Lions ride Jahmyr Gibbs’ big night to beat Raiders as Jimmy Garoppolo struggles in return
By The Athletic Staff and more
Oct 31, 2023
By Colton Pouncy, Tashan Reed and Vic Tafur
The Detroit Lions defeated the Las Vegas Raiders 26-14 at Ford Field on Monday night. Here’s what you need to know:
* The Lions fed running back Jahmyr Gibbs early and often, giving the rookie 26 carries. He totaled a career-high 152 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
* Despite Lions quarterback Jared Goff throwing a pick-six in the third quarter, he finished with 272 yards and a touchdown on 26-of-37 passes.
* Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who missed Week 7 with a back injury, struggled in his return Monday. He finished with 126 yards on 10-of-21 passing, tossing one interception with no touchdowns.
* After the game, Las Vegas coach Josh McDaniels was noncommittal about Garoppolo remaining the team’s starter. The QB leads the NFL with nine interceptions and the Raiders offense has failed to score more than 19 points in a game this season.
Jahmyr Gibbs’ big night
That was a breakout game for Gibbs. A career-high 189 scrimmage yards on 31 total touches, highlighted by a 27-yard touchdown run and a leap into the crowd to celebrate. This is why the Lions drafted Gibbs with the 12th pick. He’s a dynamic talent who’s a threat to take it the distance every time he touches the ball.
He’s steadily improved all season, and tonight’s effort was all the more impressive when you consider he ran behind backups along the interior offensive line. In front of a national audience, Gibbs picked a great time to show the NFL what he’s all about. — Colton Pouncy, Lions staff writer
Where things stand for 6-2 Detroit
It wasn’t the cleanest game for the Lions, but they’ll gladly take this win. The team improved to 6-2 on the season and has a two-game lead in an NFC North division that’s looking weaker and weaker. The Chicago Bears are 2-6, the Green Bay Packers are 2-5 and the 4-4 Minnesota Vikings are without star wide receiver Justin Jefferson and quarterback Kirk Cousins, who is done for the season with a torn Achilles.
The Lions, meanwhile, are in second place in the NFC ahead of the trade deadline and their bye week. It’s a good time to heal up and potentially add to the roster. Hard to complain about this start. We’ll see what Tuesday brings. — Pouncy
Timely defense kept Las Vegas alive
The Raiders were thoroughly outplayed throughout their loss to the Lions, but they trailed by just two points late in the third quarter thanks to some timely takeaways from their defense. When their offense took over with 5:29 left to play in the period, they had a chance to take the lead largely because Luke Masterson had forced a fumble, cornerback Marcus Peters came up with a pick-six and defensive end Maxx Crosby forced another fumble.
In the end, though, the offense that’s been struggling all year long failed to capitalize. They went scoreless in the second half, the defense eventually broke down and the Lions pulled away for the win. The Raiders had a chance to win a game they had no business still being in, but they squandered it. Now, they’re 3-5 with their season on the brink. — Tashan Reed, Raiders staff writer
Raiders’ offensive woes continue
The Raiders defense kept the Lions out of the endzone on three goal-to-go drives and even had an interception return for a touchdown by Marcus Peters. But the Lions still scored 26 points and that was way more than enough against a Raiders offense that has not cracked 20 points all season. Garoppolo was terrible, framing his performance with an interception on a short pass to Davante Adams in the first quarter and then a throw where he overthrew an open Adams deep in the endzone.
The Raiders used receiver Hunter Renfrow more than they had all season, perhaps in an effort to showcase him before Tuesday’s trade deadline, but that didn’t help. — Vic Tafur, Raiders senior writer
Key stats
The Raiders failed to complete a pass to a wide receiver in the first half.
Lions tight end Sam Laporta, who caught Goff’s touchdown pass, has four receiving scores this season. In college, he caught five touchdowns in four years at Iowa.
Highlights of the game
By The Athletic Staff and more
Oct 31, 2023
By Colton Pouncy, Tashan Reed and Vic Tafur
The Detroit Lions defeated the Las Vegas Raiders 26-14 at Ford Field on Monday night. Here’s what you need to know:
* The Lions fed running back Jahmyr Gibbs early and often, giving the rookie 26 carries. He totaled a career-high 152 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
* Despite Lions quarterback Jared Goff throwing a pick-six in the third quarter, he finished with 272 yards and a touchdown on 26-of-37 passes.
* Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who missed Week 7 with a back injury, struggled in his return Monday. He finished with 126 yards on 10-of-21 passing, tossing one interception with no touchdowns.
* After the game, Las Vegas coach Josh McDaniels was noncommittal about Garoppolo remaining the team’s starter. The QB leads the NFL with nine interceptions and the Raiders offense has failed to score more than 19 points in a game this season.
Jahmyr Gibbs’ big night
That was a breakout game for Gibbs. A career-high 189 scrimmage yards on 31 total touches, highlighted by a 27-yard touchdown run and a leap into the crowd to celebrate. This is why the Lions drafted Gibbs with the 12th pick. He’s a dynamic talent who’s a threat to take it the distance every time he touches the ball.
He’s steadily improved all season, and tonight’s effort was all the more impressive when you consider he ran behind backups along the interior offensive line. In front of a national audience, Gibbs picked a great time to show the NFL what he’s all about. — Colton Pouncy, Lions staff writer
Where things stand for 6-2 Detroit
It wasn’t the cleanest game for the Lions, but they’ll gladly take this win. The team improved to 6-2 on the season and has a two-game lead in an NFC North division that’s looking weaker and weaker. The Chicago Bears are 2-6, the Green Bay Packers are 2-5 and the 4-4 Minnesota Vikings are without star wide receiver Justin Jefferson and quarterback Kirk Cousins, who is done for the season with a torn Achilles.
The Lions, meanwhile, are in second place in the NFC ahead of the trade deadline and their bye week. It’s a good time to heal up and potentially add to the roster. Hard to complain about this start. We’ll see what Tuesday brings. — Pouncy
Timely defense kept Las Vegas alive
The Raiders were thoroughly outplayed throughout their loss to the Lions, but they trailed by just two points late in the third quarter thanks to some timely takeaways from their defense. When their offense took over with 5:29 left to play in the period, they had a chance to take the lead largely because Luke Masterson had forced a fumble, cornerback Marcus Peters came up with a pick-six and defensive end Maxx Crosby forced another fumble.
In the end, though, the offense that’s been struggling all year long failed to capitalize. They went scoreless in the second half, the defense eventually broke down and the Lions pulled away for the win. The Raiders had a chance to win a game they had no business still being in, but they squandered it. Now, they’re 3-5 with their season on the brink. — Tashan Reed, Raiders staff writer
Raiders’ offensive woes continue
The Raiders defense kept the Lions out of the endzone on three goal-to-go drives and even had an interception return for a touchdown by Marcus Peters. But the Lions still scored 26 points and that was way more than enough against a Raiders offense that has not cracked 20 points all season. Garoppolo was terrible, framing his performance with an interception on a short pass to Davante Adams in the first quarter and then a throw where he overthrew an open Adams deep in the endzone.
The Raiders used receiver Hunter Renfrow more than they had all season, perhaps in an effort to showcase him before Tuesday’s trade deadline, but that didn’t help. — Vic Tafur, Raiders senior writer
Key stats
The Raiders failed to complete a pass to a wide receiver in the first half.
Lions tight end Sam Laporta, who caught Goff’s touchdown pass, has four receiving scores this season. In college, he caught five touchdowns in four years at Iowa.
Highlights of the game
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