It was not as tidy as we had hoped, but the Detroit Lions were nonetheless able to handle the Cincinnati Bengals to vault themselves to 4-1.
The offense threw for four touchdowns while adding a score on
the ground, and the defense came away with three interceptions of backup Jake Browning. If it were not for a fourth quarter collapse, the scoreboard would have been heavily lopsided, with Detroit outscoring Cincinnati 28-3 through three quarters.
Which players emerged as winners or losers from this Week 5 victory?
Winner: Alex Anzalone, Jack Campbell, Derrick Barnes, LB
The Lions have themselves a pretty good linebacking room. Campbell, in particular, has been a tackling machine, registering a team-high 11 tackles—he is far and away the team’s leading tackler, both total and solo tackles. On one play, he even forced a pressure on the quarterback and forced a fumble on the receiver.
The highlight of Anzalone’s performance will be his leaping interception of Browning, but his success on the field went beyond that single play. Anzalone was a menace around the line of scrimmage, notching himself three tackles, three passes defended, and a tackle-for-loss to go with his pick. He was lights-out in coverage as the Bengals struggled to complete anything between the hash marks. He was dinged for a pass interference on a fourth down stop, but it was frankly uncatchable and should not have been a penalty.
Not to be forgotten was Derrick Barnes, who delivered a game-sealing sack-safety to quell the Bengals’ comeback. He struggled in coverage in comparison to Anzalone and Campbell, but his ability to rush the passer is quietly solid.
Loser: Terrion Arnold, CB
Originally, I was going to give Arnold a plus and a minus on the day. He was victimized by flags once again, registering defensive holding and defensive pass interference penalties. The holding penalty in particular was brutal, as it wiped an Aidan Hutchinson sack-safety off the board. However, he rebounded from that holding penalty with back-to-back pass breakups, and as a whole, his coverage was more good than bad.
Unfortunately for Arnold, he left the game with a shoulder injury, requiring a cart trip to the locker room. He had injured his shoulder last week against the Cleveland Browns, but his time on the injury report was short and he entered this game without a designation. Whether this was a reaggravation or a new injury is unclear, but it is nonetheless a disappointing finish to a decent outing.
Winner and loser: Cornerback room
In general, it was a mix of great and bad from the cornerbacks. I already broke down the up and down outing for Arnold, but the same could be said about the other starting corners. Amik Robertson had an interception and a pass breakup, but he was also beat badly on a 64-yard bomb to Ja’Marr Chase. Rock Ya-Sin had a pair of breakups, but he left the game with an injury (twice). Coupled with Arnold’s departure, the Lions had to turn to Tre Flowers, a player signed less than a week ago, and Avonte Maddox, a player that has primarily repped at safety. It is no coincidence that the Bengals scored 21 fourth-quarter points.
I was encouraged by the overall performances from Robertson and Ya-Sin, but that cornerback room is scarily shallow right now. The Lions can only hope that the injuries to Arnold and Ya-Sin are minor. They are running out of cornerbacks, let alone starting-caliber ones.
Loser: Giovanni Manu, OT
The opening drive was encouraging for Manu, but it was mostly downhill from there. On the second drive, Manu was cleanly beat by a Trey Hendrickson swim move—thankfully, David Montgomery picked up the pass rusher and kept Jared Goff clean. That luck did not last long, as Hendrickson blew by Manu and striped Goff later in that same drive. From that point on, the Lions had a tight end doubling up with Manu more often than not, but even that was not enough. Goff got sacked late in the fourth quarter as Joseph Ossai sped by Manu, as the second-year tackle barely even touched the pass rusher.
Manu was drafted as a project, but not only has he not developed into a capable starter, he might not even count as a capable backup. The expectation is that Taylor Decker’s injury is not long-term, but the Lions should be very concerned about the tackle depth. Devin Cochran was elevated from the practice squad but did not see the field. Otherwise, the only other players with tackle experience are Miles Frazier (currently on the PUP, whose injury is worse than expected), Kayode Awosika (a college tackle), and Dan Skipper (currently on the practice squad but missed time with an injury). Skipper seems like the likeliest candidate to slot into the OT3 role, but it is far from a perfect solution.
Offensive tackle is a significant need for the Lions both long-term and short-term while Decker is out.
Winner: Special teams coverage
It had been a rough start to the season for the special teams coverage unit, plagued by poor kickoffs, missed tackles, and too many penalties. The tune changed against the Bengals in a quietly amazing performance. Jake Bates, who had previously struggled with the new kickoff format, delivered five kickoffs that landed near or directly at the goal line. Jack Fox, meanwhile, was pinpoint with his precision punts on Sunday. In the first half alone, the Bengals started drives at their own 3-, 6-, and 8-yard lines:
The coverage was equally on point and aside from a Grant Stuard penalty on a punt return, the special teams unit played clean. As a whole, a good rebound for a unit that has struggled to play to their talent level.
