Lions News

[whatever_gong82]

Lions' estimated injury report from Monday is lengthy, but carries some optimism


Justin Rogers and Nolan Bianchi
The Detroit News



Allen Park — There was more good news than bad with the Detroit Lions' estimated injury report on Monday. Still, it remains clear the team will have to navigate some tricky situations during the short week leading into Thursday night's matchup with NFC North-rival Green Bay.

While the Lions didn't conduct a traditional practice on Monday, the league requires teams playing on Thursday to project what participation would have looked like in the days leading up to the matchup.

Noticeably, Detroit's offensive line remains in rough shape, with starters Frank Ragnow (toe/veteran rest) and Halapoulivaati Vaitai (knee) estimated to be non-participants, along with top backup offensive tackle Matt Nelson (ankle), who exited Sunday's game in the first half. Two other starters from that group, Jonah Jackson (thigh) and Taylor Decker (ankle), were considered limited participants.


Lions head coach Dan Campbell said Monday that Nelson's injury will require surgery and a stint on injured reserve.

"I hate that for him," Campbell said.

Jackson's injury is new, while Decker's projected return to practice, even in a limited capacity, is a positive development after missing the past two weeks because of a sprained ankle he suffered in Detroit's season-opening victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.


In the latest saga for an offensive line that can't manage to stay healthy, Dan Skipper, who went in for Nelson after being elevated from the practice squad on gameday, also exited Sunday's game because of an injury, making way for the NFL debut of Lions rookie lineman Colby Sorsdal. Sorsdal played 36 snaps and allowed two pressures in pass protection.

If Decker can't go, Campbell said Sorsdal would "certainly" be an option to start at right tackle.



"He did a solid job. He went in and filled in admirably and he'll get better from those reps that he took," Campbell said. "We got him in there at guard and tackle; we've been working with him a little bit. Of course, that's his first real NFL game, playing right tackle, but yeah, he's certainly an option."

In addition to Decker, safety Kerby Joseph (hip), running back David Montgomery (thigh) and cornerback Emmanuel Moseley (knee/hamstring) were all listed as limited participants after missing Sunday's game against Atlanta. With Joseph and Montgomery, it raises expectations they could be cleared ahead of Thursday's game.


Moseley, a free-agent addition who has yet to debut this season while continuing to recover from last season's torn ACL, is more of a longshot.

jdrogers@detroitnews.com

Twitter/X: @Justin_Rogers

[whatever_gong82]

Mitch Albom: Detroit Lions' defense paints a masterpiece, one stanky sack after another



Mitch Albom
Detroit Free Press

Aidan Hutchinson came roaring across the line, spun off his man like a ballerina, and plowed over Atlanta quarterback Desmond Ridder, twisting the poor guy into the turf like a corkscrew. Hutchinson then popped up and launched into a dance that looked like his foot was caught in a bear trap.

“The Stanky Leg,” he would later say.

Don’t ask.


Hutchinson’s sack was the sixth of the day Sunday afternoon at Ford Field. Six sacks? Yes. And they weren’t done. A few minutes later, with the crowd thundering and the Falcons trying to go anywhere but backwards, Hutchinson mauled through the line again, then clobbered Ridder so hard the ball cried, “No mas!” It squirted free and Hutchinson leapt on it.

Sack. Forced fumble. Fumble recovery. All on one play.


And yes, another Stanky Leg dance.

Still don’t know what it is.

Don’t want to.


But dance moves aren’t critical in football. Defense is. So read this: The Detroit Lions. Seven sacks earned. Six points surrendered. If you been wondering if this team is really all that different from previous incarnations, remember those numbers.


It’s been five years since the Lions held a team to less than a touchdown. To do that, combined with seven sacks, to shut down the heralded rookie running back Bijan Robinson as if he were a practice squad player, and most importantly, to bounce back from a demoralizing defensive surrender at the end of last week’s overtime loss to Seattle, is exactly the kind of thing a winning team (dare we say it, a playoff team?) is supposed to do.

Down. Dirty.

Dance.


'A hungry, violent defense'


“I think we found out how to rush the passer this week,” Hutchinson joked, after the Lions defense pounded, pressured and pummeled the Falcons until they had no feathers left. Atlanta may have entered Ford Field undefeated, but it left with a big “L” plastered to the middle of its forehead. That wasn’t just a win by the Lions, that was a suffocation. I’d be surprised if the Falcons didn’t ask for extra oxygen on their flight home.



“We really played a physical, violent game,” Dan Campbell said, after the 20-6 victory. “Our defense was outstanding. … We looked like a hungry, hungry team. We looked like a hungry, violent defense.”

Notice he said “hungry” three times and “violent” twice.

He was understating things.

The Lions, who heard grumblings about their pass rush after a single sack in their first two games, seemed more intent on making amends Sunday than a line outside a confession booth.


They got their first two sacks on back-to-back plays in the first quarter, forcing a punt. They got their third sack late in the second quarter to put Atlanta behind the sticks. They got their fourth sack to close out the half.

Sack No. 5 came near the end of the third quarter. By that point, Ridder was like finger paint in a toddler’s hands: all over the place. His passes were long or wide. His decision making was jittery. Can you blame him? He was hearing footsteps on the sidelines.


“They clearly affected our quarterback,” Atlanta coach Arthur Smith admitted. “They got us off track.”

All this was before Hutchinson nailed the coffin shut, with two sacks within four and a half minutes of the final quarter.

“It was great, man,” he said afterwards. “I was waiting to do the Stanky Leg for about three games now.”

Down. Dirty.

Dance.


More than the defense stepped up


Now sacks are just part of a defensive effort, the way a bite is just part of a tiger attack. There’s a lot more damage that beast can do before it eats you, and the Lions did loads of damage to the Falcons besides sacking the quarterback.



Here was linebacker Alex Anzalone, throwing himself into Ridder on a scramble, knocking him out of bounds. Here was rookie Brian Branch, leaping and breaking up passes like a NBA shot blocker. Here was rookie linebacker Jack Campbell sending Ridder hard to the ground. Here was safety Tracy Walker, stepping in for the injured C.J. Gardener-Johnson and breaking up passes and denying receivers.


Here's how good the Lions defense was. The Detroit offense had several fourth down-and-makeables, and Campbell didn’t go for a single one. Why bother? The way his defense was playing, you couldn’t wait to get them back on the field.

Consider this: the Falcons came in averaging 170 rushing yards per game. The Lions held them to 44. The Falcons scored 24 and 25 points in their first two games.

The Lions held them to six.


“(That’s) very difficult to do,” Campbell acknowledged, noting that in today’s pass-happy NFL, the rules are tilted to get as much scoring as possible. Six points today is a defensive masterpiece. If Pablo Picasso were a defensive coordinator, he’d still give up two field goals.

“l think that’s pretty telling about what we were able to do today,” Campbell said. “It helps when you’re able to take them out of what they do best.”



The Lions took the Falcons out of their game. They nearly took them out of their clothes. The offense, behind a mostly a sharp Jared Goff, did more than enough, and Jahmyr Gibbs won his personal showdown with Robinson, the only running back picked higher than him in this year’s draft.

Even the crowd overachieved, raining thunderous noise whenever Atlanta had a critical play.

“When your ear drums are radiating … then it’s pretty good,” Campbell said.


Stanky legs. Radiating eardrums. It’s all part of the elusive anatomy of a winning team. It’s worth noting these Lions, by Week 3, already have more wins than they had in the first seven weeks of last season. We can only hope this is a weather pattern, not a spot shower.

But if you’re looking for positive signs, consider this. Hutchinson’s older sister, Mia, sang the national anthem before Sunday’s game. More than sang it. She belted it to the rafters.



When asked to evaluate her performance, Hutchinson grinned widely: “She killed it.”

Must run in the family.

Contact Mitch Albom: malbom@freepress.com. Check out the latest updates with his charities, books and events at MitchAlbom.com. Follow him @mitchalbom.

[ghandi]

Oh boy Rashan Gary vs Sorsdal....that might get ugly fast...I think Gary had 3 sacks last game alone

[CGVT]

Oh boy Rashan Gary vs Sorsdal....that might get ugly fast...I think Gary had 3 sacks last game alone

Gary was limited on today's practice report. Probably just a precaution

[Mainevent]

Gary coming down with a case of the Sorsdal flu.

[froot loops]

I doubt Sorsdal is the tackle.

[whatever_gong82]

Join my early campaign: Detroit Lions' Brian Branch for (small sample) Rookie of the Year


Jeff Seidel
Detroit Free Press



Brian Branch was ticked at himself.

After playing an absolutely tremendous game on Sunday — leading the Detroit Lions with 11 tackles, including three for a loss in a 20-6 victory over Atlanta — Branch was haunted by one play.

A play he messed up.

Branch, a rookie defensive back, missed a tackle in the third quarter against Tyler Allgeier.

“It was on the sideline — me and Alex (Anzalone) in a vise tackle,” Branch said in the Lions' locker room. “And he broke both of us. Stuff like that can't happen.”



If you want to know one of the reasons why Branch is something special, why he has only scratched the surface of how good he could be, it’s that mindset.

“So when you leave,” a reporter asked, “you're gonna be thinking more about that play than the plays that you made in a positive sense?”

“Facts,” Branch said. “You got to think about negatively in order to get better.”



Now remember, this is a guy whose jersey already hangs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, after he picked off Patrick Mahomes and returned it for a 50-yard touchdown in his rookie debut, a victory over Kansas City.



“I've done a lot of good but I've also done a lot of bad,” Branch said. “I'm trying to be consistent, you know, moving forward, and that's just my main focal point is keep being consistent.”

This is why the Lions moved up to take him in the second round of the draft.


“He really stepped up,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “You could feel his energy and I’ve said this. He gets better every practice. Every day he gets a little bit better and now some of those critical errors aren’t as — particularly today, he’s making big plays in critical moments as opposed to the other way. So there again, the more he plays the better he gets, and the more he understands what we’re trying to do with him and he’s a playmaker.”

Or, take the word of one of his teammates.




“It's fun to see him fly around and make plays,” Anzalone said.

“Does he play like a rookie?" he was asked.

“No,” Anzalone said. “I feel like any SEC guy that comes in, they're ready to play. They are plug and play.”

It probably won't shock you that Anzalone played for the University of Florida. So he may be a bit biased.



Hard to pick his best moment


“What was your favorite play from this game?” I asked Branch at his locker.

Several possibilities came to my mind. It's the first time since 1994 that an NFL defensive back had at least 10 tackles, three tackles for loss and two pass breakups in one game.


Maybe it was how he came flying into the backfield like a heat-seeking missile, wrapping his arms around Allgeier and burying him.

Or maybe it was how he dropped back into coverage, soared into the air and knocked away a ball intended for Kyle Pitts. Branch, it should be noted, stands 6-foot and weighs 203 pounds, while Pitts is 6-6 and weighs 247.

Or maybe it was when he read a motion pass to Pitts, flew past a blocker, came up and took down Pitts with ease. It showed his quickness, football IQ and instincts. All in one play.


Or maybe it was how he came flying in and tackled rookie running back Bijan Robinson in the backfield.

You get the point.

“I was shooting the gaps pretty good,” Branch said. “Hey, film study paid off.”


F is for flag


But there’s more.

In the fourth quarter, when the Lions had a 20-6 lead and the Falcons had the ball, Branch came up with a monster hit.


Robinson caught a short pass and Branch crushed him.

“We were in our zone coverage,” Branch said. “I had nobody coming until Bijan came out to my zone. I was just licking my chops knowing that he didn't see me coming and the quarterback still threw it.”



Licking my chops?

To unleash a monster hit?

I’m telling you, there is so much to like about him.


Branch unleashed the hit, Robinson’s helmet went flying and the ref threw the flag.

“(Expletive) it,” Branch said. “I showed him I'm not scared to tackle, and I'll take the flag, to be honest.”



Just three games into his NFL career, it’s clear the Lions have found themselves a gem.

Even though he was a second-round pick, which is nothing to be ashamed of, Branch was a steal in this draft. So, give GM Brad Holmes credit.

“Branch showed up,” Tracy Walker said. “He stepped up to the plate. He had a new role, but he was able to go out there and still make plays and do his job. So it definitely stood out and he definitely made a lot of plays.”

So, let me start the campaign right now.


Yes, it’s early.

Yes, it’s only three games. It's a small sample size.



But I have no doubt he’s only going to get better.

So let me say it clearly: Brian Branch for Defensive Rookie of the Year.


Best of all, I don’t think talk like that would even faze him.

Because he’s so consumed about what he’s doing wrong.



Contact Jeff Seidel at jseidel@freepress.com or follow him @seideljeff.

[whatever_gong82]

Detroit Lions game balls and goats: Brian Branch might be best defensive player already


Dave Birkett
Detroit Free Press

Free Press sports writer Dave Birkett highlights the best and worst performances from the Detroit Lions' 20-6 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday at Ford Field:


Game balls

DB Brian Branch

He’s three games into his NFL career, but it’s not hyperbole to say Branch may be the Lions’ best defensive player already. On Sunday, the rookie cornerback had 11 solo tackles, three for loss, and two pass breakups to key the Lions’ best defensive effort since 2018.

Branch has phenomenal football instincts. He plays the run like he’s shot out of a cannon, beating blockers to the edge like he’s in the offensive huddle. He has cut down his mistakes in pass defense and helped make Kyle Pitts (five catches on nine targets for 41 yards) a non-factor Sunday. And he had the type of sparkplug performance the Lions will need more of with C.J. Gardner-Johnson possibly done for the year.



“You could feel his energy,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “And I’ve said this, he gets better every practice. Every day he gets a little bit better and now some of those critical errors aren’t as — particularly today, he’s making big plays in critical moments as opposed to the other way. So there again, the more he plays the better he gets. … He’s a playmaker.”



WR Amon-Ra St. Brown

The Lions didn’t have much going in the passing game Sunday as Jared Goff targeted just four players — and two receivers — on pass attempts. Rookie tight end Sam LaPorta had a big day with eight targets for 84 yards, but St. Brown deserves a mention for his nine-catch, 102-yard performance.


St. Brown missed practice time with an ankle injury this week and wasn’t at 100% Sunday. He still found a way to have a huge impact on an offense that struggled to move the ball. He made an important 15-yard catch to dig the Lions out of first-and-25 on their first quarter field goal drive, he had a 19-yard catch on third-and-8 to set up LaPorta’s touchdown, and he opened the Lions’ second and final touchdown drive with a 17-yard gain.


St. Brown is so consistent it’s sometimes easy to overlook his production and what he does for the team.


Goats

CB Jerry Jacobs

Jacobs makes this list more as a representative for the Lions’ penalty problems than for his play. He was flagged twice for pass interference Sunday, and while one of those calls was questionable, he was lucky to avoid a third pass interference penalty when he hit a receiver early after Aidan Hutchinson tipped a ball at the line of scrimmage.


The Lions had 10 enforced penalties for 119 yards Sunday. Branch was flagged twice for personal fouls and Penei Sewell was called for two holding penalties. Carl Cheffers’ officiating crew is one of the most flag-happy in the NFL, but as Campbell said after the game, the Lions need to clean up the penalties.



The New Orleans Saints


The Lions would be alone in first place in the NFC North right now if it weren’t for a monumental collapse by the Saints in their 18-17 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday at Lambeau Field.

Trailing 17-0 early in the fourth quarter, the Packers mounted three straight scoring drives, kicking a 38-yard field and scoring touchdowns on a 1-yard run by Jordan Love (followed by a two-point conversion) and an 8-yard pass from Love to Romeo Doubs to score 18 unanswered points for the win.


The Saints lost starting quarterback Derek Carr to injury, which explains why their offense went so cold. But as slim as the margin for error is in the NFL, it would have been nice to see the Lions go a game up on their rivals heading in Thursday’s showdown in Green Bay.



Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him @davebirkett.

[chemiclord]

Remember when all we needed to see was "10 penalties" and feel supremely confident the Lions had lost?

[whatever_gong82]

Desmond Ridder’s performance shows Falcons still have a quarterback problem


An "The Athletic" article from the Atlanta perspective yesterday.


By Jeff Schultz
Sep 24, 2023


DETROIT — Desmond Ridder is only 24 years old with seven NFL starts on his resume, so don’t take this as some declaration that there is no hope for him in his NFL career. But hope right now is wheezing, along with the Atlanta Falcons offense.


This level of offensive failure wasn’t expected on this team’s bingo card after Atlanta spent consecutive first-round draft picks on a running back, a wide receiver and a tight end and hired a coach who has long called plays for a living.


The Falcons are 2-1. If you don’t go any deeper than that, it’s not a bad view to this point. But take a few steps back and things get gloomy real quick. Ridder has been a problem. He was unimpressive through most of the first two games against the Carolina Panthers and Green Bay Packers until strong fourth quarters enabled wins — and, yes, that is what mattered most. But Sunday’s performance in a 20-6 loss to the Detroit Lions was pure misery. Ridder was 12-for-25 for 119 yards with five sacks early in the fourth quarter when the score was 20-3, after which yardage against a prevent defense became empty calories.

When a team drafts Kyle Pitts, Drake London and Bijan Robinson, it’s not supposed to fail to score a touchdown. It’s not supposed to start 1-for-10 on third down and have six possessions where it fails to get a first down.


It’s not supposed to average 2.8 yards per play.

Or fail to cross the 50 in seven of the first nine possessions.


Or fail to make it to the opponent’s red zone until there are only five minutes left in the game.


A team with Pitts, London and Robinson is not supposed to take possession after a Jessie Bates interception at the Lions’ 43 and then run four plays: 4-yard run, 2-yard run, incomplete, incomplete.

The Falcons have a Ridder problem. Because even with clear protection issues on one side of the ball (seven sacks) and an anemic pass rush on the other (zero), the primary difference between Atlanta and Detroit on Sunday was the play of their quarterbacks.


Jared Goff made plays. Ridder made mistakes.


Ridder’s teammates and coach Arthur Smith maintain confidence in him. Of course they do. It’s three games in, so nobody is going to start a Taylor Heinicke campaign right now. But even Ridder acknowledges he missed some throws, missed some reads. He said he has to think and react quicker.


“Through three weeks, we haven’t even skimmed the surface of what we’re supposed to be,” he said of the offense.

He understands the criticism. When asked whether this game was a rude awakening after his comeback efforts against the Packers last week, he said: “I wouldn’t say it’s a rude awakening. More so a test. And we went out there and failed the test.”



Smith seemed to abandon the running game early. Robinson (10-for-33) averaged only 3.3 yards per carry, and the team was only 20-for-44 (2.2). But almost nothing worked. Smith appeared to have lost confidence in Ridder in the third quarter when he opted for a Robinson run on third-and-6 from the Lions’ 29 and trailing 13-3.

The coach denied that. He said he viewed that situation as “four-down territory” and intended to run the ball twice in hopes of getting a first down. But when Robinson was stuffed for only a 1-yard gain, Smith opted for a 47-yard field goal try. Younghoe Koo missed.


“Obviously, the play didn’t work,” Smith said.

Even if Smith’s explanation for his decision is true, what does it say that he has more confidence in consecutive running plays in that situation than a Ridder pass attempt — with Pitts, London, Mack Hollins and even Robinson as potential targets?


Smith maintained his confidence level in Ridder is “real high.”

The quarterback’s teammates echoed their support.


“That’s my guy, and I’m going to ride with him until the wheels fall off,” London said.

I immediately looked around for randomly rolling tires.



“I hope he doesn’t listen to none of that (criticism) because I think he’s a great quarterback,” Robinson said. “He’s a great leader as well. He needs to keep his faith high and understand this is just one game. Don’t let this game set him back, mentally or physically. Quarterbacks can always go to social media and look at different things there, but for him, that’s not the way to go. He knows that. He just has to get better and learn from it. We’ve all got his back.”

Smith and general manager Terry Fontenot built this team to try to make it comfortable for their quarterback. But one undeniable truth about the NFL is that quarterback play most often makes the difference in wins and losses.



Next week, the Falcons face the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Trevor Lawrence in London. The week after, it’s the Houston Texans and CJ Stroud. Both are first-round picks their teams chose to build around.

The Falcons will face their share of average teams with average quarterbacks the rest of the year, so this might still work out. They won’t have many Sundays as miserable as this one. But ultimately, Ridder has to prove he’s the guy or the franchise will move in a different direction after the season. He did nothing to alter that reality Sunday.



Jeff Schultz is a senior writer for The Athletic based in Atlanta. He previously worked for newspapers in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Atlanta. He co-hosted the popular “We Never Played The Game” podcast and has covered several Olympics, championships and boxing title fights. Follow Jeff on Twitter @JeffSchultzATL. Follow Jeff on Twitter @JeffSchultzATL

[whatever_gong82]

Dan Campbell applies the pressure, and Lions’ defense responds vs. Falcons


By Colton Pouncy
Sep 24, 2023


DETROIT — Moments after his team’s win over the Atlanta Falcons Sunday afternoon, Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell began his postgame comments by acknowledging he’s not always easy to work with. When asked about those comments later, and if there was a deeper meaning behind them this week in particular, Campbell continued.


“I just applied a little pressure,” he said.

Pressure. That’s a word of the week around these parts. Much of that pressure was applied to Campbell’s defense in the last week — both externally and internally. The Lions were coming off a 37-31 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, in which the defense couldn’t be trusted to get key stops or generate havoc in the backfield. Campbell said afterward that he needed his most reliable players to be reliable. Players heard his words — some direct, some indirect. All that was left was the response.


So, then, how does a 20-6 win and a suffocating defensive effort sound?

“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,” defensive end Aidan Hutchinson said. “So, it’s frustrating. That’s just the game of football. … You’re so proud of the boys for producing, for getting after it.”


Take yourself inside the mind of a Lions defender. You see the praise the offense gets. You see the points they put on the board, top five in scoring offense a year ago. You try your best to match that defensively, to be on the same level, but you’re just not there.

You’re overshadowed in most wins. The blame comes your way in losses. Wash, rinse, repeat.


The unit has been met with a healthy dose of criticism in seasons past and present. Detroit has ranked near the bottom of most statistical defensive categories the last two years. If you’ve watched them play during much of that stretch, your eyes would tell you the same thing.

They don’t deserve the benefit of the doubt. It must be earned. Performances like Sunday help you do it.



Performances like the one we saw Sunday go a long way.

“I just know collectively as a defense, we were on it,” Campbell said. “The guys came out and everybody was in tune with the way we wanted to play. And it’s not like we didn’t play hard last week. It’s just, man, you gotta clean things up and you gotta have everybody on board. And I just thought that the game plan was great, I thought the guys executed it well and I thought we played with a lot of intensity and tempo and set the tone for the day and just really never stopped.”


Campbell’s ability to challenge his players to be the best versions of themselves without losing an ear in the process is one of his best attributes as a coach. It helps that he picks and chooses his spots, so that when he does do it, it’s warranted. He wanted more from his defense, against an opponent that couldn’t be overlooked.

The Falcons were 2-0, looking to make it 3-0 behind the strength of their rushing offense. Atlanta entered the day ranked fourth in the NFL in rushing yards, averaging 170.5 per game. It has done so thanks to a strong offensive line, a young phenom at running back — Bijan Robinson, you might’ve heard of him — and an offensive scheme crafted by head coach Arthur Smith.



A year ago, the Lions allowed the fourth-most rushing yards on the ground. Things had been better this year, ranking 10th in rushing allowed entering Week 3, but as is typically the case with this franchise, you needed to see more before you believed more. A difficult test, but one the Lions pulled an all-nighter studying for.

The Falcons took the field to a deafening crowd for their first possession. After three plays, they were forced to punt. They would go on to punt five more times in the game. A theme of sorts.


The defense set the tone early and often, something Campbell himself said after the game. They were sprinting to the football. They were making tackles in space. They were winning one-on-one battles, they were turning pressures into sacks and they were getting off the field when they needed to.

And they did it all on a day in which the offense struggled.



There were times in Sunday’s contest when, despite carrying a lead, it felt like the Falcons would creep their way back. The Lions went up 13-3 with a little less than two minutes left in the second quarter. The game would stay 13-3 until the fourth quarter. During that span, the offense — hobbled and limping — failed to create much separation despite the defense holding firm the way it did. The Falcons had chances to strike back. The Lions didn’t let them.

Atlanta’s second-half drives: missed field goal, punt, punt, turnover on downs, field goal, fumble.


“They did an unbelievable job today,” tight end Sam LaPorta said. “A lot of credit to them, because we stalled out on a couple drives. Quick three-and-outs, which obviously we’re not looking for. … Definitely carried their weight today. Just happy for them.”

“I don’t think they could’ve played much better,” quarterback Jared Goff said. “It’s pretty impressive what they did.”



The numbers tell the tale of a dominant defensive effort. The Falcons had rushed for 100 yards in 18 of their last 19 games overall. The Lions held them to 44 yards on 20 rushes. Robinson, a player the Lions scouted but ultimately didn’t draft when they had the chance, broke out last week with 124 rushing yards on 6.5 yards per carry. Detroit held him to just 33 yards on 10 carries.

It wasn’t just rushing defense, though. It was every phase. Overall, the Lions held Atlanta to just 183 yards of offense — the fewest the Lions have allowed in a game since 2018 — on just 2.8 yards per play. That pass rush that was the talk of the week for all the wrong reasons? The Lions had seven sacks on Sunday, after totaling just one through the first two games. They recorded more sacks (7) than points allowed (6). And it wasn’t just one guy putting the pass rush on his back. Six different Lions recorded a sack — the most since 1991 for this franchise. Hutchinson had two of them himself, including a strip-sack and a fumble recovery on Atlanta’s final offensive possession to seal the victory.


Rookie defensive back Brian Branch was arguably the best player on the field Sunday. The second-rounder finished with 11 tackles — all solo — three tackles for a loss and two passes defended. He became the first NFL DB since 1994 with at least 10 tackles, three tackles for a loss and two passes defended in a single game. Not bad for a guy who had to wait an extra day to hear his name called on draft weekend.


“Last week was rough,” Hutchinson said. “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.”

“Coming from a loss last week, we were hungry,” Branch said. “We just wanted to get out here, and this is our get-back day, it felt like. We gonna ride together, and shoot, everybody played for each other tonight.”


So often in games a year ago, Detroit’s defense couldn’t be trusted like it was on Sunday. Even a week ago. That gets to guys. It frustrates them. It’s an ongoing process for a defense that’s adjusting on the fly, working in new pieces, working around injuries, and still trying to establish who they truly are this year. But at least for this week, it certainly seems like Campbell’s message was received.

Pressure makes diamonds, and that was a gem from Detroit’s defense.


Colton Pouncy is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Detroit Lions. He previously covered Michigan State football and basketball for the company, and covered sports for The Tennessean in Nashville prior to joining The Athletic. Follow Colton on Twitter @colton_pouncy

[Iron Lion]

Remember when all we needed to see was "10 penalties" and feel supremely confident the Lions had lost?

Not to mention losing the turnover battle until garbage time.

Sloppy game against a 2-0 team and won comfortably.

[whatever_gong82]

Detroit Lions' Jameson Williams back in building, gambling suspension half over


Dave Birkett
Detroit Free Press


Jameson Williams was back in the Detroit Lions' Allen Park practice facility Monday for the first time in nearly a month.

Williams still has half of his six-game gambling suspension to serve, but the second-year wide receiver can spend the next three weeks around the team, with some restrictions, until he's eligible to return for games beginning Oct. 22.

Williams can't take part in or watch practice, can't attend games at Ford Field or on the road, can't participate in group workouts with teammates and is not required to fulfill his weekly media obligations.


But Lions coach Dan Campbell said Williams attended Monday's team meeting and the Lions are awaiting clarity from the NFL if he can workout with teammates on his own.

"That’s about it for now," Campbell said. "We’ll have him out here training a little bit, but until further notice he can’t practice with us or anything, so we’re kind of in that boat right now."



The No. 12 pick of last year's draft, Williams is expected to add a vertical threat to the Lions passing game, though he's coming off an inconsistent summer.

Williams missed practice time with injuries to both hamstrings in training camp and battled drop problems when he was on the field. Campbell said Williams has recovered from the pulled hamstring he suffered Aug. 16 in a joint practice with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

"It’s good to have him back," Campbell said. "He was in the team meeting. It was good to see him and be around the teammates and so we’ll see what we can do."



Williams is eligible to begin practicing with the Lions on Oct. 17, when the team starts preparations for its Week 7 game against the Baltimore Ravens.


Injury update

The Lions listed 4/5ths of their starting offensive line plus swing tackle Matt Nelson on their estimated injury report Monday: Nelson (ankle), Frank Ragnow (toe/rest) and Halapoulivaati Vaitai (knee) were non-participants, while Taylor Decker (ankle) and Jonah Jackson (thigh) were limited.


Nelson needs surgery to fix the ankle injury he suffered in Sunday's win over the Atlanta Falcons and is headed to injured reserve, while Vaitai will miss his second straight game Thursday against the Green Bay Packers.

Campbell said rookie Colby Sorsdal could start at right tackle this week if Decker cannot return from the ankle injury he suffered against the Kansas City Chiefs.


Running back David Montgomery (thigh), safety Kerby Joseph (hip) and cornerback Emmanuel Moseley (knee/hamstring) were listed as limited participants after sitting out the Falcons game.

Both Montgomery and Decker said they hope to be back Thursday. Because the Lions do not have any live practice reps scheduled this week, Moseley could be another week away from making his debut.


"Certainly we want him to feel really good about him playing, not only certainly being healthy but him having confidence about that, and that’s a little tough to do in a short week like this," Campbell said. "So there’ll be some guys that it’ll be hard to get them to the game probably, and then there’ll be some other guys that’ll have a chance here, that have played and have just been on the injury report for the last week or two or three, somewhere in there."


Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

[whatever_gong82]

Detroit Lions have a burgeoning star at tight end. But don't tell Sam LaPorta


Shawn Windsor
Detroit Free Press


Quirky is the word his coach used to describe him. That’ll happen when you smile as much as Sam LaPorta does. That’ll happen when you smile around so many other serious-minded people.

Not that the Detroit Lions rookie tight end isn’t serious. Of course, he is. It’s just that his resting face says otherwise; his default is grinning.


After Sunday, he should be grinning more, setting an NFL record and all. But then LaPorta never cared much about records. Besides, he’s young.

Ask him about his first NFL touchdown, though, and he’ll admit, yeah, “really cool.” But back to that record, LaPorta, and what it means to be the first tight end to catch 18 passes over their first three games:



“Yeah, definitely … ,” he said, “... going back to my teammates.”

Wait, you thought he wasn’t going to credit them? That he’d take credit for what he’s doing? Come on. That ain’t LaPorta, or any savvy rookie, and LaPorta, despite all the grinning, is nothing if not savvy.


So how did he set the record?



“Jared (Goff) has a lot of trust in me,” he said after the Lions' 20-6 win over the Falcons on Sunday at Ford Field. “The O-line did great today, protecting (Goff) and allowing him to deliver the ball to me. And, of course, there’s a lot of weapons on this offense. So, it’s not like they can key in on one particular person. So, spread the ball around, spread the love. Yeah, that’s really just it.”


Spread the love. Now there’s a mantra to live by. Surely that explains the smiling. Which explains his position coach’s description of him as “quirky.”

“He's light-hearted,” said Steve Heiden, who came to Detroit by way of the Arizona Cardinals, and also by way of the tight end spot on the field — he played the position in the NFL. “A joy to be around.”


And?

“Quirky.”


A little different, in other words. A beam of light in an intensely physical and violent game. Though don’t confuse LaPorta’s beaming face for softness. Well, maybe a little soft around the edges, but that has more to do with his natural affability than his attitude on the field.



Besides, all that smiling hides the internal monologue that’s running through his head all the time. I remember asking him during minicamp if he thought he could be the next great Iowa tight end and he said no, too many days that “aren’t great” to be thinking about that.

“I’ve had my share of tough days already,” he said.


He was smiling as he said it, even as the words coming out of his mouth didn’t fit the facial expression. Spend any time around him at all, though, and it’s not surprising he’d be focusing on what he’s not doing — and what he needs to get better at — than what he is doing well.

Too many not-so-great days?

That’s funny, because LaPorta stirred up buzz the minute drills started in Allen Park last spring. He’s just not comfortable with that sort of praise, not publicly anyway. Besides, he knew what his coaches and teammates thought of him pretty quickly.


“He’s a stud, man,” said Goff.

When did Goff realize LaPorta might be a little different? Maybe even something special?

“The first day when he was at OTAs probably,” he said.

And what did he notice?


“(He) has a great feel for the game, has great hands, obviously has good speed, blocks well when we ask him to block,” said Goff. “But, I know for me personally, he does a great job in the rep progression. I think the most exciting part about him, and I’m sure he’d say this is, he’s not even playing as well as he really could. There’s still some rookie things that happen here or there … the sky’s the limit for him.”


LaPorta caught eight passes for 84 yards Sunday against Atlanta. One of them went for a touchdown, a 45-yarder he hauled in after he’d deked the safety, part of a larger design where Goff faked a handoff and then pretended like he was going to throw short.


The synchronicity parted the field like a combine parts wheat, and when LaPorta saw the spiral headed his way and realized no one was within 10 feet of him, all he could think was:

Come down.

“I was just praying (it would),” he said. “Felt like it hung in the air for 15 seconds.”

Eventually, it came down and LaPorta grabbed it and raced into the end zone. From there, he tossed the ball to an official and trotted back up field, angling toward the Lions’s sideline. Before he got too far, a teammate stopped him and told him to go back and get the ball. He’d want that one.



Firsts are like that. And while LaPorta isn’t the first tight end to show promise as a rookie, or even the first tight end from Iowa to show promise as a rookie, he combines physicality with fluidity and athleticism in a way that looks different from tight ends past.


At least around here. Add in that he doesn't make the same mistake twice, and it’s no wonder Goff trusts LaPorta the way he does, and is looking for him more and more, as Dan Campbell noted.

“He’s got a pretty good rapport with him,” Campbell said of Goff. “He’s beginning to look for him a little bit, which only helps us. It only alleviates a little stress off (Amon-Ra St. Brown) and the other guys.”

LaPorta should smile at that thought. And smile at this thought, too:

“The kid’s playing pretty good right now,” said Campbell. “And he’s … 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.”



Contact Shawn Windsor: 313-222-6487 or swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him@shawnwindsor.

[whatever_gong82]

Detroit Lions OL Colby Sorsdal got 'welcome' to NFL from pass rusher he grew up watching


Dave Birkett
Detroit Free Press


After Jared Goff took the first of three knees to end Sunday's win over the Atlanta Falcons, Detroit Lions rookie Colby Sorsdal sidled up next to Falcons defensive end Bud Dupree.


"I told him I was like, 'I don’t mean to make you feel old, but I watched you growing up a little bit,'" Sorsdal said. "He gave me my first welcome to the NFL moment a little bit, but settled in from there."

A Pennsylvania native who was in high school when Dupree was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sorsdal made his offensive debut Sunday, playing 36 emergency snaps at right tackle after the Lions lost Matt Nelson (ankle) and Dan Skipper (hamstring) to injury.


The experience wasn't all smooth. Dupree knocked Sorsdal on his butt with one third quarter pass rush on his way to hitting Lions quarterback Jared Goff.



But Sorsdal didn't allow a sack and walked away feeling good about a performance that could earn him more playing time in the near future.

"Obviously there’s always some stuff to clean up and I was going against some pretty good competition," Sorsdal said. "Just in terms of my tackle sets, they’re probably a little rusty so we’ll get in the film room (Monday), clean that stuff up, but I felt like it was awesome. It was awesome, just from my own personal experience and that’s a dream come true is playing on Sundays. That’s the big leagues so it was really cool."



A fifth-round pick out of William & Mary, Sorsdal started five seasons at right tackle for the Tribe but has played mostly guard in his five months with the Lions.


He practiced some at right tackle in training camp, and went into Sunday's game as the Lions' top interior backup on a line that was shorthanded because of injury.

Penei Sewell, the Lions' regular right tackle, started his second straight game at left tackle in place of Taylor Decker, and Graham Glasgow replaced the injured Halapoulivaati Vaitai at right guard.


Essentially the Lions' fourth-string right tackle, Sorsdal entered the game late in the second quarter, after Nelson was carted off the field with an ankle injury and Skipper, a game day elevation from the practice squad, felt a tug on his hamstring. Sorsdal played the final three offensive snaps of the second quarter and the entire second half.

"It’s a tough spot for Skip and then it’s definitely a tough spot for Colby after that having to play tackle," Goff said. "I don’t know how many reps he’s had at that, but he battled, man. He really battled. They both battled. I know Skip went out with the injury, but they both battled and I thought they did a good job."


Lions coach Dan Campbell said he was happy with the way Sorsdal "battled" at right tackle, and proud of his offensive line as a whole for navigating a tough injury situation.


The Lions tilted help Sorsdal's way much of the second half, and might need to accommodate the rookie in their game plan again Thursday when they face the Green Bay Packers on a short week at Lambeau Field


Vaitai is expected to miss his second straight game with a knee injury, and Decker's status is uncertain given that he hasn't practiced since injuring his ankle in the Lions' Sept. 7 win over the Kansas City Chiefs and the team does not have any live reps planned for practice this week.

"I played right tackle my whole college career so it was like riding a bike," Sorsdal said. "I think the angles change a little bit different at guard and tackle. I think I’ve told you it’s like a knife fight in a phone booth at guard, but you’re out in space at tackle. No, it was a cool adjustment and I was just happy to get out there and play."


Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.