Though the Vikings hadn't been so great against the pass recently, allowing an average of 246.8 passing yards to the last four quarterbacks they faced, Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford made sure their No. 6 ranking against the pass this year held up Week 15 in Detroit, failing to reach even the 185 yards he had against them back in Week 6. He finished with a season-low 153 yards on 17-of-28 passing, throwing for just one touchdown.
This after back-to-back games with 300-plus passing yards in which he threw for a combined five touchdowns. Not even the great Calvin Johnson, who was absent for the previous meeting with the Vikings, could redeem Stafford in this one. He had 53 yards after averaging 152.0 yards the previous two weeks.
Of course, the Lions faced the Bears and Buccaneers in those two weeks, or the league's 24th- and 30th-ranked pass defenses heading into Week 15. The Vikings are certainly better than them. Still, for as few yards as they had allowed through the air, the touchdown-to-interception ratio against them was nothing foreboding. It didn't seem like an unfavorable matchup.
But with Stafford, if the numbers say it's an unfavorable matchup, it's an unfavorable matchup. He's been the most predictable quarterback in Fantasy this season; we just keep making it harder than it needs to be. The good news is that in Week 16 he'll be facing those same Bears that he torched in Week 13, so you'll want to keep him active if you're still alive in Fantasy.