Last time the Detroit Lions and Baltimore Ravens faced off in 2023, they were outmatched in every way. Current Lions receivers coach Scottie Montgomery said they got outphysicaled in that game.
Detroit
did not make that mistake twice. On Monday night, the Lions won the battle in the trenches, and it’s a big reason why they were able to come out with a decisive 38-30 win against the Ravens.
Let’s hand out some grades for the performance.
Quarterback: A-
Jared Goff finished with a modest 20-for-28 for 202 yards and a touchdown, as the Lions leaned heavily on their run game. That said, Goff was mostly very accurate with his passes, and he came up with a few big-time throws in big moments. None were more important than his 20-yard shot play to Amon-Ra St. Brown on fourth-and-2 late in the fourth quarter.
And while a ton of credit goes to the offensive line for keeping Goff clean, give some credit to the quarterback for, again, navigating the pocket well and finding escape lanes to buy more time.
Running backs: A
Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery combined for 34 carries, 218 yards (6.4 YPC), and four touchdowns. Montgomery had the best statistical game of his career, setting career highs in both rushing yards (151) and yards per carry (12.6). He showed patience and vision all night, while also finishing with his trademarked power.
While Gibbs wasn’t as explosive, he still found the end zone twice and added five catches for 32 yards.
Tight ends: A-
Sam LaPorta was essential on third down against the Ravens. The third-year tight end caught all four of his targets for 33 yards, three of which earned the Lions a new set of downs. He also caught the game-sealing onside kick.
“Sam is incredible,” Goff said after the game. “He is doing great. He doesn’t get enough attention. Being able to use him on third down is awesome. Every down is awesome with him, and I thought he was incredible today. He had a couple [catches] that were kind of not what we were expecting defensively, and he made it work, and I was able to get it to him.”
Wide receivers: B+
At times, it felt like a quiet day for St. Brown, yet he still finished the day with seven catches for 77 yards and a touchdown (on only eight targets). And don’t overlook his well-timed pitch on one of Gibbs’ touchdowns. Jameson Williams added a couple of explosive plays on the team’s first drive (two catches for 43 yards).
While it wasn’t a huge statistical game for the receiving crew, they made the most of their opportunities.
Offensive line A+
What a difference a couple of weeks makes. The Lions’ offensive line kept Goff clean for the second straight week, but they also exploded in the run game, really for the first time all season. While Montgomery deserves a ton of credit, the Lions’ back gave it all to his offensive line.
“It starts up front. Those guys don’t get enough credit,” Montgomery said. “They caught a lot of backlash the first week. Everybody was kind of on them about it. It’s really important to keep the horse blinders on when you’re in the midst of the mud. But we’ve got the best group up front. They did exactly what I knew they would do, and we had fun tonight.”
If the Lions can keep this up next week against a very formidable Browns defensive line, we’ll know they are fully back.
Defensive line: A+
There may not be a tougher task in football than containing Lamar Jackson, yet the Lions did about as perfectly as you can do on Monday night. Jackson was sacked seven times, tied for the most ever, and it was largely due to the defensive front’s discipline in their rush lanes.
“They casted the net, [and] they closed the net. We didn’t have anybody jumping up in the air or [have any] ill-advised diving,” coach Dan Campbell said. “They all bottled [Lamar Jackson] up. They were disciplined. Guys made huge plays, and he had nowhere to go. That’s the key. That takes an enormous amount of discipline for your guys. They did that. Across the board. All of them.”
On top of that, they didn’t let Derrick Henry beat them either. Outside of his 28-yard touchdown run, Henry had 11 carries for 22 yards.
As for individual performances, Al-Quadin Muhammad continues to ascend and look like a legitimate starter, and Aidan Hutchinson logged a forced fumble and a sack.
Linebackers: A
While Alex Anzalone allowed a touchdown pass to Mark Andrews, the Lions’ linebackers were just as important in bottling up Jackson. When Jackson would get beyond the defensive line, it was up to the second line of defense to make sure that when they got a shot at the Ravens quarterback, they’d take him down. They did exactly that:
- Alex Anzalone: 0.5 sacks
- Jack Campbell: 1 sack
- Derrick Barnes: 1 sack
- Trevor Nowaske: 1 sack
And that’s not even including the two phenomenal goal line plays from this unit. The first was an incredible run stop from LB4 Zach Cunningham, who also helped free up Jack Campbell for the sack/strip on fourth-and-goal.
An absolute banner day from the Lions’ linebackers.
Secondary: D+
On the surface, it looked like the Lions’ secondary was burned badly by Lamar Jackson and company. Jackson completed 77.8% of his passes, averaged 10.7 yards per attempt, threw three touchdowns, and earned a 148.1 passer rating. There’s no doubt that the Lions gave up too many big passing plays, and rarely made any themselves (two passes defended). Even when they were in position to make plays, they failed to do so—like Brian Branch’s dropped interception.
For Terrion Arnold, it was a day to forget. He ceded several big plays, was guilty of a pass interference call, and got picked on in the first half.
But much of that slowed down in the second half. The Lions’ defense doesn’t log six sacks against Lamar Jackson unless the secondary is doing their job, so a lot of the work the defensive backs did went unseen from the broadcast, and they deserve some credit.
“I think it goes hand-in-hand with the coverage and then with the pass rush,” Anzalone said. “The defensive line and linebackers did a good job getting home, but also on the back end, they did a great job covering. So, it’s complementary, it’s hand-in-hand, and it worked out tonight.”
Special Teams: D-
Let’s start with the good: After ending the Grant Stuard experience at kick return, the Lions actually looked good in that phase! Prior to Monday, the Lions’ longest kick return was 28 yards. Against the Ravens, they had returns of 22, 29, 30, and 29 yards.
But everything else was very bad, and it resulted in bad field position on both sides of the ball. Kalif Raymond made two critical errors that both resulted in Detroit being pinned inside their own 5-yard line. Penalties also continue to plague the Lions on special teams, with three more occurring on Monday night, including what could have been a costly kick out of bounds from Jake Bates.
Coaching: A
The “Brain Drain” nonsense should end after this week. Kelvin Sheppard’s defensive game plan was masterful against one of the toughest offenses to beat, and just about everyone who stepped on the podium said as much.
“The coaches put together a great game plan, especially Shep,” Anzalone said. “He did a really good job of making it clean for us, but also changing the look for them.”
Offensive coordinator John Morton was just as masterful, seemingly calling the right play at the right time. Detroit finished the game 7-of-14 on third down and a perfect 3-for-3 on fourth down. It was Morton’s timing on a few trick plays that really highlighted his night.
As for Campbell, the replay showed that the early called lateral was indeed a lateral, so he was right not to challenge. There is probably some legitimate criticism of how Detroit handled the end of the first half, allowing the Ravens to score late despite the Lions getting the ball back with 1:24 to go. Still, everything feels a little too nitpicky, especially when Campbell’s aggression on fourth down were all considered “right” decisions, and clearly gave the Lions an edge.
