DETROIT -- — Pittsburgh Steelers (8-6) at Detroit Lions (8-6)

Sunday, 4:25 p.m. EST, CBS.

NFL Odds: Lions by 7.

Against the spread: Steelers 8-6, Lions 8-6.

Series record: Steelers lead 17-14-2.

Last meeting: Lions and Steelers tied 16-16, OT, in Pittsburgh on Nov. 14, 2021.

Last week: Steelers beat Dolphins 28-15, Lions lost to Rams 41-34.

Steelers offense: overall (27), rush (28), pass (23), scoring (13).

Steelers defense: overall (28), rush (19), pass (27), scoring (18).

Lions offense: overall (4), rush (5), pass (3), scoring (1).

Lions defense: overall (21), rush (13), pass (24), scoring (23).

Turnover differential: Lions plus-9; Steelers plus-10.

Steelers player to watch

RB Kenneth Gainwell. He has emerged as an every-down back after spending most of his first four seasons in Philadelphia as a third-down option. Gainwell has already set career highs in touches (150) and yards from scrimmage (783) and his 57 receptions lead the team. While Jaylen Warren nominally remains the feature back, Gainwell has shown an ability to pop off big runs and his pass-catching skills help extend drives.

Lions player to watch

RB Jahmyr Gibbs. The speedy running back has scored 47 touchdowns in 46 career games and has 1,100 yards rushing at 5.5 yards per carry this season. His 1,594 yards from scrimmage rank sixth in the NFL and his 6.1 yards per touch is eighth. If teams can hold him in check, the Lions’ play-action passing game tends to struggle.

Key matchup

Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers against the Detroit secondary. If any quarterback knows how to win at Ford Field, it's Rodgers. He won eight of his first 11 starts in Detroit, including his 61-yard touchdown pass to Richard Rodgers on the final play of Green Bay’s 27-23 win on Dec. 3, 2015 — a game in which Detroit led by 11 points in the final four minutes. However, it has been five years since his last win: The Packers lost in 2021 and 2022.

Key injuries

Lions: Detroit’s secondary remains a significant issue. S Brian Branch recently had surgery on his torn Achilles tendon and is expected be out for 8-to-12 months. Detroit’s other starting safety, Kerby Joseph, hasn’t practiced this week as he struggles to return from a knee injury. CB Amik Robertson is dealing with a hand injury and CB Terrion Arnold is on injured reserve with a shoulder injury. … OL Christan Mahogany (leg) participated in Wednesday’s walkthrough and could return Sunday.

Steelers: LB T.J. Watt is expected to miss his second straight game after having surgery to repair a partially collapsed lung. ... LB Nick Herbig could sit out after injuring his hamstring late on Monday night against Miami. If Herbig and Watt both don’t play, that leaves Alex Highsmith and rookie Jack Sawyer as the primary options on the edge. ... Veteran LG Isaac Seumalo is dealing with a triceps injury. ... CB James Pierre (calf) could miss his third straight game. ... Rookie DT Derrick Harmon is expected to return from a knee injury.

Series notes

This will be Detroit’s second matchup with the Steelers with Dan Campbell as coach and first since Nov. 14, 2021. That game turned out to be a turning point for the Lions, who came in at 0-8 in Campbell’s first season. The game finished in a 16-16 tie and the Lions have gone 47-26 since. ... Pittsburgh is 5-0-1 against the Lions in the 21st century and also won Super Bowl XL at Ford Field. ... Detroit’s last win — 19-16 in OT on Thanksgiving Day in 1998 — is infamous for the botched coin flip at the start of overtime. However, the game also has historical value: It was the last win of Barry Sanders’ NFL career.

Stats and stuff

The Steelers have won two straight following a 2-5 midseason funk to take a one-game lead over Baltimore in the AFC North. ... Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin won his 191st game last week against Miami, moving him past Dan Reeves and into 10th place on the NFL’s career list. Next up is Steelers Hall of Fame coach Chuck Noll in ninth with 193 regular-season victories. ... Pittsburgh can clinch its 22nd straight non-losing season with a victory or a tie, which would surpass the Dallas Cowboys for the longest stretch in NFL history of finishing .500 or better. Dallas went 21 years without a losing season from 1965-85. ... Rodgers is 18-8 with 54 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions all-time against the Lions dating to his long run in Green Bay earlier in his career, though Detroit swept the season series from the Packers during Rodgers’ final season in Green Bay in 2022, including a win at Lambeau in the season finale that cost the Packers a playoff spot. ... Rodgers has bounced back over the last two weeks, completing 75% (46 of 61) of his passes for 508 yards and three touchdowns without a pick. ... The Steelers are just 2-11 all-time during Watt’s nine-year career when the perennial Pro Bowler is out of the lineup, though one of those wins came last week against Miami. ... Pittsburgh is 42-29-1 all-time in the game following an appearance on “Monday Night Football,” including a 12-7 mark on the road. The one tie came at home against Detroit in 2021 in Campbell’s first season. ... The Lions will play a 59th straight regular-season game without losing two in a row, the NFL’s longest streak since San Francisco played 60 consecutive games without back-to-back setbacks in the regular season from late in the 1995 season to early in the 1999 season. … The Lions have alternated wins and losses in their last 10 games. … Detroit QB Jared Goff is third in the NFL with 3,672 yards passing, second with 29 touchdown throws and seventh in interception percentage. In the last two weeks, he has thrown for 647 yards, three touchdowns and zero INTs. … Lions WRs Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams combined for 20 catches for 298 yards and three touchdowns in last week’s 41-34 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

Fantasy tip

The Lions have allowed 30 points in three straight games and five times total this season, meaning it might be a good time to stack up on Pittsburgh’s offensive players. Gainwell and WR D.K. Metcalf could have big days, and Rodgers is always worth a look in Detroit.

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