Can the Lions run the ball on the 49ers?

The Detroit Lions have a big matchup set for Sunday with the San Francisco 49ers. Both teams are just one win away from going to Super Bowl LVIII. There is a lot of mirroring here when it comes to the offenses of both teams. They're both units that want to run the ball and it feels like the game will favor whoever is able to do that.

The Lions have the second best run stopping unit in the league when it comes to rushing yards allowed. They allowed just 1,509 yards all year. The 49ers are right behind them in third. They've allowed just 16 more yards this season. That begs the question. Can the Lions ball carriers move the ball on this 49ers team? Let's take a deeper look. 

First, have the 49ers played any really good rushing units? Or have they been beating up on bad ones all year? Sometimes that final number doesn't tell the full story. Here's the rush DVOA ranks of every offense both the Lions and 49ers have faced this season:

Pretty even for both teams. They've both had to deal with mostly the same teams. They both got beat up by the Ravens. They both had troubles stopping the Packers on the ground as well. The 49ers did not have to deal with the Bears twice though. The Bears accounted for 325 yards combined on the Lions. They just can't seem to stop that team. The 49ers version of the Bears is the Cardinals. They racked up 339 yards on the 49ers this year. 

Like I said, pretty evenly matched. Where things change, and where the Lions have a chance is that the 49ers have been struggling to stop the run game as of late. They were dominant to start the season, but that dominance has largely gone away in December and January. Here's the rush stats allowed for both teams over the last two months.

That's pretty impressive for the Lions. What makes it even more impressive is that the Lions have played one more game than the 49ers have in December and January. 

Taking all of that into account and adding to it that the Lions are second best unit the 49ers have faced in this timeline and I think you have a recipe that says the Lions can move the ball on this team. It also helps that the Lions are averaging 124.7 yards a game during that time. Since the Lions are all about setting up the pass with the run, they could have some real success on offense in this game and give themselves a great shot at winning.