jersey[/url] ,000 plays,'” Rivera said. “He does not want to leave the field. But for his own well-being as a football player, we have to be smart and be judicious as to when he’s out there.”Turner said that means finding so

DETROIT (AP) — A break in the schedule gave Detroit’s beleaguered offensive line a chance to rest and recover.Now comes one of the season’s biggest challenges — a matchup with the sack-happy Pittsburgh Steelers.“There’s no one guy to really clue in on. They’ve got quite a few Ed Oliver Jersey ,” quarterback Matthew Stafford said.“Their guys off the edge do a great job. Their guys in the middle push the pocket well, and they’re covering guys down in the back end. It goes hand in hand.”The AFC North-leading Steelers are tied for second in the NFL with 24 sacks, so Sunday night’s game will be quite a test for Stafford and the Lions. Detroit has allowed 17 sacks in its past three games, two of which were losses, and it remains to be seen how much last week’s open date helped the Lions refresh.Detroit added offensive linemen T.J. Lang and Rick Wagner in the offseason, but Lang missed the team’s most recent game at New Orleans on Oct. 15 with a back injury. Tackle Taylor Decker hasn’t played yet this season following shoulder surgery, and Greg Robinson — another new addition — has had his struggles.Stafford has been knocked around of late, and now the Lions (3-3) have to face a Pittsburgh team that’s allowing only 147 yards passing a game, the lowest mark in the NFL.Perhaps the most impressive development in the Steelers’ pass rush has been their ability to be effective without sending extra pressure. Pittsburgh’s four fourth-quarter sacks against Cincinnati last week came when the Steelers just sent four men after Andy Dalton while dropping seven into coverage.“When those guys (up front) are hot, it makes it that much easier to play linebacker and defensive back http://www.billsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-cody-ford-jersey ,” Pittsburgh middle linebacker Ryan Shazier said.The Steelers (5-2) have a comfortable two-game lead in their division, and their impressive defense is complemented by the usual offensive standouts. Le’Veon Bell is second in the league in rushing, and Antonio Brown is the NFL leader in yards receiving.“He’s quick as you could possibly think a receiver should be,” Lions coach Jim Caldwell said. “He can make you miss. He can run away from you. I mean, he can do it all. So, yeah he’s going to challenge every single conceivable defensive technique that you can possibly place in front of him.”Here are a few more things to watch when the Lions host the Steelers:A CHANCE TO BE ELI-TEAfter Martavis Bryant’s social media outburst following Pittsburgh’s victory over Cincinnati, the talented but enigmatic wide receiver indicated he’ll be inactive this weekend. That should mean more opportunities for Eli Rogers and Justin Hunter. Rogers was benched earlier in the season after fumbling a punt against Chicago but returned to the lineup against the Bengals, catching his first pass since Week 2. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger described Rogers’ play of late as a “resurgence.” While Rogers works almost exclusively in the slot, the 6-foot-4 Hunter may have the best chance at taking over Bryant’s role as a downfield threat.RETURN THREATDetroit already had a dependable kicker coming into the season in Matt Prater, and now the Lions have a legitimately dangerous returner in rookie Jamal Agnew Devin Singletary Jersey , who has taken two punts back for touchdowns already this season.TAKING IT AWAYDetroit got off to a 3-1 start in large part because of a plus-9 turnover differential. Since then, the Lions are minus-3 in that important statistic.Detroit turned the ball over five times in a loss to the Saints , although the Lions did have three takeaways of their own in that game, and their defense still has Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin’s attention.“I’ve been really impressed that they’re extremely opportunistic,” Tomlin said. “Passes get tipped in the NFL every weekend and oftentimes fall harmlessly to the ground, but boy, I think they’ve got nine interceptions. I think six of them are off of tipped passes, that’s not by circumstance.”THE OTHER KILLER B?The Steelers’ “Killer Bs” (Bell, Brown and Ben) better make way for another addition. Kicker Chris Boswell set a Heinz Field record by making five field goals against Cincinnati, and his reliability has helped Pittsburgh overcome some shaky performances inside the red zone.The Steelers are 30th in red zone touchdown percentage http://www.billsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-dawson-knox-jersey , with only 42 percent of their trips inside the opponent’s 20-yard line resulting in a TD.IN A RUTDetroit DE Ziggy Ansah had three sacks in a win over the New York Giants in Week 2, but he has only one since.“Just give him time,” Caldwell said. “He’s a tough guy, and does a nice job at what he does. Let’s see where he ends up.”—— SPARTANBURG, S.C. (AP) — The Panthers hope less means more for Christian McCaffrey in 2019.Offensive coordinator Norv Turner wants to increase McCaffrey’s touches this season while reducing the number of plays he’s on the field after the running back racked up a franchise-record 1,965 yards from scrimmage.“He told me he was going to give me the ball more and that’s music my ears. I got excited,” McCaffrey said.The 23-year-old McCaffrey had 1,098 yards rushing on 219 carries and 867 yards receiving on 107 receptions in 2018 — the most ever in a single season by an NFL running back — and earned second-team All-Pro honors.It came during a season where McCaffrey rarely left the field when the Panthers had the ball.He played a ridiculous 91.3 percent of Carolina’s offensive snaps in 2018 despite playing only 10 snaps in a meaningless Week 17 game against the Saints.That’s by far the most of any running back in the league. McCaffrey’s 965 offensive snaps outpaced the Cowboys’ Ezekiel Elliott (890), the Giants‘ Saquon Barkley (853) and the Rams’ Todd Gurley (825).All other NFL running backs played fewer than 750 snaps.But too often the Panthers felt McCaffrey was needlessly used as a decoy when he could have benefited from taking a few plays off and been fresher and even more explosive when he touched the football.“We want the ball in Christian’s hands,” Rivera said. “When he’s on the field Brian Burns Jersey , there’s no reason for him to be a decoy or be a swing guy. … What we want to do is take away the excess plays that he doesn’t have to be out there.”McCaffrey’s 326 touches aren’t even in the same league as some of the previous running backs Turner has coached.Emmitt Smith and Ricky Williams each had two seasons where they had more than 400 touches under Turner, while LaDainian Tomlinson had one season with 398 touches and another with 375.So Turner isn’t afraid to lean heavily on his No. 1 back.McCaffrey has worked hard this offseason on his stamina in anticipation of a greater workload. He’s added plenty of muscle in his upper and lower body although he downplayed it by shrugging his shoulders and saying it’s “only one or two pounds.”He said he’s been more focused on improving his speed.“I prepare so that I can be in the whole game,” McCaffrey said. “I felt great all last year, felt great all offseason, and I feel really good right now. The goal for me is be ready to play, be ready to get the ball as many times as possible.”Rivera has no doubt McCaffrey is ready for what’s ahead this season.“He constantly tells me, ‘Coach, if we play 1,000 plays, I want to play 1 http://www.panthersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-greg-little-jersey ,000 plays,'” Rivera said. “He does not want to leave the field. But for his own well-being as a football player, we have to be smart and be judicious as to when he’s out there.”Turner said that means finding someone else to give McCaffrey a breather, something he hopes to accomplish in the upcoming preseason games.Cameron Artis-Payne returns for this fifth season with the Panthers and is the odd-on favorite to be McCaffrey’s primary backup. Reggie Bonnafon is an intriguing player with a similar skillet to McCaffrey, and the team also drafted Jordan Scarlett and signed undrafted rookie Elijah Holyfield, son of former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield.“We have a good mix of guys and we have to find the answers,” Rivera said.NOTES: Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly has been working with the second team in team drills, a sign that the six-time Pro Bowl selection will skip the team’s preseason opener Thursday night at Chicago after getting dinged up last week. Jermaine Carter has been working with the starters. … Carolina released its first depth charter with Kyle Allen listed as the backup quarterback behind Cam Newton, followed by rookie Will Grier and Taylor Heinicke. … Rivera said the most intriguing battle this season at training camp has been at nickel back.