What a night that was for the Detroit Lions. That really happened everyone. The Lions went into the Super Bowl champions home and walked out with a win in front of a national audience in prime time. 

The Lions went toe to toe with the best team in football and came out ahead in dramatic fashion. At the end of the day, everyone on the roster is a winner in the literal sense.

Some guys just won more than others on Thursday night. Then some guys had pretty bad showings. Here's four guys that won more and two who had bad nights. 

Winner: Jared Goff

Much is made of Jared Goff’s road splits when it comes to people wanting to talk about how Goff struggles on the road. Goff didn’t struggle nearly at all on Thursday night and he played maybe his best road game in a Lions uniform. He was cool as a cucumber all night and was dealing. 

On top of helping his team get the win, he also moved to third place all time in most consecutive passes without an interception.  

Loser: Marvin Jones

I don’t know what happened to Marvin Jones last night. The usually sure handed receiver really struggled in this game. Goff targeted him six times and Jones sonly caught two of those balls for eight yards. 

On top of that, after 146 games in his career, Jones fumbled for the firs time ever. Sadly it was in the red zone. I don't know what the Lions do next, but Jones had the kind of game that makes you think a shakeup could be coming. 

Winner: Brian Branch

You want to talk about hype? The Lions as a team weren’t the only thing receiving a ton of hype going into the season. All summer long we heard about how good Brian Branch is. We heard he was special and that he looks like the best defensive player in the draft. 

How does perform after all that? Really well. He made the biggest defensive play of the entire game when he snatched an interception and took it to the house to tie the game in a moment where the Lions really needed it. 

Loser: Kalif Raymond

Here’s the thing with Raymond. He didn’t do anything wrong. He’s a loser here because where the heck was he all night? Outside of working as a punt returner, Raymond was neither seen or heard from until he made the one catch he had all night int he fourth quarter. That was the only time he was targeted. 

It was a big 20 yard catch and the Lions needed it, but it seems like they could have used Raymond a lot more on Thursday night. He's the speed option on a team that could have used some speed. Maybe we'll see more in Week 2. 

Winner: Aidan Hutchinson

Welcome to the elite table kid. Hutchinson might not have grabbed any sacks due to a right tackle playing well off the line and false starting all night, but he showed out in pressures and QB hits. Hutchinson had 4 pressures in the first half alone. That was his game high in 2022. He finished the night with three QB hits. That was more than any defensive player on the field last night on either side. 

Hutchinson looked liek a guy that had taken the next step in his game and now teams are trying to gameplan for it. They're trying to gameplan for it by false starting 100 times and not getting called for it, but they're game planning. 

Winner: Dan Campbell

All that hype that the Lions received all summer long. If the Lions lose this game, they’re killing Campbell today and then they’re burying the Lions and moving on to whatever else they want to talk about. That didn’t happen. Campbell had his guys ready and he coached them through whatever problems came up and the Lions went out and win becasue of it. Campbell deserves a lot of praise Friday morning. 

Lions vs Chiefs: What Just Happened?

Detroit Lions football is back!! So is What Just Happened?!! You want to know what just happened? The Lions just went out and beat the Super Bowl champion sin their stadium in front of the world. Lions win 21-20. As always, I have thoughts on this game. These are those thoughts:\ A fake punt from […]

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