Lions News

[froot loops]

Is there any team better right now? The first three teams have not run for shit.

[mason reese]

Up next the Green Bay Packers running attack that so far has averaged around 70 yards a game from the RBs

[chemiclord]

Is there any team better right now? The first three teams have not run for shit.

Several, surprisingly.

Tennessee, Tampa Bay, San Fran, Philly, and Cleveland all have statistically better run defenses at the moment. I suspect what's "hurting" the Lions averages is that the Lions have given up some significant chunks of yardage to QBs. Mahomes rushed for almost 50, for example, and Geno ran for 20.

[jaadam4]

I'm glad you were.

lol

[jaadam4]

Several, surprisingly.

Tennessee, Tampa Bay, San Fran, Philly, and Cleveland all have statistically better run defenses at the moment. I suspect what's "hurting" the Lions averages is that the Lions have given up some significant chunks of yardage to QBs. Mahomes rushed for almost 50, for example, and Geno ran for 20.

yup

[Mainevent]

Heard on a pod this morning that the Falcons averaged minus 0.75 yards before first contact against the Lions. That's impressive.

[whatever_gong82]

Remember when the Detroit Lions stunk at drafting? Shoutout Brad Holmes

For 3rd straight season, Lions have excellent rookie class


DETROIT – Remember those conversations we all used to have with coworkers on Monday mornings after the Detroit Lions lost?

“Good thing the Lions drafted a tight end when the defense can’t stop anybody.”

“Why can’t Jahlani Tavai tackle? He was a second-round pick!”

“Nobody told the Lions that Teez Tabor is slow?”


Years of draft futility


Whether it was Matt Millen, Martin Mayhew, or Bob Quinn, the Lions would always make these head-scratching decisions on draft day that nobody else understood.

Occasionally they would strike gold in the middle rounds, like when they took Kenny Golladay in the third. But that same draft class was led by Jarrad Davis in the first and Tabor in the second -- two wasted selections.

Think about the bust rate on Lions first-round picks from 2014 to 2020:

2014: Eric Ebron
2015: Laken Tomlinson
2016: Taylor Decker
2017: Jarrad Davis
2018: Frank Ragnow
2019: T.J. Hockenson
2020: Jeff Okudah


Only two of those seven picks (Decker and Ragnow) were definitively successful. Hockenson was fairly productive, and the Lions traded him for solid value, so we’ll count that as a win.

But even that means the Lions whiffed on four of seven first-round picks before Brad Holmes arrived. And that hardly scratches the surface of Detroit’s drafting futility.

Check out the team’s second- and third-round picks from that same timeframe:


2014: Kyle Van Noy, Travis Swanson
2015: Ameer Abdullah, Alex Carter
2016: A’Shawn Robinson, Graham Glasgow
2017: Teez Tabor, Kenny Golladay
2018: Kerryon Johnson, Tracy Walker
2019: Jahlani Tavai, Will Harris
2020: D’Andre Swift, Julian Okwara




Some of these players turned out fine, but how many can you confidently label as great values? Golladay and Walker? Harris and Swift were solid, but probably pretty close to what you should expect from early picks.

Even if you’re feeling generous, the success rate on that list is no higher than 50%, and when you combine that with the first-round struggles, it’s easy to see why the Lions never built a winner.

Enter: Brad Holmes, a draft genius

When Holmes arrived in Detroit, the quality of draft picks turned on a dime. He doesn’t just hit on the early picks, either -- all three seasons have yielded at least one star outside the first round.

In 2021, Holmes made Penei Sewell his first selection as general manager. In the 2+ seasons since, Sewell has not only become one of the best tackles in the league, but also a leader in the locker room.



That draft was highlighted by the selection of Amon-Ra St. Brown in the fourth round. In 36 games, he’s already racked up more than 200 catches and 2,300 yards. A guy picked outside the top 100 of his own draft is now regarded as one of the top 20 receivers in the world.

Holmes also selected Alim McNeill, Ifeatu Melifonwu, and Derrick Barnes in the middle rounds of the 2021 draft, and all three are playing key roles on a team with playoff aspirations.

Then, in 2022, Holmes did something very un-Lions-like. When the best player in the draft fell to him at No. 2, he simply decided to draft him. No, he didn’t try to be the smartest guy in the room and reach for an unproven cornerback or flashy tight end -- he took Aidan Hutchinson, a Heisman Trophy finalist from his own backyard.




Hutchinson is now the leader of the defense, a menace in the pass rush with an endless motor. He forced Patrick Mahomes into a handful of incompletions in the opener and ended Sunday’s win over the Falcons with a strip sack and fumble recovery.

But guess what? Hutchinson wasn’t even the rookie sack leader from his own draft class. Sixth-round pick James Houston played in the final seven games last season and sacked the quarterback eight times.



But guess what!? Houston wasn’t even the best sixth-round pick from last year’s draft class -- Malcolm Rodriguez made 87 tackles and 62 solo tackles while leading an undermanned linebacker group.

The list goes on and on.



Fast forward to Sunday, when the Lions leaned on a dominant defensive performance to suffocate the undefeated Falcons. The best player on the field by a wide margin was second-round rookie Brian Branch.

Branch made 11 solo tackles, three tackles for loss, and two pass break-ups. He delivered some massive hits that forced incompletions, thrived in coverage, and made critical tackles in space.

It’s only three games into his professional career, but Branch looks like a star. And Holmes traded up to select him at No. 45 overall. Genius.

Detroit’s other second-round pick, Sam LaPorta, has already become one of Jared Goff’s favorite targets. He has 18 catches for 186 yards and a touchdown through three games.


When you watch a Lions game, you suddenly realize all the best players on the field are home-grown draft picks. Somehow, some way, the Lions have become a franchise that knows how to build a roster of young, talented players.

Yes, this is the Detroit Lions we’re talking about. Shoutout Brad Holmes. You’ve done the impossible.


Copyright 2023 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved.

Derick Hutchinson

Derick is the Lead Digital Editor for ClickOnDetroit and has been with Local 4 News since April 2013. Derick specializes in breaking news, crime and local sports.

[whatever_gong82]

Lions bounce back to ground Falcons behind 'hungry, violent' defense



Justin Rogers
The Detroit News

Detroit — All week, the Detroit Lions didn't shy away from needing to overcome a sudden rash of injuries; they embraced it. And on Sunday, against the Atlanta Falcons, they proved their mettle, answering the challenge for the next guy and the next guy and the next guy to step up in a 20-6 victory over the Atlanta Falcons at Ford Field on Sunday.

More impressive, the Lions did it behind a maligned defense that had given up 37 points in an overtime loss to the Seattle Seahawks a week earlier. The pass rush that had racked up steady quarterback pressure but struggled to get home the first two games of the season had no such issues on Sunday. Six different defenders combined to sack Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder seven times. Aidan Hutchinson dropped Ridder twice, forcing and recovering a fumble late in the fourth quarter to seal the game.


"Our defense was outstanding," Lions coach Dan Campbell said. "(Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn) AG did a hell of a job and we looked like a hungry, hungry team. We looked like a hungry, violent defense. We got takeaways, tackles, TFL's, guys were flying around the football, (we were) pretty good in coverage and we were around the quarterback a lot. So I was proud of those guys."



Offensively, the Lions (2-1) did enough, jumping out to a 10-point lead in the first half behind the efficient play of quarterback Jared Goff. He completed 15-of-21 for 188 yards and a touchdown through two quarters, finishing his day 22-of-33 for 243, the score and an interception.

After a sluggish start for both offenses, the Lions got moving behind a pair of first-down catches by rookie tight end Sam LaPorta before stalling just inside the red zone and settling for a 37-yard Riley Patterson field goal.


The Falcons (2-1), riding the playmaking ability of running back Bijan Robinson and tight end Kyle Pitts, were able to navigate into position to respond as kicker Younghoe Koo converted a 48-yard field goal to tie things up at three apiece.


Detroit appeared to have an immediate counterpunch as Kalif Raymond got open deep on the first snap of the ensuring drive, but Goff put the throw just beyond the receiver's reach. Still, the quarterback gathered himself to find Amon-Ra St. Brown for a third-down conversion before connecting on a makeup deep ball, hitting LaPorta down the middle of the field for a 45-yard touchdown.



"Had that play kind of rigged up all week," Goff said. "We knew we liked it, he ran a great route, and (I) was able to throw it to him wide open. It’s a good one to hit there."

A second-round pick out of Iowa, LaPorta continued the hot start to his career, catching eight balls for 84 yards and the score.


The Lions nearly got seven more before the half, but again fell short deep inside Falcons' territory. Despite having first-and-goal from the 4, the Lions went the wrong way after a Penei Sewell holding infraction and ended up taking a short Patterson field goal, this one from 24 yards, to push their lead to 13-3 at the break.

About the only thing not working in Detroit's favor through two quarters were the continuing injury issues. Already down two starters along the offensive line, the team lost two more linemen when Matt Nelson and Dan Skipper exited before the half.



Both offenses struggled coming out of the locker room as the Lions went three-and-out to open the third quarter when fullback Jason Cabinda was stuffed on third-and-1, and the Koo missed a 47-yard field goal that could have cut Atlanta's deficit to a touchdown.

Detroit found itself in a tough spot late in the third quarter when a Goff pass to St. Brown across the middle sailed over the receiver's outstretched arms and was intercepted by Falcons safety Jessie Bates. That gave the opposition starting field position inside Lions' territory, but the defense stepped up again, quickly forcing a turnover on downs.


"The interception was the worst ball I’ve ever thrown," Goff said. "...He’s wide open, I’ve got to hit him all day long. And I don’t know if I’ve ever missed like that. It’s just a crappy throw, and we can laugh at it now because we won, but crappy throw put our defense in a bad spot. They were able tot get the ball back for us and pick me up and I think that’s what good teams do though."

Riding that wave of momentum in front of a loud home crowd, Goff immediately found St. Brown for 17 yards before handing the ball to rookie Jahmyr Gibbs four straight plays, resulting in a combined gain of 37 yards that ended inside Atlanta's 10-yard line.

Two plays later, Goff took advantage of the attention Gibbs was drawing from Falcons defenders, keeping the ball on a zone read and taking it into the end zone from 3 yards out to extend the lead to 20-3 with just under 10 minutes remaining.


"That was a great call," Campbell said. "...He felt the end close and he pulled it. It’s not something we do. That’s rare that we call that, but (offensive coordinator) Ben (Johnson) felt like it would work and Goff executed it. It was a great job."

The Falcons finally managed to snap their lengthy scoring drought with a 24-yard Koo field goal after the Lions defense bent, but didn't break, coming up with a red zone stop.



In addition to the sacks of Ridder, the Lions did an outstanding job bottling up Robinson, the outstanding rookie running back. He mustered just 33 yards on 10 carries and 60 yards from scrimmage, both season-lows.

The shorthanded Lions face a quick turnaround, heading to Green Bay to face the Packers Thursday night.

"We got back on our feet and we got a tough one now on the road at Green Bay in a short week," Campbell said. "So this is the no-sleep (week), and do whatever you got to do to stay awake and put together a great game plan. And for the players, too, they’ve got to have recovery, and that can be their sole focus. They've got to do everything it takes to get their bodies back by Thursday. So it’s not easy on anybody, but that’s what we’re charged with."


jdrogers@detroitnews.com

Twitter/X: @Justin_Rogers

[whatever_gong82]

Lions report card: Defense, coaching merit high praise after beating Falcons


Justin Rogers
The Detroit News


Detroit — Justin Rogers grades the Detroit Lions' performance in their 20-6 victory over the Atlanta Falcons.

Quarterbacks

Jared Goff staked the Lions to a 10-point lead at the half with efficient passing and excellent decision-making, leading three consecutive scoring drives after the offense went three-and-out to open the game. The unit slumped to open the second half, including an ugly misfire by Goff that resulted in his second interception in as many games. But after the defense bailed him out following the miscue, Goff rebounded to seal the win with two completions and a touchdown run on a zone-read keeper. Grade: B+

Running backs

Stepping into a starter's workload with David Montgomery sidelined, rookie Jahmyr Gibbs faced plenty of resistance early in the game, particularly as a receiving option. Every time he exited the backfield to run a route, the Falcons were there to hit him hard and bump him off his path. The adjustment never came and he finished with one catch for 2 yards.

But as a runner, Gibbs settled in after some early struggles and played a critical role on a fourth-quarter touchdown drive, running the ball four straight times, including a 21-yard gain, the longest for any Detroit back this season. He finished with a respectable 80 yards on 17 carries, while Craig Reynolds and Zonovan Knight added 28 more on seven totes. Grade: B


Wide receivers/tight ends

It was an excellent day for a pair of Detroit's pass-catchers, with Pro Bowler Amon-Ra St. Brown pacing the group with nine grabs for 102 yards and rookie tight end Sam LaPorta delivering the best outing of his young career with eight receptions, 84 yards and a score. Kalif Raymond also chipped in four catches for 55 yards and was wide open on a deep route that might have ended in the end zone, had Goff not missed him.

Surprisingly, Josh Reynolds wasn't targeted after being highly productive the first two games. Neither was Marvin Jones, officially, but he did draw an illegal contact penalty in the end zone on third-and-goal that resulted in a fresh set of downs. Grade: A-


Offensive line

Given all the injuries the group was dealing with before and during the game, we could justify grading them on a curve. But since they're all professionals, we won't. Backup offensive tackle Matt Nelson battled some early struggles, missing a run block and getting flagged for a chop block prior to suffering an ankle injury that knocked him from the contest.

Rookie Colby Sorsdal finished the game at right tackle and had some predictable ups-and-downs in his regular season debut, giving up the biggest of nine hits Goff was asked to absorb, which resulted in the QB getting up slower than anyone wants to see.

Even Penei Sewell had some uncharacteristic lapses with a pair of holds that contributed to killing drives. Grade: C


Defensive line

What a breakout performance for Detroit's defensive front. The pass rush was stellar much of the day, including from the interior where Benito Jones and Alim McNeill recorded sacks. Aidan Hutchinson was the last to the sack parade, but he finished with two, forcing and recovering a fumble from quarterback Desmond Ridder on the second.


And it wasn't just the pass rush. After giving up a decent run to running back Bijan Robinson early in the game, the front seven locked the ground game down. Robinson finished with just 33 yards on 10 carries and power complement Tyler Allgeier was even less effective, averaging 1.7 yards on his seven carries. Grade: A+


Linebackers


Captain Alex Anzalone set a tone early, flying to the ball on a third-down pass to stop the target short of the sticks and force a punt. Rookie Jack Campbell, getting his first start because the game plan called for added focus on slowing down Robinson, had five tackles, including the first sack of his career. He shut down a Hail Mary effort at the end of the first half by dropping Ridder.

Derrick Barnes also got in on the pass-rush productivity, exploding around the offensive tackle after being chipped by a tight end. Collectively, the group deserves plenty of credit for the team's overall success against the run. The only knock, which seems inconsequential in a game where they limited the opponent to six points, was there were some tackling issues that still need to be cleaned up. Grade: A-


Secondary


Despite both starting safeties being sidelined this week, Detroit's defensive backfield played its most cohesive game the season. Tracy Walker and Ifeatu Melifonwu stepped into the lineup and set a physical tone, coming up with some big hits to go with a pair of pass breakups. The lingering disappointment, for Walker, was the veteran's inability to take advantage of interceptable passes, failing to hold on to either one of the two opportunities he had.

On the outside, Cam Sutton and Jerry Jacobs didn't give up much, although the latter had two defensive pass interference penalties and got a little lucky when Ridder missed a deep shot to Kyle Pitts after the tight end got a step. Still, it was a solid rebound game for the feisty Jacobs.

But above all others in the back end, people are going to leave this game thinking about how good rookie Brian Branch is already and how much better he can be. He was all over the field, making a number of critical plays in key situations. He finished with a team-high 11 tackles, including three behind the line, to go with a pair of pass defenses. He missed a few plays as well, and committed two 15-yard penalties, but the good far outweighed the bad. Grade: A-



Special teams

Riley Patterson made all of his kicks, Jack Fox punted very well and the Lions smothered the Falcons' return men on kickoffs and punts. The only criticism is Will Harris got flagged twice on punt returns, once for holding and another for grabbing a Falcon face mask. Grade: B+


Coaching

The Lions didn't take a lot of the chances we're used to seeing them take, particularly on fourth down, but the game plan, both offensively and defensively, was stellar.

On offense, coordinator Ben Johnson worked around the team's depth issues along the offensive line and drew up some excellent calls that got receivers open on third down and on some downfield shots. But that was overshadowed by how well defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn had his group prepared to rebound from their early-season struggles. The pass rush was outstanding, the run defense on point and the blitz calls well-timed. Grade: A



jdrogers@detroitnews.com

Twitter/X: @Justin_Rogers

[whatever_gong82]

Admitting frustration with lack of sacks, Lions' Aidan Hutchinson finally breaks through


Justin Rogers
The Detroit News


Detroit — By every measure but one, Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson was off to a phenomenal start to the 2023 season. Unfortunately for him, that one measure, sacks, is how defensive ends are judged. Having a goose egg in that column of the stat sheet was admittedly eating at the second-year defender.

"One hundred percent," Hutchinson said after Sunday's 20-6 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. "This game really did test my mental toughness. It’s hard, man, when you feel like you’re playing at a high level but the numbers, or just the production, doesn’t come. So it’s frustrating. That’s just the game of football. I did have to get a little mentally tough today."


Depending on the source for the subjective statistic, Hutchinson entered the day either first or second in quarterback pressures through two weeks. He was also near the top of the league in pass-rush win rate, a metric that measures how frequently you win your one-on-one matchup against the blocker.



And through the first 53 minutes Sunday against the Falcons, Hutchinson's narrative of success without reward, as well as the subsequent frustrations persisted — at least on the personal level. On the whole, Detroit's pass rush, which had collectively struggled to sack the quarterback the first two weeks, was getting home with regularity against Atlanta's Desmond Ridder on Sunday. Through three quarters, five different Lions defenders were responsible for five sacks.

Hutchinson was a factor on two of them, funneling Ridder into blitzing linebacker Derrick Barnes early in the game, before bursting into the backfield only to arrive a fraction of a second after defensive tackle Alim McNeill got through to knock down the QB.


Of course, there's joy to be had in your teammates' success, particularly when you're winning, but Hutchinson could feel the pressure mounting.

"You’re so proud of the boys for producing, for getting after it, and I also wanted to be a part of it," he said.


Finally, with a little more than six minutes remaining in the contest, Hutchinson recorded his first sack of the season, beating the offensive tackle with an inside spin move before celebrating with a "Stanky Legg" dance, created and popularized by rap group GS Boyz.


"It’s been in my head for a very long time," Hutchinson said about the celebration. "I’m going to have to start thinking about some new dances now."

He didn't even have time before his next sack, which came four minutes later and involved Hutchinson stripping the ball loose from Ridder and recovering the fumble.


Hutchinson will look to keep things going next week against the Green Bay Packers and Jordan Love. It won't be easy. The Packers have done a good job keeping their young QB upright, limiting opponents to three sacks through the first three games.


jdrogers@detroitnews.com

Twitter/X: @Justin_Rogers

[whatever_gong82]

Niyo: Rookies, led by Brian Branch, wasting little time paying dividends for Lions



John Niyo
The Detroit News



Detroit — So, now are you feeling a draft?

You should be if you’re a Lions fan. And general manager Brad Holmes probably is, too, after watching his team’s impressive bounce-back win over Atlanta on Sunday.



Because after a week of tough love and some pointed criticism delivered by head coach Dan Campbell to his team, it was Detroit’s rookie class that helped set the tone for a dominant 20-6 victory over the Falcons before a crowd of 63,803 at Ford Field.

In particular, it was Brian Branch, the nickel corner who’d struggled in the overtime loss to Seattle a week ago, who sparked a defensive effort that Campbell happily described as “hungry” and “violent” afterward.


Branch finished Sunday’s game with a game-high 11 tackles, and those weren’t just garden-variety stops. Littered throughout his performance were three tackles for loss — from a nickel corner, mind you — two key passes defended and one highlight-reel hit that flattened Falcons rookie Bijan Robinson and sent his helmet skittering across the turf on Atlanta’s final possession.

In a way, that last play from Branch felt like an exclamation point on the Lions’ statement win, even though it drew a questionable flag for unnecessary roughness.



“I was just licking my chops, knowing that (Robinson) didn't see me coming and the quarterback still threw it,” Branch said.

As for the flag, and a possible fine from the league office that may follow this week?

“F--- it,” the rookie smiled. “F--- it. I showed him that I’m not scared to tackle. I’ll take the flag, to be honest.”



They’ll take these wins any way they come, frankly. But in a game the injury-riddled Lions really needed after dropping their home opener, this was exactly the way Campbell hoped they’d take his challenge.

They ran with it, bottling up the Falcons’ potent rushing attack — ranked fourth in the NFL after Week 2 — and then battering quarterback Desmond Ridder, who was making only his seventh start as a pro. And it was Branch who provided the spark, short-circuiting Atlanta possessions with key stops all afternoon.




“He really stepped up,” Campbell said. “You could feel his energy. And I’ve said this: He gets better every practice, every day. And particularly today, he's making big plays in critical moments, as opposed to the other way. The more he plays, the better he gets and the more he understands what we're trying to do with him. He's a playmaker.”



Of course, the build-up to this game focused on offensive playmakers. It was about each team's rookie running back and, by extension, on the draft-night decision the Lions made to trade out of the No. 6 overall pick back in April. The Lions passed on a chance to draft Robinson, who went to the Falcons at No. 8, and Holmes surprised many after that by selecting Jahmyr Gibbs with the 12th pick.

Two games into his career, Robinson already looked like a big hit, ranked second in the NFL in rushing and coming off his first 100-yard effort last week against Green Bay. Gibbs, meanwhile, had yet to make a splash, limited to just 59 rushing yards and 23 touches overall in Detroit's 1-1 start.



But Sunday, it was Gibbs who finished with the better numbers: 17 carries for 80 yards, nearly half of which came on three consecutive plays on the Lions’ game-clinching scoring drive in the fourth quarter.

“I could feel there towards the end, there's a couple of those runs where you feel like, ‘All right, here he goes. He's starting to feel this a little bit,’” Campbell said. “So he'll only get better with time, and with reps. He just will, you know?”



Most of these rookies will, if this draft class is anything like the one that preceded it. And the early returns certainly look promising.

Gibbs' fellow first-round pick, Jack Campbell, had five tackles Sunday as part of the Lions' linebacker rotation, and it was his chase-down sack of Ridder that ended the first half. In all, six of the Lions’ eight rookie draft picks played against Atlanta, including offensive lineman Colby Sorsdal, a fifth-round pick out of William & Mary who finished the game at right tackle after both Matt Nelson and newly-signed veteran Dan Skipper went down with injuries.


Branch has been a starter since Day 1 here, obviously. His jersey already found its way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, too, after his pick-six against reigning MVP Patrick Mahomes sparked the Lions’ season-opening victory in Kansas City. But on Sunday, he became the first NFL defensive back since at least 1994 to have a game with double-digit tackles, three of them for losses, and multiple pass defenses.



Meanwhile, the rookie that Holmes added to this class by trading out of the No. 6 pick — tight end Sam LaPorta (No. 34 overall) — has quickly emerged as one of Jared Goff’s favorite targets on offense.

LaPorta finished Sunday’s game with eight catches for 84 yards, including a 45-yard touchdown in the second quarter that proved to be the winning score in the end. His 18 receptions through three games also established a new NFL rookie record for a tight end. But more than anything, his easy rapport with Goff has given the entire offense a huge lift.

“(Goff) is beginning to look for him a little bit, which only helps us,” Campbell said. “That alleviates a little stress off of St. (Brown) and the other guys. The kid’s playing pretty good right now. I told the staff yesterday, he's just quietly getting better and better and better. And I don't know how quiet it is anymore, but he really is beginning to take off.”



And the fact that he’s hardly the only Lions rookie making noise this early in the season is perhaps the best sign of what’s to come.

john.niyo@detroitnews.com

Twitter/X: @JohnNiyo

[whatever_gong82]

Wojo: 'Violent' Lions defense dances all over Falcons in crucial win


Bob Wojnowski
The Detroit News

Detroit — This is what fans desperately wanted to see, and what the Lions craved to show. If they’re truly to be a force this season, it’s exactly what they have to do.

Hit the quarterback. Punish the running back. Clobber the receivers. Get up, do it again.


The Lions’ defense sent the Falcons spinning backward Sunday, and it seemed like the thumping noise never stopped. The Lions came in wounded, physically and psychologically, and passed the pain to the visitors, barreling their way to a 20-6 victory.

A week ago in the same building, the defense was picked apart by the Seahawks. In the NFL, you don’t get much time to put the pieces back together. Dan Campbell said he cranked up the energy, as did defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, as did their best defensive players. The Lions entered with a 1-1 record, not bad, but with only one sack all season, not good. They exited with a 2-1 record and a seven-pack of sacks, each sweeter than the last.


The punctuation came with two minutes left, when Aidan Hutchinson busted through and swarmed Desmond Ridder, knocking the ball loose and recovering it one furious flourish. He finished with two sacks, his first of the season, and sounded like a guy who couldn’t wait much longer.

“Yeah, last week was rough,” Hutchinson said of the 37-31 overtime loss to Seattle. “It was a game that we had our eyes on, and they got the better of us defensively. So we wanted to come out this week and prove a point, and I think we did that.”



Point made, points prevented. Obviously, the challenges will grow, but this was a critical performance, the type of bounce-back effort all good teams show. The Lions head next to Green Bay (2-1) for a Thursday night showcase that’ll give someone an early lead in the NFC North. Jared Goff and the offense usually don’t have too much trouble scoring, so defense is what can make the Lions whole.


The Falcons (2-1) were ripe for the plucking with a young quarterback in Ridder still finding his way. He found his way to the turf again and again. The Falcons’ celebrated rookie Bijan Robinson was held to 33 yards on 10 carries, outdueled by the Lions’ less-celebrated Jahmyr Gibbs, who rushed for 80 on 17 carries.

Atlanta came in with the fourth-best running game in the league and was held to 2.2 yards per carry. Whenever the Lions were threatened, their defense squeezed harder, forcing Ridder into tough passing situations. It was as if they stewed on the Seahawks loss, used the criticism as fuel, and came out hungry. Also, angry. Let’s call it hangry.



“We really played a physical, violent game,” Campbell said. “Our defense was outstanding, (Aaron Glenn) did a hell of a job, and we looked like a hungry, hungry team. We looked like a hungry, violent defense, guys were flying around the football, pretty good in coverage, and we were around the quarterback a lot.”

Heightened urgency was most evident on defense, but noticeable everywhere. There was Goff pulling a surprise and running for a 3-yard touchdown, then firing the ball into the stands, then practically firing his own body into the stands to celebrate. There was Gibbs finally getting loose, and rookie tight end Sam LaPorta getting open for eight catches, including a 45-yard touchdown. But mostly, it was the Lions’ best defensive players acting like it.



Campbell said early in the week the Lions were in the “doom and gloom” after the home-opening loss. He added this: “I think defensively, we need our most reliable players to be reliable. I just expect more. They know who they are, and we just hold them to high standards.”



He didn’t name names, but the names announced themselves Sunday. Hutchinson had been pressuring quarterbacks but not actually getting to them. Same with Alim McNeill, Charles Harris and Derrick Barnes, who each recorded a sack in this one. In addition to seven sacks, the Lions had 11 tackles for loss, three by rookie defensive back Brian Branch.

The Lions came in a bit battered, missing two offensive linemen and then losing Matt Nelson. Running back David Montgomery was out. Two starting safeties — Kerby Joseph and C.J. Gardner-Johnson — were out.

It makes no sense to fret because every team has injuries that test depth and mettle. The Seahawks were missing their two offensive tackles last week and still put up 37 points. That’s what really rankled Campbell, who lit the fuse on Glenn, who lit into the players.

Rookie Jack Campbell collected his first NFL sack, while Branch is rapidly becoming one of the Lions’ most valuable defenders, leading the team with 11 tackles and two passes defended. He called it the defense’s “get-back game,” and Falcons coach Arthur Smith wished he could get it back.



“They clearly affected our quarterback and got us off track,” Smith said. “Credit to Detroit. They were ready to go.”

A good defense is a mistake-eraser and a momentum-changer, and nobody was more grateful than Goff. With the Lions leading 13-3 late in the third quarter, Goff fired a pass over the middle that sailed over everyone. He said the interception to Jessie Bates was “as bad as I’ve thrown a ball in my career.”

Goff has improved dramatically since arriving here, especially in cases like this, when adversity strikes. The Lions immediately stymied the Falcons, forcing an incompletion on fourth down from Detroit’s 38. From there, Gibbs started rolling and Goff finished it off with his scamper around left end for the touchdown.

“It’s just a crappy throw and we can laugh at it now because we won, but a crappy throw put our defense in a bad spot, and they were able to get the ball back for us and pick me up,” Goff said. “I think when our defense is playing as well as they are, we don’t feel the need to press as much. We knew we were in control of that game.”


They knew it because the defense did it. The Falcons didn’t score a touchdown and didn’t kick their second field goal until 4:19 remained. Their last possession ended when Hutchinson clobbered Ridder and grabbed the ball. That nifty move deserved another, so Hutchinson jumped up and gyrated a leg, happy to dance again.


“Yeah, it was great man,” he said. “I was waiting to do the Stanky Leg for about three games now. It’s been in my head for a very long time.”

After posting 9.5 sacks last season, Hutchinson is back on the board, and the Lions’ defense is back from the brink. If this is the type of havoc they can wreak, this should be a playoff team. From angry to hangry, the Lions took an important dance step, and it can’t be the last one.


bob.wojnowski@detroitnews.com

Twitter/X: @bobwojnowski

[whatever_gong82]

Three-and-out: Goff's resiliency, Holmes' roster building with Lions and growing O-line concerns


Justin Rogers
The Detroit News


Allen Park — Here are three observations after having a night to ponder the Detroit Lions' victory over the Atlanta Falcons.

Ability to bounce back


Whatever lingering doubts anyone might have had about quarterback Jared Goff entering this season, it's time to shed your obstinance and embrace the idea he's the quarterback capable of taking the Lions where they want to go.

For starters, his production through three games has been outstanding. Goff is completing nearly 70% of his passes, despite increasing the average depth of his targets each of the past two seasons, up 21.8% from his first year with the Lions. And even though his franchise-record streak of passes without an interception came to an end, he's still on pace for the best passer rating and QBR of his career, with both ranking in the top five among the league's QBs.


But the defining characteristic Goff has exhibited to start this year, which validates he's everything you want as the leader of the franchise, is his unwavering ability to rebound after a critical error. We've seen this on full display in each of the past two games.

Against Seattle, when his remarkable run without an interception ended in the worst possible way — a pick-six that put the Lions down 10 with a little more than eight minutes remaining — it could have been the final nail in the coffin. But instead of playing scared, or trying to force things to make up for the miscue, Goff methodically led the Lions on a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that kick-started a rally that sent the game to overtime.



This Sunday, it was more of the same. After Goff missed an open Kalif Raymond on a deep ball, he quickly moved past the error, completing a throw to Amon-Ra St. Brown on third-and-8 to extend the series before dropping a second long ball into the waiting arms of tight end Sam LaPorta for a 45-yard score.


And after another interception, his second in as many weeks, Goff once again responded by leading the Lions on a long touchdown drive, where he completed both of his passes and capped the series with a designed, zone-read keeper for his first rushing score in a Lions uniform.

"Yeah, I think, more importantly than making the big play every time is how do you respond to the bad ones," Goff said. "That’s the most important thing at our position, at quarterback in this league. It’s hard, man. You’re going to make mistakes. That’s about as bad as I’ve thrown a ball in my career (on the interception), just straight missed him. How do I respond the next drive, the next play to be as best as I can? I think that’s where you’re truly judged is after the bad plays and being able to respond."


Well, we're judging, and our verdict is it's time for the stragglers to get off the fence and commit to Goff.


Impressive depth


The biggest question the Lions faced last week was how the team would respond to its suddenly decimated depth chart. The team entered the matchup with Atlanta down two starting offensive linemen, both starting safeties, their bell-cow back and some talent along the defensive front. Taking the pulse of the fan base, there was a sense the hype train was about to derail, and the "Same Old Lions" crowd was licking their chops.



But this Lions team continues to prove they're cut from a different cloth, emphatically answering the bell despite the myriad of personnel challenges they faced before and during Sunday's game. There's plenty of credit to go around, starting with the players for coalescing, and extending to the coaches, who crafted excellent game plans on both offense and defense to take advantage of the team's remaining strengths and expose the Falcons' weaknesses.

But let's not forget the job general manager Brad Holmes has done during his tenure to put the roster in position to overcome a situation like this one.


When you think about the roster Holmes inherited and subsequently gutted when he came on board in 2021, it's truly remarkable how far things have come. You can point to almost any position group and see the elevation of talent. It really stood out in both the defensive and offensive backfields this week.

With C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Kerby Joseph both sidelined, Detroit's vision for a playmaking back end looked to have been put on ice. But former starter Tracy Walker and the talented, but-injured Ifeatu Melifonwu stepped in and delivered a different type of playmaking, providing pad-popping hits that dislodged the ball on multiple occasions.


And on offense, Holmes knew he had to upgrade from the unreliable durability of D'Andre Swift for exactly this reason. Rookie Jahmyr Gibbs didn't light the world on fire with his 17-carry, 80-yard performance, but it was exactly the kind of steady reliability the team needed to continue to function on offense while David Montgomery was down because of a thigh issue.

The roster has holes — every roster does — but Sunday proved Holmes has built up depth across the board that will allow the Lions to continue to compete when the injury bug bites.



The challenge ahead


Even with that aforementioned depth, the Lions are dealing with an overwhelming number of injuries along their offensive line, while facing a short week to recover.

Not only was the team without two starters entering Sunday's game against Atlanta, but they also saw two more offensive tackles exit because of injuries during the contest, leaving rookie Colby Sorsdal to step in and play right tackle for the second half. His rawness showed at times, including an allowed pressure where Goff took a monster hit and was slow to get up.



The questions become: How healthy can the Lions get the next few days? Where will they need reinforcements? And how reliable can those additions be on a short week?

The math gets a lot easier if left tackle Taylor Decker is able to return after a two-week absence due to a sprained ankle. We've been told he's getting better by the day, but it might be an unenviable situation where the Lions need to push him back into action earlier than desired because the alternative is worse.

Decker's presence would also allow Penei Sewell to shift back to right tackle, where the Pro Bowler is clearly more comfortable these days, given the number of reps he's banked at that spot in the past three years, contrasted against more limited practice time on the blindside.

In terms of depth, Sorsdal works in a pinch, but the Lions would still need one more tackle on the game-day roster. Veteran Dan Skipper, who exited because of a hamstring issue on Sunday, was on the sideline with his helmet late in the game, suggesting he could have pushed through in an emergency situation. So, it's possible he'll be healed up enough ahead of Thursday's game.



Otherwise, the Lions will likely have to turn to their practice squad, where youth and inexperience are the only answers, with undrafted rookie Connor Galvin and international pathway player Max Pircher as the two options.

jdrogers@detroitnews.com

Twitter/X: @Justin_Rogers

[whatever_gong82]

Niyo: Lions' leap to Lambeau a prime example of NFL hypocrisy


John Niyo
The Detroit News



Allen Park — It doesn’t add up, anywhere other than on a balance sheet.

It doesn’t make sense, except to the executives in suits — and suites — counting their money.


But this hypocrisy that streams from the NFL each week, with prime-time Thursday night football running a counter play against the league’s supposed player-safety concerns is now the Lions’ problem.

And it’s one that was on everyone’s mind in the locker room Sunday at Ford Field after a hard-fought win over the Atlanta Falcons. No sooner had they stripped off their shoulder pads than the focus shifted to the upcoming road trip to Green Bay and a kickoff that was less than 100 hours away.



“They’ve got to have recovery and that should be their sole focus,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said of his players. “I mean, they’ve got to do everything it takes to get their bodies back by Thursday. It’s not easy on anybody, but that’s what we’re charged with.”

Same goes for the Packers, who rallied from a 17-0 deficit to beat New Orleans at home on Sunday, but quickly had to turn the page. All because the NFL’s greed insists on it.



“It's Wednesday in our world,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “We'll give them (Monday) to try to get their bodies back, and then it's a grind from here on out. That's the way Thursday Night Football rolls."

That doesn’t have to be the way the NFL rolls, but it’s the path the league has chosen, paved by lucrative TV contracts. And to be fair, it’s a world the players have tacitly endorsed through a collective bargaining agreement.



But this week feels like another prime example of how short-sighted the whole enterprise is, particularly given the matchup.

Even without Aaron Rodgers, Detroit and Green Bay will be a ratings hit Thursday night, no doubt. Yet does the league really think it’s a good idea to decide the NFC North title on what amounts to two days of walk-through practices? Or four, I suppose, because not only is this Lions-Packers game being played on a short week, but so is their Thanksgiving Day rematch in Detroit.


That’s ridiculous. But it’s also the reality, in part because of the flak they took for some of the lackluster matchups that were foisted on a national audience in recent years.

Remember Al Michaels’ brutal honesty on the broadcast of that awful 12-9 overtime slog between Denver and Indianapolis last October? As the cameras showed fans leaving Mile High Stadium at the end of regulation, Michaels quipped, “Sometimes you’ve got to beat the traffic. They’ve seen enough.”



So had Amazon, apparently, and for its $1 billion in annual rights fees, the streaming service received a much better inventory this season. (And in case anybody’s wondering, Thursday’s game will be simulcast locally on Fox 2 Detroit.)

Still, is this really what the fans want? Cincinnati and Baltimore will play a Thursday night game in mid-November that could be pivotal in the AFC North, while Cleveland — currently 3-0 atop that division — will host a Thursday game on Dec. 28, four days after playing a road game on Christmas Eve.



That last game still could be rescheduled, because the league decided to make a bad thing even worse this spring, voting to allow Thursday night games to be flexed to Sunday — and vice versa — in Weeks 13 through 17.

That won’t affect this week’s game, though. And less than a month into the regular season, the stakes already have been raised, because it’s clear the winless Bears and Vikings aren’t going to be anything other than spoilers, perhaps, in the North.



That only ups the ante on Thursday’s stakes for the Lions and Packers, and as Campbell noted Sunday afternoon, that meant his staff would be all-in on game preparations.

“This is the (time) for no sleep and do whatever you gotta do to stay awake,” he said.

For the players, it’s all about rest, obviously. But coming off a game that featured nearly 160 car crashes — Campbell used the word “violent” more than once to describe Sunday’s 20-6 win over Atlanta — that’s no small thing.



Neither are the lengthy injury reports for both teams this week. The Lions were missing a handful of starters to start Sunday’s game, and they ended it with what was essentially their fourth-string right tackle — rookie guard Colby Sorsdal — playing 36 of 70 snaps there.

The hope is that two or three of those starters — left tackle Taylor Decker, running back David Montgomery and perhaps safety Kerby Joseph — could be back in the lineup Thursday. Campbell admitted last week that he and the Lions’ medical staff might play it safe with the inactives Sunday against Atlanta knowing the quick turnaround that would follow.



LaFleur was in a similar spot with his injured starters last week, too, and the Packers managed to beat the Saints without four key starters on offense: running back Aaron Jones, receiver Christian Watson, tackle David Bakhtiari and guard Elgton Jenkins. But linebacker De’Vondre Campbell also left Sunday’s game early with an ankle injury, and right tackle Zach Tom exited late with a knee injury.

"When you look at that inactive list, you're like, 'There's a lot of big-time names on that list,'" LaFleur said. "But it doesn't matter, because that's the National Football League and everybody's dealing with different things.”

Some things they shouldn’t have to, though.


john.niyo@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @JohnNiyo

[whatever_gong82]

Here's what still-suspended Jameson Williams can and can't do after rejoining Lions

Justin Rogers
The Detroit News


Allen Park — Jameson Williams was able to rejoin the Detroit Lions on Monday, but the still-suspended wide receiver continues to have plenty of restrictions on what he can and can't do prior to the completion of his six-game ban for violating the league's gambling policy.

Williams was in attendance for Monday's full-team meeting, one of the primary benefits he'll get to experience the next three weeks. He also can get treatment from the team's training staff and participate in individual works with the strength staff.



But those are largely the only things Williams can officially do prior to Week 7 of the NFL season. He remains barred from participating or even watching practice, attending home or away games, talking to the media, or joining group workouts.

"Well, really, he can be in meetings and that's about it for now, then we'll have him out here training a little bit," Lions coach Dan Campbell said. "But until further notice, he can't practice with us or anything. So we're kind of in that boat right now, but it's good to have him back. He was in the team meeting, so it was good to see him and (have him) be around teammates. We'll see what we can do."


Given the newness of these types of suspensions, the Lions are still navigating lingering gray areas in the league's policy. For example, backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater typically conducts an informal, post-practice throwing session with some of the team's younger receivers. That's not an official team activity, but it obviously does take place at the facility, so the team is seeking clarity on whether Williams can participate in things like this.

"Yeah, we're trying to work through a few things there," Campbell said. "(Team president) Rod (Wood)'s working on that right now. We're going to do everything we can and it's just good to have him back."



One positive development during Williams' absence is the hamstring injury he suffered during training camp has healed, according to Campbell.

The second-year receiver will be eligible to return for the team's Oct. 22 road game against the Baltimore Ravens. Williams will be looking to vastly improve on his rookie-year contributions when he missed the first eight games rehabbing from a torn ACL and mustered just one catch for 41 yards and a touchdown on nine targets.


jdrogers@detroitnews.com

Twitter/X: @Justin_Rogers