The Detroit Lions did the thing the Detroit Lions often do after a loss.

They bounced back with a big-time win. This time, it was a 44-22 win over the Washington Commanders. We’ve got five winners and four losers for this one. Let’s jump into it.

Winners

Jared Goff

Jared Goff got the game ball from Lions head coach Dan Campbell after the game, and you can see why. He completed 75.8% of his throws for 319 yards and three touchdowns, and also tied Drew Brees for the third most 300-yard passing games in the first 10 years of a quarterback’s career.

One more, and he’ll tie Mat Ryan for second.

Dan Campbell

A choice needed to be made, and Campbell made that choice. That’s good coaching right there. You have to do what’s right for the team in the moment, and what was right after the loss to the Vikings was for Campbell to take over the offense.

It wasn’t just about the 44 points; it was about all the things the Lions did that they hadn’t been doing to get those 44 points. It shouldn’t have been that hard to figure out ways to utilize Jameson Williams. Campbell steps in, and Williams goes off for 119 yards and a touchdown.

Jahmyr Gibbs

The star RB had 173 total yards and three touchdowns. How can I exclude him from this category?

Lions’ offensive line

Going into this game, the Lions were supposed to be in big trouble with this offensive line after Christian Mahogany, Penei Sewell, and Taylor Decker all got hurt against the Vikings.

Only one of those guys didn’t play in this game, and the guys who did had a tremendous day, allowing just two pressures. Goff was kept clean, and that’s why he balled out. The roads were opened for Gibbs, and that’s why he balled out. The guys up front deserve a lot of credit for this one.

Brian Branch

The Lions had two sacks in this game, and if I told you that 1.5 of them came from a safety, I’m not sure you would have believed me. Brian Branch had that type of game on Sunday. He was everywhere, including in Marcus Mariota’s face.

Losers

Pass rush

This was quietly one of the worst pass-rush performances the Lions have had all season. They couldn’t get much pressure on Mariota in this one: Just 10 pressures and two sacks.

The usually dominant Aidan Hutchinson walked out with just two pressures in this game. The Lions did their thing and got stops on defense, but they’ll need to get back to the group they’ve been the rest of the year against the Eagles.

Terrion Arnold

Terrion Arnold isn’t here because he played badly. On the contrary, he was probably the best defensive player on the field for both teams on Sunday.

The problem is that he went out of the game with another injury. This time, a concussion. Arnold is having a hard time catching a break with these injuries. You have to hope this is the last one because he has been phenomenal this season.

Tyleik Williams

What’s going on here? Tyleik Williams was a starter, and we all knew that once Alim McNeill returned, Williams would take a back seat. We just didn’t know he’d be back where the groceries are instead of in the seat.

Against the Vikings, he played just 11 snaps. Against the Commanders, he played just eight. He played well in both games, but why is he suddenly barely playing?

John Morton

This doesn’t mean that Morton is fired or anything like that, but it’s not great to lose the play-calling duties halfway through your first season as the play-caller. Perhaps he will get them back at some point. Who knows?

But right now, you have to wonder how much longer he’ll be in Detroit.

Detroit Lions News

Commanders’ Javon Kinlaw accuses Amon-Ra St. Brown of punching Daron Payne first, let’s look at the video

Payne was ejected for punching St. Brown in Sunday’s game.

Mike Payton