The Detroit Lions will take the outcome, even if it wasn’t pretty. The team finally secured consecutive victories for the first time since the top half of last season, moving to 4-2 and 1-0 in the division after an unexpected slugfest.
Much of the immediate aftermath surrounded outspoken criticism of the officiating and Dan Campbell’s fourth-quarter decisions, but it was important for the Lions to win an ugly one, especially against a quality divisional opponent. They won despite the defense getting
marched up and down the field on Green Bay’s first two drives before stiffening up in a big way, and despite an offense that wasn’t firing on all cylinders and missed opportunities throughout. They persevered and won a gritty one.
They’re a better team for finding a way to win. Let’s get into the Week 7 stock report following Detroit’s first divisional victory of the season.
Stock up: Brian Branch, S
If you want to know what Detroit thinks of Brian Branch, just listen to Ford Field blow the roof off clear into Canada after his fourth-quarter interception. Branch really is a shapeshifter for the defense with what he’s able to do at the second and third levels, serving as a force multiplier for the other 10 players on the field.
The Lions’ defense had by far its best, most complete four quarters of football with Branch back in black, and there was a comfortable, calming sense to his presence for the rest of the guys out there. Like Sam LaPorta, the other franchise pillar in a contract year who balled out against the Cardinals, Branch reminded everyone why he’s the defensive version of LaPorta: a versatile skeleton key who opens everything up for the unit.
Branch finished with 45 of 67 defensive snaps (67%), ramping up his workload before being unleashed more consistently in the second half. He finished with four total tackles, three of them defensive stops, and one roaring, high-pointed, go-up-and-get-it interception. It was crucial for a team that had forced only two turnovers in its previous four games.
With Branch back, and the lowly Vikings and Dolphins offenses next on the slate, the Lions’ defense could gain some traction and confidence before heading to Germany to face last year’s MVP runner-up, Drake Maye.
Stock up: Amon-Ra St. Brown & Jameson Williams, WRs
While Branch eased back into the swing of things in the first half, St. Brown and Williams collectively diced up the Packers on three first half drives that crossed into Green Bay territory, although those possessions resulted in only 10 points.
In the first half, St. Brown recorded seven catches for 135 receiving yards, while Williams had three receptions for 51 yards and a touchdown. Both players made big plays to move the ball downfield and into the end zone on Detroit’s first scoring drive, helping the offense overcome its opening quarter slump. St. Brown then had a 40-yard catch-and-run to set up a field goal on their second drive. On the final drive of the half, which ended in a red-zone fumble, Williams and St. Brown helped get Detroit out from the shadow of its own end zone, control the clock, and move into scoring range.
One of football’s best receiving duos combined for 14 receptions on 20 targets, 244 receiving yards, two touchdowns, and 12 first downs. In a huge divisional game against a legitimate Packers pass defense, with a running game that found some success but suffered enough negative plays to leave the offense behind the sticks, Detroit’s two playmakers at receiver rose to the occasion for Jared Goff and the team.
Stock down: Christian Mahogany, Cade Mays, & Tate Ratledge, IOL
In Cade Mays’ season debut, the interior offensive line took some lumps adjusting to its new partner in crime, with some rust to knock off.
While the pocket was clean for Jared Goff for much of the afternoon, and Mays in his debut had some particularly stout pass-protection reps on play action to go along with Mahogany and Ratledge being rock-solid in pass pro this year, it was arguably the muddiest day of run blocking for the team this season. Jahmyr Gibbs was consistently contacted shortly after receiving the handoff, often behind the line of scrimmage.
Some of those struggles could be attributed to predictable run designs, the Packers’ aggressive run blitzes and defensive slants, and a lack of play calls to counter that aggression. Still, there was entirely too much leakage in the run blocking, much of it coming through the A- and B-gaps.
Mahogany and Ratledge are too boom-or-bust at times. The high-level plays are there, but their inconsistency also reveals fundamentals that still need correcting: losing early at the line of scrimmage, getting off balance and being unable to recover, lacking awareness to react to run-throughs, and too often failing to climb to the second level while working on double teams.
Mays was also partially responsible for some of the blitz issues, where pre-snap adjustments could have helped, and was involved in one false start and, inadvertently, both fumbles.
It’s a volatile interior trio with a high ceiling that will continue to develop throughout the season. The Lions can survive games like these when their elite skill players are able to be game-changers and lift up the team.
Stock up: Aidan Hutchinson & Alim McNeill, DL
The two other difference-makers on the Lions’ defense, aside from Jack Campbell, both had productive games up front to help hold the Packers’ offense to just 17 points and keep Jordan Love uncomfortable and on his toes, or on his heels with some of those back-foot fadeaway throws, for much of the day.
Hutchinson had an underrated game but was seemingly everywhere, even lining up standing lurking over the guards. Not only did he have the lone Gumby-like sack, draw a holding penalty, and nearly pick off a screen pass in the red zone, but he also forced multiple incompletions, including blowing up a play-action rollout. He gave Anthony Belton and Jordan Morgan hell while also clobbering Josh Jacobs from the backside on one of the first runs of the game.
Hutchinson also recorded an average time to pressure of 2.49 seconds, his fastest in a game so far this season.
McNeill was similarly a problem, consistently generating pressure up the middle to crush the pocket and speed up Jordan Love into several inaccurate throws, while also registering a big-time run stuff on third-and-3 against Marshawn Lloyd.
Both players could have used a little more pass-rush support from the rest of the defensive front.
Quick Hits
STOCK UP:
- Jared Goff, QB: Goff battled well, ripping play-action passes, intermediate throws, and a handful of money balls outside the hashes.
- Jahmyr Gibbs, RB: Gibbs was given minimal running room and was often under duress early in plays, finishing with -24 yards before contact while still mustering a rushing success rate above 48%. If the Lions had any other running back, they might not have won that game.
- Tyleik Williams, NT: Williams was fortunate enough to be matched up against backup center John Williams after both Sean Rhyan and Jacob Monk were injured early in the game. He took advantage, pushing him around and winning at the line of scrimmage for most of the afternoon.
- Derrick Moore, DE: Moore actually played quite a bit on early downs and appeared more forceful and stout in run defense from his two-point stance, shoving tight end Mark Redman into the hole on one goal-line run. He also whooped left guard Laken Tomlinson on an interior pass-rush rep, generating pressure on the incomplete deep ball to Golden where Khalil Dorsey wasn’t flagged. Perhaps the game is starting to slow down a little for the rookie coming out of the bye.
- Trevor Nowaske, LB: The Lions leaned more heavily on nickel defense and Nowaske was the one and only third linebacker this week. He looked impressive again when asked to cover ground toward the sideline, effectively shutting down a play-action rollout and chasing Lloyd out of bounds on a swing pass.
- D.J. Reed, CB: Possibly his best back-to-back games with the team. Reed covered Matthew Golden on 16 dropbacks and Christian Watson on six, was targeted twice (both against Golden), and allowed just one catch for no gain. His fourth-down stop, sifting through the trips formation trash to tackle Golden out of the backfield for no gain, was one of the most impressive defensive plays of the Lions’ season. Reed also blew up a gadget run by Savion Williams.
- Roger McCreary, Ennis Rakestraw Jr. & Khalil Dorsey, CBs: The Lions’ other cornerbacks! What an effective rotation they deployed. While McCreary was picked on a little early, all four cornerbacks performed above expectations and were effective in their roles. Combined, they were targeted 14 times, allowing seven catches for 75 receiving yards and only three first downs. Dorsey was particularly surprisingly effective, playing primarily on third or fourth down in coverage and allowing only one catch on four targets for 5 receiving yards. He also earned a game ball from Dan Campbell post-game.
- Keith Abney II, S: While he had some missed tackles and a dropped interception, I still feel this was a positive building-block game for Abney. He provided helpful range to prevent Love from chucking it deep and wasn’t targeted on 27 coverage snaps (12 on late downs) while playing a mix of single-high and two-high looks. Baby steps for a player who might be more vital in December and January than right now.
- Chuck Clark, S: Clark is also stacking games as a more useful player, looking comfortable in the safety rotation alongside Branch. He delivered one hell of a hit stick in the hole on Jacobs near the goal line and another good run tackle on Lloyd in the red zone.
- Jake Bates, K: Trey Smack proved that even chip shots aren’t automatic, and Bates drilled his game-winner as well as a 40-yarder.
- DeAndre Carter, KR/PR: He looked pretty spry for a 33-year-old, returning one punt for 15 yards to provide some early juice and a kickoff for 28 yards, with another decent return called back.
- Kelvin Sheppard, DC: Dan Campbell showed confidence in Sheppard’s abilities after the Carolina fiasco, and Sheppard has bounced back with better game plans in successive weeks. Shutting down Green Bay’s rushing offense and disrupting the Packers’ deep passing attack was huge, as was forcing them to settle for two red-zone field goals.
STOCK DOWN:
- Larry Borom, OT3: Borom might be better suited for a backup offensive tackle role in a pinch, despite his struggles in the Buffalo spot start, than as the sixth offensive lineman. He gave up a pressure on the Jameson Williams touchdown when Penei Sewell went out for a pass, and overall, the Lions haven’t found much success with their jumbo formations this year, including the failed late fourth-down attempt. He was shoved around in the run game.
- Tyler Conklin, TE3: Another offseason signing who has underperformed relative to expectations for his intended role. Conklin struggled in run blocking again against the Packers and doesn’t offer much as a pass catcher. There are plenty of more capable run-blocking third tight ends out there, and the Lions will need to invest in the position this offseason.
- Skyler Gill-Howard, DT: I want to go back and watch all of his reps, but this was a game where his pass-rush presence wasn’t felt. For the Lions’ defense to be competent and dependable, they need their secondary pass rushers to step up. The team generated 25 pressures, but 16 came from Hutchinson and McNeill, with none from Gill-Howard.
- Derrick Barnes, LB: While Barnes made impact plays early in the season against the Saints and Bills, that hasn’t been the case over the last month. He made a few run stuffs against the Packers but was also slow to process on other plays. Most concerning was his inability to hold up in one-on-one coverage and pursuit on Josh Jacobs’ touchdown, as well as a fourth-quarter third-down conversion on a completion to Jacobs in the flat. With the Lions’ defensive backs playing improved football, Barnes has become one of the team’s biggest liabilities in coverage.
- Malcolm Rodriguez, LB: Zero defensive snaps isn’t what was expected from him when he re-signed for his fifth season in Detroit. Nowaske has likely passed him, with Jimmy Rolder also breathing down his neck and ready for more reps.
- Lions Situational Football: Red-zone offense, the Middle 8, and fourth-down defense all disappointed in tremendous fashion.
