. ... Carolina has intercepted 11 passes this season, while Detroit has just three INTs. ... Panthers' Christian McCaffrey is one of three NFL RBs with at least 50 receptions and 1,000 yards from scrimmage this season. ... Carolina CB Donte Jackson leads all rookies with four interceptions. ... Panthers' Greg Olsen has 661 receptions and needs two to move into fifth place on career list for TEs. He needs 105 yards receiving to move into seventh place for TEs. ... Since 2013, Panthers are 26-14 in games decided by seven points or fewer. They have won five straight games decided by three or fewer. ... Stafford is third in NFL since 2011 with 34,332 yards passing. ... Detroit's Kerryon Johnson is second among rookies with 757 yards from scrimmage and fourth with 554 yards rushing. ... Lions have allowed 16 sacks in last two games. ... Detroit has only gone three-and-out on 11.2 percent of possessions, third-best mark in league. ... Stafford set for 122nd consecutive start, which would tie Joe Flacco for sixth-longest streak among QBs. ... Lions K Matt Prater is 45 of 60 in career from at least 50 yards. ... Stafford has not thrown more than 13 INTs since 2013, but he's at eight already this season. ... Fantasy tip: Newton has thrown at least two TD passes in eight straight games, longest streak in franchise history.

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