A convincing win over their NFC North rivals, the Green Bay Packers, a 3-1 record, and sole possession of first place in the division. Week 4 couldn’t have gotten off to a better start for the Detroit Lions after they defeated the Packers 34-20 – making it back-to-back wins at Lambeau Field for the first time since the 2017 and 2018 seasons. The actual storyline is that the Lions are playing winning football.
It shouldn’t come as a shock, though. The Lions, under Dan Campbell, have won 12 of their last 14 games, dating back to Week 9 last season. Coincidentally, that run began with a 15-9 victory over the Packers at Ford Field. A decidedly different game than Thursday night’s, but the same result. However, Thursday Night Football had a different feel to it too.
That Week 9 win against the Packers in 2022 was a moment of relief for the Lions. It ended a streak of five losses and paved the way for Detroit to go on that late-season tear and just miss out on the playoffs. It also got the proverbial monkey off Campbell’s back.
Thursday night’s win was a statement of intent from the Lions. Sure, the Packers were injury-ridden, with the news that they may have lost left tackle David Bakhtiari for the rest of the season looming large. They were also without Elgton Jenkins, and were forced to start Royce Newman at left guard.
But the Lions still had to take advantage of the depleted offensive line. And they did, generating 28 total pressures and five sacks on 45 dropbacks from Jordan Love. The defensive line, led by Aidan Hutchison, has been on form all season and is top-10 in pressure rate while Hutchinson has 29 total pressures through four games – the most in the NFL.
The Lions’ defense isn’t a top-10 unit in EPA, but they’re trending in the right direction and have a roster of young stars looking to make an impact. Brian Branch was, somehow, a second-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft and he’s already looking like one of the best safeties in the NFL. Meanwhile the rest of the defense has important contributors like John Cominsky, Alim McNeil, and Cameron Sutton.
The improvement of the defense helps the Lions take their game to another level, but the bread and butter of this team is still the offense. It wasn’t the slickest offensive performance on Thursday night, but the Lions still scored 34 points – the second time this season they’ve scored over 30 points.
Jared Goff completed 19-of-29 pass attempts for 219 yards, a touchdown, and an interception as he continued to impress in his third season with the Lions. His command of Ben Johnson’s offense is as good as it can be, and he’s still proving that he can sling the ball. Most of the Lions passing volume goes to the middle of the field, to his playmakers Amon-Ra St.Brown, and now, Sam LaPorta, but Goff is tied for the second-most completions of 20-plus yards in the NFL per PFF. He’s quietly still got an arm.
But he didn’t stand out against the Packers. His 69.5 passing grade is good, but not great, and he threw an ugly interception early in the game before bouncing back. The benefit of Johnson’s offense is that Goff didn’t need to stand out. This Lions team is just so well-rounded – and they rushed for 217 total yards, with David Montgomery leading the way with 127 yards on 33 carries. It wasn’t pretty. But it was effective.
They can win ugly, churning yards out on the ground and letting the defense cook. They can win via the passing game, utilizing their playmakers and using Goff as a drop back passer. The Lions are learning to win football games in a variety of ways. That’s a winning formula. They might not be Super Bowl contenders in 2023, but they’re talented enough to make some noise in the NFC. They’re a winning football team, and that’s refreshing.
-Thomas Valentine
Twitter: @tvalentinesport
Photo: All-Pro Reels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.