Joique Bell Will Be X-Factor For Detroit Lions In Week 8

By Dominic Lancella on October 23, 2014

The Detroit Lions sit tied with the Green Bay Packers atop the NFC North after an amazing comeback victory against the New Orleans Saints last week. Matthew Stafford threw two touchdown passes in less than two minutes to stun the Saints, and now the Lions head on the road to face the Atlanta Falcons in Week 8.

While it’s no secret that the Lions use a pass-heavy offensive attack, Detroit must get the running game going. With that task in mind, Lions running back Joique Bell will be the X-factor against Atlanta. Many have been waiting for Reggie Bush to be the impact player in the backfield for Detroit, but it hasn’t happened because of injuries and the lack of a running game in general. Bush is the better back in the passing game, but Bell will be the more effective runner between the tackles, which is what Detroit needs.

Bell has carried 18 times with one touchdown in each of Detroit’s last two games, so expect him to receive another decent workload this week. There are a few important reasons that the Lions need to feed Bell often against the Falcons. For one thing, Calvin Johnson is still not close to being 100 percent, and it would greatly help him and the entire offense if they didn’t have to rely on the pass so much.

Building off of that, this is as good a chance as any for the Lions to break out on the ground, against an Atlanta defense that’s ranked 27th against the run. Detroit may be 5-2, but they have the 31st ranked rush offense and average just 3.1 yards per carry as a team. The Lions have only hit 100 yards or more twice in seven games, but Bell seems close to turning in a big day.

Bell’s longest run this season is only 17 yards, but the Falcons have the type of defense that is prone to conceding big plays. The fact is that Bell and the offensive line have to get it going in order to balance out this offense. Stafford has 252 pass attempts while the team has collectively run 185 times. If Detroit hopes to make a deep playoff run should they make it, they won’t survive being one-dimensional.

Bell’s production should take some of the pressure off of Stafford and help seal Detroit’s sixth win against an Atlanta team that hasn’t won a game since Sept. 18. This will Bell’s week to turn in his first 100-yard game of the season, and by doing so it will show that the Lions are indeed contenders this year.