Meaningless Monday Night. Gameday Thread Lions at 49rs 12/30/24

[froot loops]

Agreed

[El Axe]

It's amazing Goff isn't even in talks for MVP. Since that doomed 5 int. game everybody wrote him out.

There's a handful of qb's having epic seasons. Stats wise too. Goff is certainly one of them. Had a few mediocre to bad games early as defenses were crowding the middle of the field. The Lions and Goff has made the necessary adjustments.

To be fair, Allen & Jackson are having historically good seasons

I've heard chatter about Goff being in the top-5, but it's a 2-man race.

[Sanders Fan]

If the Lions score their average of 33 points next week they will only be behind the 2007 Patriots and 2013 Broncos. Talk about elite company.

[Meano.Culpa]

Looked like the 49ers were running a lot of misdirection stuff like the Bills used and the Lions couldn’t stop. Smart coaching.

Jack Campbell has been great, but with Barnes, Anzalone, and Rodriguez out, the LBs have been out of position for weeks.

Bills game was Cook gashes on misdirection and Ty Johnson plus a couple of tight ends. 49ers attacked at a different level, but similar communication problems.

[whatever_gong82]

Rapid Rewind: Joseph, Lions defense put clamps on 49ers in second half as part of puntless game

Justin Rogers
Dec 31



Santa Clara, Calif. — Neither defense could muster a stop in the first half, but only the Detroit Lions were able to sustain the torrid scoring pace the final two quarters.

Fueled by two Kerby Joseph interceptions, the Lions' defense held the San Francisco 49ers to just 14 points after allowing touchdowns on the opposition’s first three possessions as Detroit held on for a 40-34 victory at Levi's Stadium Monday night.

San Francisco held an eight-point lead at the half after the teams combined for nearly 500 yards of offense by the break. But the Lions tied the game on the first drive of the third quarter and never let their foot off the gas, scoring all five possessions in the second half before taking a knee to end the contest.

Interestingly, neither team punted in the contest.

The win extends Detroit’s franchise record win total to 14, leading into next week’s colossal matchup with the 14-2 Minnesota Vikings to determine the NFC’s No. 1 seed.


Game ball

With two, second-half interceptions, Kerby Joseph moved to nine on the season. That gives him sole possession of the league lead and is the most by a Lions defender since Jimmy “Spiderman” Allen snagged nine in 1981.


Scoring summary

First quarter

● 8:37 — Taking the opening kickoff, the 49ers drove 61 yards with 11 plays. Leaning on a diverse run game, four different players carried the ball, but it was quarterback Brock Purdy who put the finishing touches on the possession, completing all three of his throws, including a 3-yard touchdown toss to rookie Ricky Pearsall. 49ERS 7, LIONS 0

● 3:42 — Detroit countered with a touchdown drive fueled by running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and Craig Reynolds. Gibbs racked up 32 yards on three carries, while Reynolds added 26 on a swing route, setting up first-and-goal. On third-and-goal from the 3, receiver Jameson Williams took an end-around out of motion and high-stepped across the goal line. Jake Bates had his extra point blocked, leaving the Lions down a point in the early-going. 49ERS 7, LIONS 6


Second quarter

● 14:53 — It looks like we might have a track meet on our hands. The 49ers kept the touchdown parade going with a six-play scoring drive. Purdy stayed perfect on the night, going 4-for-4 with a 9-yard dump-off to fullback Kyle Juszczyk to cap it. 49ERS 14, LIONS 6

● 10:09 — Things didn’t look good after a holding call and a sack had the Lions facing second-and-23 near midfield. But offensive coordinator Ben Johnson dialed up a hook-and-ladder on third down and Williams got the corner after taking the pitch from St. Brown, racing 41 yards down the right sideline to help the Lions keep pace. 49ERS 14, LIONS 13

● 6:13 — There have been 15 passes attempted between the two quarterbacks and zero incompletions. Taking advantage of cornerback Terrion Arnold and Brian Branch colliding, Purdy found Pearsall for a 40-yard gain, setting up a 9-yard scoring scramble for the QB. 49ERS 21, LIONS 13


Third quarter

● 9:58 — After a brief scoring lull to end the first half, quarterback Jared Goff came out of the locker room slinging it, completing 5-of-6 for 58 yards, ending the possession with a 6-yard scoring strike to tight end Sam LaPorta across the middle. A successful 2-point try from the QB to Tim Patrick drew Detroit even. LIONS 21, 49ERS 21

● 7:40 — The 49ers’ counterpunch was 70 yards in six plays. Back-to-back completions to Pearsall and All-Pro tight end George Kittle netted 61 yards, leading to a 5-yard tap pass to Deebo Samuel. 49ERS 28, LIONS 21

● 4:25 — A 28-yard pass to LaPorta quickly moved the Lions across midfield, but Goff was dropped far behind the line of scrimmage by Nick Bosa on third down, leaving the Lions to settle for a 57-yard Jake Bates field goal. 49ERS 28, LIONS 24

● 0:19 — Taking over in San Francisco territory after an interception, the Lions moved into the red zone, before starting to sputter. Facing fourth-and-goal at the 4-yard line, the offense stayed on the field, allowing Goff to find St. Brown for the go-ahead score. LIONS 31, 49ERS 28


Fourth quarter

● 10:29 — After another fourth-down conversion near midfield, the Lions managed to squeeze three points out of a drive with a 42-yard Bates field goal. LIONS 34, 49ERS 28

● 2:58 — Gibbs delivered the nail in the 49ers’ coffin, getting around the right edge for a 30-yard touchdown. LIONS 40, 49ERS 28

● 0:43 — After pulling Purdy, backup quarterback Josh Dobbs led a 11-play, 72-yard scoring drive that he polished off with a 7-yard scoring run. The 49ers missed the extra point. LIONS 40, 49ERS 34


Turnovers

● Joseph regained the NFL lead with his eighth interception of the season. Purdy overshot Pearsall on the third-quarter target. It marked the defense’s first pick in the last six games.

● Holding a six-point lead halfway through the fourth quarter, Joseph undercut a throw intended for Pearsall for his second interception of the game and ninth of the season.


Key stats

● Goff was stellar in the victory, completing 26-of-34 for 303 yards and three touchdowns.

● Gibbs blew past the century mark with his 30-yard score in the fourth quarter, finishing with 117 yards and the touchdown with 18 carries.

● Williams led Detroit’s pass catchers with five grabs for 77 yards. Three Lions finished with 60 or more yards receiving.

● Jack Campbell paced the Lions with nine tackles. Myles Adams and Brian Branch added sacks for the Lions.


Notable

● St. Brown moved past Golden Tate for fifth place on the team’s all-time receptions list and sixth on the team’s receiving yardage ranking.

● After five consecutive touchdown drives to open the contest, the Lions turned it over on downs deep in 49ers territory, then kicker Jake Moody missed a 51-yard field goal in the closing seconds of the half on the ensuing drive.

● Penei Sewell left for the locker room at the end of the first half, missing his first offensive snap since Week 2.

● The Lions became the second team in NFL history with four players amassing 1,000 yards from scrimmage and seven touchdowns in a single season, joining the 2004 Indianapolis Colts.

● Bates reset the franchise’s single-season scoring record, passing Jason Hanson’s 2012 campaign.

Injuries

● None.


Inactives

Beyond running back David Montgomery, who was ruled out on Saturday with a knee injury, the Lions made the following players inactive: Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, offensive tackle Giovani Manu, guard Kayode Awosika, offensive lineman Colby Sorsdal, defensive lineman Jonah Williams and defensive tackle Brodric Martin.


Next game

The Lions will play the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday Night Football in a game that will determine the No. 1 seed in the NFC.



Email: jrogers@detroitfootball.net

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[whatever_gong82]

[DanO]

"Jack Campbell has been great, but with Barnes, Anzalone, and Rodriguez out, the LBs have been out of position for weeks."
---------------Hopefully Anzalone comes back this week.

[DanO]

"Injuries

● None."
Most important part of the game.

[whatever_gong82]

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2024/12/30/grudge-match-lions-hold-off-49ers-40-34-set-up-showdown-vs-vikings/77336000007/

[whatever_gong82]

Detroit Lions grades: Joseph's takeaways complement Goff, Gibbs, high-flying offense

Richard Silva
The Detroit News

Paywall article.


Santa Clara, Calif. — Richard Silva grades the Detroit Lions in their 40-34 win over the San Francisco 49ers on "Monday Night Football."


Quarterback

The second half's first drive saw Jared Goff make two particularly impressive throws, both showcasing his touch. The first was a 13-yard gain to Amon-Ra St. Brown he dropped perfectly over Deommodore Lenoir, and the second was a 21-yard toss to Allen Robinson down the left sideline. Goff couldn't find Sam LaPorta for a score on fourth down early — he may have been late on the read, though it's impossible to know for sure without knowing the progressions — but he redeemed himself by firing a 6-yard touchdown to the tight end in the third quarter. Grade: A


Running backs

For the second straight game, Jahmyr Gibbs had to handle an increased workload without David Montgomery complementing him. And for the second straight game, Gibbs excelled. The second-year running back finished with 163 yards on 22 touches, including five gains of 10 or more yards. Craig Reynolds popped with a couple of notable plays in his limited opportunties, highlighted by a 26-yard catch-and-run to get the Lions into the red zone and set them up for their first score three plays later. Grade: A+


Wide receivers/tight ends

Talk about a well-balanced attack. Detroit's top three pass-catchers — LaPorta (64), St. Brown (60) and Jameson Williams (77) — all finished with 60 or more receiving yards, and all three scored at least one touchdown. Williams chipped in two; one came courtesy of a nifty hook-and-ladder that featured St. Brown flipping the ball to Williams (Tim Patrick gave Williams a great block to spring him free), and the other was a 3-yard rush that ended with him high-stepping into the end zone after Graham Glasgow sealed the edge for him. Grade: A


Offensive line

Nick Bosa was all over the place off the edge against both left tackle Taylor Decker and right tackle Penei Sewell, notching four quarterback hits and four tackles for loss. He also forced Sewell into a holding penalty in the second quarter, and one of his two sacks nearly pushed the Lions out of field-goal range. That said, the run blocking was once again elite from Detroit's offensive line, as its running backs average 5.6 yards per carry. That allowed the Lions to control the clock in the second half, holding the ball for 20 minutes and 11 seconds. Grade: B+


Defensive line

To say the pass rush was disappointing, especially in the first half, would be an understatement. The 49ers were without their starting left tackle and left guard, and yet there was next to no pressure on Brock Purdy for large stretches. San Francisco's quarterback was sacked twice, but it took Detroit until the fourth quarter to finally bring him down — Myles Adams, who was one of three linemen to register a hit on Purdy, cleaned up a play after initial pressure from Al-Quadin Muhammad — and the second sack stemmed from a blitz from defensive back Brian Branch. Grade: D+


Linebackers

It'd be huge for the Lions if Alex Anzalone can get back for next week's regular-season finale against the Minnesota Vikings — head coach Dan Campbell said postgame his No. 1 linebacker is "really close" — because they've struggled in his absence. George Kittle, who finished with 112 yards on eight catches, did most of his damage over the middle of the field in spots vacated by Detroit's linebackers, who often bit the cheese on play-fakes. Jalen Reeves-Maybin, playing in his first game since Nov. 3, also misplayed a coverage of Isaac Guerendo, giving up a 40-yard catch. Grade: D+


Secondary

For all of the defense's struggles in the first half, Kerby Joseph came up huge with two interceptions — one apiece in the final two quarters — that effectively made the difference in the game. His first takeaway was an easy one, catching an overthrown pass over the middle, but his second was the result of him jumping a route from Ricky Pearsall. Joseph now has a league-best nine interceptions this season, which is the most for a Lions defender since Jimmy Allen also had nine in 1981. Amik Robertson deserves a shoutout here, too, as he logged a pass breakup on third-and-10 from Detroit's 40-yard line in the fourth quarter to force the 49ers to settle for a 58-yard field goal, which they missed. It wasn't perfect — Terrion Arnold and Branch ran into each other, allowing Pearsall to gain 40 of his career-best 141 receiving yards — but Joseph's two interceptions made all the difference. Grade: B+


Special teams

It was certainly a mixed bag for the special teams unit. Jake Bates knocked through a 57-yarder in the third quarter to cut into San Francisco's lead, but he missed two extra points — one wasn't his fault, as long snapper Hogan Hatten got blown up on a blocked kick — and the kickoff coverage unit allowed Deebo Samuel to return the opening kickoff to the 39-yard line. The Lions also earned an illegal-formation penalty on a kickoff return. The mistakes bring this section down, but Bates' 57-yard boot saves it. Grade: B


Coaching

Revenge? Just the next team in the way? Whatever the mentality coming in was, the Lions were prepared to win what was effectively a meaningless game. The obvious knock here is of the defense's inauspicious start, as that type of performance likely won't cut it against the Vikings in Week 18. Grade: B+


rsilva@detroitnews.com

@rich_silva18

[whatever_gong82]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWPzK4WW-Cc&pp=ygUNZGFuIGNhbXBiZWxsIA%3D%3D

[whatever_gong82]

Locker room buzz: Lions ready for Vikings, Robertson craves big moments and Bates laughs off meme-worthy moment

Justin Rogers
Dec 31


Santa Clara, Calif. — Here’s what I learned bouncing around the Detroit Lions’ locker room following the team’s 40-34 win over the San Francisco 49ers.


The reason they play


It might feel counterintuitive for those of us watching things unfold from the outside, but the Lions are as amped as humanly possible for what’s ahead. Sure, it would be nice if 14 wins were enough to wrap up the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye ahead of the season finale, but that's not reality, not in 2024.

Everything hinges on next Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings. And even though the Lions would have appreciated a little help from the Packers this weekend, they’re embracing the magnitude of the moment.


“This is the type of games you dream of when you're growing up,” offensive tackle Penei Sewell said. “Just looking at that game, these are the moments you live for. Opportunities like this don't come often with all that's on the table. It's time to put the ball down. Let's go.”

That sentiment was shared across Detroit’s locker room and reflective of coach Dan Campbell's attitude, who has been reveling in the highly competitive NFC North race for weeks.


“This is what you’re in it for,” Campbell said after Monday’s win. “You couldn't write a better scenario. You couldn't come up with this. The fact that both teams are sitting at 14-2, and it's for the division and the top seed, it just doesn't get any better than this. This is fairytale stuff. It speaks for itself.

“…I told you the hardest thing was not to overlook what we were getting ready to do today,” Campbell said. “Now that it's here, I'm going to spend the next six hours on the plane like, ‘This is as good as it gets.’”


Cornerback Amik Robertson, who has never shied away from a challenge in his life, summed up his emotions.

“We know it's going to be a banger, man,” he said. “That's what you want. We want it no other way. I want it no other way. Moments like this, dawgs come out, killers come out. We're going to put it all on the line because we know what's at stake.”



Wrestling with rest


Early last week, Campbell promised to play his starters, regardless of what Monday’s game meant to the standings. He didn’t alter that approach after the Vikings won on Sunday, rendering Monday’s result irrelevant.

He offered a rational explanation for why he didn’t change course and make key starters such as quarterback Jared Goff inactive against San Francisco, despite many fans pleading for him to reconsider.


More than anything, the Lions had spent the week preparing as if Monday would offer an opportunity to wrap up the top seed. Once you're committed to that approach, it's difficult to turn the ship around.

“Look, there's nothing easy about this. There're a number of things you got to decide and we don't get to prepare those other guys because you don't know what's going to happen,” Campbell said. “You don't know what's going to happen for first, second down, third down, and red zone leading into the week. For example, (Hendon) Hooker's not getting those reps. Those are (Jared) Goff’s reps because we don't know That's just one example.



“So it's not fair,” Campbell continued. “I just don't believe it's fair to put in a guy who's not prepared to play, especially a young player. You can only sit six guys. So who are those six and then the other guys that don't? Was it fair to them that we're not using everything we've got? We flew out here, we prepared this way, we came out to win and that's ultimately what it came to. You do cross your fingers nobody gets hurt. It's tough and we were fortunate.”

Campbell said he woke up in the middle of the night between Sunday and Monday fighting some of his lingering doubts.


“I thought a lot about it,” Campbell said. “I thought about it leading up to the game. I thought about it last night. I told the staff but I ended up settling on the right thing to do was to play these guys. We owed it to the team and it was just one of those positions we were in. It's just hard to say who you going to sit and it's not fair to ask guys to play in a game that haven't prepared to play. So, that was tough.

“I think the biggest thing there were things we wanted to do better than we did last week and we did,” Campbell said. “We cleaned a lot of things up offensively. I thought defensively, we talked about getting takeaways and we got takeaways. That'll always serve you well going into the next week.”


No challenge too big


Going back to Robertson for a moment, he delivered one of the game’s biggest defensive plays, breaking up a third-down pass that forced the 49ers to settle for a field goal try, which kicker Jake Moody missed.


Robertson has had a knack for stepping up in big moments. He explained how he’s begging for more opportunities by asking his teammates to help create them.

“I told Kerby (Joseph), if I'm on an island, I want no help,” Robertson explained. “I want the ball to come my way because they're going to like the matchup. They'll think, ‘Oh, he's a bigger (receiver)’ and they'll target him. That's what I want. It's an opportunity and I get to showcase what I can do. Kerby will tell you, I told him, 'If you're backside, I don't want no help.' I was able to come up with a play, which I knew I was going to do.



As Robertson made it clear, he’s amped for next Sunday’s matchup against Minnesota. More specifically, he's amped for the opportunity to match up against superstar receiver Justin Jefferson.

The two go way back, to their high school days in Louisiana.


“I went to Thibodaux, he went to Destrehan,” Robertson explained. “We were rivals. We had battles. LSU camp, we had battles. College, when I was at (Louisiana) Tech, my sophomore year we played. It's history. He knows me and I know him.

“It's ain't like we're best buddies, but we respect each others' games,” Robertson said. “And I'm happy for him. He's turned into one of the best players in the league. But with those guys, I'm not backing down. I'm going to come with smoke just like I know he's going to come with it. It's going to be a good matchup.”



Injury updates


Rookie cornerback Terrion Arnold was on the bench to start the second half but rejoined the lineup later in the third quarter. He said it was related to a virus he battled earlier in the week that knocked him out of Thursday’s practice.


“Had to get my wind,” Arnold said. “I had the flu this week. My lungs were hurting.”

Also, at the end of the first half, Sewell left the field and missed the final play of the second quarter. It marked the first offensive snap he missed since Week 2.


“I don't like to miss a play, miss anything,” Sewell said. “Obviously, that was frustrating, but it was one of those things where it wasn't up to me.”

Sewell returned to action in the second half and coach Campbell didn’t express any concern about the issue lingering into next week.



You have to be able to laugh at yourself


With two field goals and two extra points, kicker Jake Bates became Detroit’s new single-season scoring king, passing Jason Hanson's mark set in 2012. The first-year kicker has always shied away from discussing his individual accomplishments but admitted the milestone was meaningful.


“It's really cool, especially with the guys I'm getting to do it with every day, Hogan (Hatten) and Jack (Fox),” Bates said. “It's good with the company I have.”

More than the scoring record, Bates is getting attention coming out of the game because the broadcast captured him doing an awkward stretching routine on the sideline, sparking some screenshots to turn into a meme, including references to “Titanic,” “Seinfeld,” and even “American Pie.”


Hatten was annoyed ABC chose to poke fun at his teammate but acknowledged Bates is a good sport when it comes to laughing at himself.

And even though the game had ended only minutes earlier, Bates was already being overwhelmed by those closest to him joking about the attention the kicker was getting online.


“My family and friends are having a field day with it already,” Bates said. “It's fun. I understand it.”

For what it’s worth, Bates said he’s not injured, it was just a standard stretching routine.



Long snapper irked


Bates had one extra point blocked when a 49ers defender plowed through the A gap and got a hand on the attempt.

I asked Hatten if he knew what happened, but the snapper admitted he hadn’t seen the video to fully process things, only screenshots on the sideline. Still, the snapper felt the 49ers were violating player safety rules designed to protect his position, which is considered in a defenseless posture immediately after the snap.


“Yeah, there were three plays they hit me in the head and neck area,” Hatten said. “The rule is you can't do that. That causes me to grab, grab at legs. I'm 240 pounds and these are 300-pound d-linemen. At some point, I have to defend myself.

“As for the ruling, I'm the long snapper, what do you think I'm going to think?” Hatten said. “I don't see why this continues to be part of the game. Block it off the edge, block it off the wings, this shouldn't be part of the game."


Even though Hatten wasn't thrilled with the 49ers' tactics, he took the blame for the block.

"It's not like it's the first time it's happened all year," he said. "It's happened to other dudes, so I have to be ready for it. I'm blaming myself."



A night to remember

The game might have meant little to the playoff picture, but it meant the world to undrafted rookie safety Morice Norris. He made his professional debut on Monday night.


“It was way different than preseason,” Norris said. “It was like a dream come true, honestly. Being out there with my guys, getting comfortable, getting in the flow of playing at this speed, it was a surreal moment. I probably won't ever forget this day.”

The Lions promoted Norris to the 53-man roster earlier in the week. He said he didn’t know the bump was coming, but it’s what he had been working for all season.


Norris had impressed the coaching staff during training camp but was cut after suffering an injury. The Lions eventually brought him back, setting him up for this debut after several weeks of grinding on the practice squad.

“I'm just blessed,” Norris said. “All glory to God that they brought me back, gave me a second opportunity, a second chance. Now I have to prove why they brought me back. I have to show what I did in training camp that I can do that in real games.”



New-look jumbo package

After a stellar first start last week, the Lions deployed a package with rookie guard Christian Mahogany as an extra blocker. It’s a role he said he occasionally played at Boston College.

“I think it can be really impactful,” he said. “I mean, I think we’ve been impactful (running the ball) all year, no doubt. So just adding more elements to that, more creative ways, it’ll just keep being impactful.”



I asked him if he felt a greater sense of urgency to have an impact when he was playing one or two snaps, compared to 60 or 70 when starting.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I feel like every play, you never know when it could be your last. You never know anything like that, so I try to play every play the same. That’s how I view it.”



Email: jrogers@detroitfootball.net

X: Justin_Rogers

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[whatever_gong82]

Three and Out: Joseph's DPOY case, Campbell sticking to identity, and an overdue mea culpa on offseason decision

Justin Rogers
Dec 31


Approximately 38,000 feet over Colorado — Here are three observations after a second viewing and a night to ponder the Detroit Lions’ 40-34 win over the San Francisco 49ers.


A ‘Zuper’ case for DPOY

Jared Goff isn’t winning MVP. It’s almost certainly going to one of the top quarterbacks in the AFC, either Buffalo’s Josh Allen or Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson.

Allen has had the momentum for a while, but, at this point, I’d argue sympathy for his bridesmaid status the past few years is weighing too heavily into his candidacy. Jackson's having a superior season, even if the Ravens have won two fewer games.


Jackson, a two-time and reigning MVP, had had the best passing season of his career. Honestly, it's not particularly close. He leads the league in passer rating and QBR, ranks second in touchdowns tosses (39), is completing nearly 69% of his passes, and his 8.9 yards per attempt also tops the NFL. Oh, and he’s thrown just four interceptions.

Add in the fact Jackson remains the best and most efficient running threat at his position and I’d argue the choice is clear. Still, Allen might win because there’s a prevailing sentiment he’s due.


But back to Goff. I was dismissive of his chances in October for many of the same reasons I am today. Despite ranking top-five in yards, touchdowns, completion percentage and passer rating, Goff’s lack of dual-threat production requires his passing stats to blow his peers out of the water. And, the reality is, Jackson has been statistically better as a thrower, almost across the board.

Still, with the modern MVP ballot now listing each voter's top three choices, expect Detroit’s QB to get a little love, and deservedly so. He’s had a career year, has elevated his consistency to previously unseen levels, and has led the Lions to a 14-2 record heading into the season finale. It’s been a remarkable year, arguably the best for a quarterback in franchise history, and that merits recognition beyond the home and road crowds chanting his name every week.


But let’s flip the conversation to the league’s Defensive Player of the Year. In November, I prematurely made a fringe case for Lions safety Brian Branch. But unlike Goff, who strengthened his candidacy as the season progressed, Branch has faded. He’s no less a great player, but he hasn’t been as consistently impactful as he was early in the year.

Kerby Joseph, on the other hand, is generating some legitimate buzz as we near the finish line after snagging two interceptions against the 49ers in front of a national audience. That brings his tally to a league-leading nine, the most by a Lions defender in four decades.


Still, the fact remains: It’s not easy for a defensive back to win the award. Only one has claimed the honor in the past decade, and a safety hasn’t taken it home since Troy Polamalu in 2010. But check out the odds on Monday morning and you’ll see Joseph has surged near the top of the board, trailing on Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt.

Watt is a great player. He has been for a long time, but this feels like one of those cases where history is being weighed into the candidacy. Watt has a respectable 11.5 sacks — well off some of his better years — and despite leading the league in forced fumbles (six), he’s generated just 47 pressures. Heading into Week 18, 35 defenders have more, including Detroit’s Za’Darius Smith.


The reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Myles Garrett, has been better than Watt with 14.0 sacks and 79 pressures. But those numbers are also down against his personal standards, plus the Browns have been terrible.

What if Joseph delivers another big play in Week 18 to help the Lions beat the Vikings and secure the NFC’s No. 1 seed? Maybe it’s enough to buck the defensive front’s stranglehold on the award. Wouldn’t that be something?


Aggression revisited and rewarded

Lions coach Dan Campbell was skewered for his trademark aggressiveness when some of those decisions backfired in last year’s NFC Championship. In that heartbreaking loss to the 49ers, the Lions twice passed up field goals to go for it on fourth down in the second half and failed both times.


The caveat has always been the conversation might have been different had the Lions executed. If the typically sure-handed Josh Reynolds doesn’t drop a pass on the first try, maybe the Lions hold on to win and Campbell’s boldness is lauded.

Penthouse to the outhouse, as former Lions coach Jim Caldwell described those decisions.


Beyond aggression, another of Campbell’s defining traits is consistency with his approach. So, to the surprise of no one, the coach again opted to go for it on fourth down multiple times on Monday, and twice while in field-goal range.

The first resulted in a turnover on downs when Goff made one of only a handful of mistakes in the contest, delivering a throw a touch late and behind tight end Sam LaPorta, allowing for it to be broken up in the end zone.


But two other fourth-down tries paid off. On fourth-and-goal from the 4-yard line, Goff found Amon-Ra St. Brown for a touchdown. And a second conversion near midfield in the fourth quarter set up a Jake Bates’ field goal.

Even with the three points the Lions sacrificed with the failed effort in the first half, they gained seven by staying true to their identity. Coincidentally, the net outcome of those decisions proved to be the margin of victory on Monday night.


Doubt dismantled

It’s easy to accept the benefits of a struggling opponent during a game, but now that the dust has settled, you can have a little empathy for what 49ers kicker Jake Moody is going through.


The Michigan native and Wolverines alum called last night’s game one of the lowest points he’s had as a football player after missing two field goals, an extra point, and mishitting an onside attempt that could have given the 49ers a chance to steal the win.

A third-round pick for the 49ers a year ago, Moody has struggled mightily since suffering a high ankle sprain early this season, culminating in Monday's disastrous performance. Odds are good he’ll bounce back in 2025, but he’ll have to wallow in the frustrating disappointment of his one for a bit.



Moody traversing this valley made me reflect on Detroit’s decision to ride with Bates, an unproven and inexperienced option who had some brutal days in training camp as he tried to find his footing, no pun intended.

I won’t shy away from the fact that I thought the Lions should have brought in some competition for the job after Michael Badgley suffered a season-ending injury. And I remained skeptical about Bates’ ability to settle into a groove heading into the season.



I couldn’t have been more wrong. Last night, he became the team’s new single-season scoring leader in franchise history. He didn’t even need the 17th game to pass up Jason Hanson’s best season. And Bates did it with a 57-yard field goal. It might surprise you that’s longer than any the legendary Hanson made during his 21-year career in Detroit.

My skepticism with Bates was rooted in risking a kicker being the downfall of Super Bowl expectations. Anyone could see the potential, but it was difficult to buy into a potential developmental project at a key position with the Lions at this critical juncture in franchise history.



But Detroit recognized the ceiling and refused to let someone else reap Bates' bright future. They didn’t want to be like the Atlanta Falcons, who gave up on Matt Prater two games into the 2007 season, letting him go to Denver where he quickly established himself as one of the league’s premier options at the position.

It’s another example of the Lions being bold when others are skeptical. And while it’s impossible to predict what the future holds, after a few years of dealing with a revolving door at kicker, the Lions appear to have found their next long-term answer to follow in the footsteps of Hanson and Prater before him.



Email: jrogers@detroitfootball.net

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[edindetroit]

Is there any chance Anzelone can pmay next week?

Pmaybe.

[Iron Lion]

It's a 2 TD game regardless. And it kinda means you don't risk overtime in case of a comeback.

What? MCDC would rather just lose than go to OT? You mean because it's a meaningless game?