6 winners and 3 losers from Lions’ win over Bengals, veteran showed he can still have some elite games despite concerns he was on the downtrend

Alex Anzalone absolutley showed he can still have some tremendous games

Mike Payton — Detroit Lions Beat Writer
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The Detroit Lions had a nice 37-24 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. It wasn’t the insane blowout that Lions fans hoped it would be, but the team had a sizable lead all day and never let it go. NFL teams don’t really tend to lay down for you, especially when they have something to prove.

We have six winners and three losers in this game. Here they are:

Winners

Jared Goff

Despite getting sacked four times, Goff managed to complete 82.6% of his passes for 258 yards and three touchdowns. He was just business as usual and continues to be one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL this season.

Jared Goff Passing Facts

  • 75.2 completion percentage is first in the NFL
  • 12 touchdown passes are first in the NFL
  • 120.7 passer rating is second in the NFL
  • 81.7 QBR is second in the NFL

Alex Anzalone

This was Anzalone’s best game in a while, and believe it or not, he had his first interception since 2022. Aside from that, he was just everywhere in coverage, and nothing was getting past him.

If he doesn’t get called for a somewhat bogus defensive pass interference, this might have been a near-perfect game. Go back and watch this one with an emphasis on Anzalone. Campbell was really good in this, too, but that’s expected. This was elite play from Anzalone.

Terrion Arnold

It was a solid outing for Arnold if you simply ignore the two calls he had against him. The Bengals could not get their pass game going when he was in, and as soon as he was out, man, the Bengals poured it on.

Arnold was targeted six times and allowed three catches for a whopping 15 yards. He batted away two more and probably could have caught one of them, and then had a shot at another interception, but Kerby Joseph jumped in front of him for it. After a rough start, Arnold is playing a lot better.

Aidan Hutchinson

You could probably put Hutchinson in the loser category, too, because he got robbed of what would have been an all-timer. He walked out of this game with nine pressures and a sack, but he should have had three sacks total on the day.

One of which was a safety. One sack got called back because he was a smidge offside, and the other because Arnold got called for holding. It’s the difference between a great game and one of his best games ever.

Sam LaPorta

It was another good game from LaPorta with five catches for 92 yards and a touchdown. He made the offense work in this game. They struggled to get the ground game going, and LaPorta’s play bailed them out every time.

He is looking more and more like the rookie version of himself every day. Not that last year was horrible, but you have two options: either take a step back or move forward. LaPorta is leaping forward.

Boomer Esiason

No longer is Esiason the last quarterback to start for the Bengals in a loss to the Lions. That’s Jake Browning’s crown now. But, seriously, that’s insane.

If you were thinking the days of the Lions ending long losing streaks were over, it’s not. This was their first win against the Bengals since November of 1992.

1992 Detroit Lions vs Cincinnati Bengals facts

  • Boomer Esiason threw two picks and was sacked three times
  • Erik Kramer threw three interceptions
  • Jason Hanson scored almost all of the Lions’ points
  • Bram Stoker’s Dracula was the number one movie in the country
  • I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston was the number one song
  • Barry Sanders ran for 151 yards and a touchdown

Losers

Jameson Williams

Don’t read too much into this. I know you want to, but don’t. Williams had one target and was basically just a glorified blocker all day. It does make you think after his down game against the Browns, when he was targeted eight times and only came up with two catches.

There’s no reason to believe the Lions lost faith in him. There are several reasons to believe the Bengals paid close attention to trying to take him out of the game plan and succeeded in doing so.

David Montgomery

The box score won’t show it, but this is another concerning game for Montgomery. Against the Browns, he ran for 12 yards on nine carries. Near the end of the third quarter in his one, he again had 12 yards on nine carries.

He broke away from that, but this aligns with the way the season has been going, outside of the games against the Ravens and Bears. He’s not been the guy we’re used to seeing. But that breakaway was nice to see, and maybe that’s the way things trend from here.

Chad Johnson

According to Johnson, anytime he’s at a Bengals game, the Bengals don’t lose. That streak is over.

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