7 Lions winners and 3 losers from the Packers win: Brian Branch is back, but one big lineup decision already looks shaky
Brian Branch looked like himself in his long-awaited return, Jameson Williams stayed hot and a few defensive players earned bigger roles — but Detroit also has some decisions to make after an ugly 20-17 win.
The Detroit Lions beat the Green Bay Packers at Ford Field, and it wasn’t pretty. This was one of the uglier wins the Lions have had. If we’re being honest, it probably should have been a blowout. A win over Green Bay is still a win, though, and there’s plenty to sort through.
I came in with five winners and three losers, then added two more winners because the defense earned them. Let’s break it down.
Winners
Brian Branch
This one was easy. It had been almost a year since we last saw Branch play, and he didn’t just come back. He played well. Pro Football Focus instant grades should be taken with a grain of salt until the day after, but he was Detroit’s highest-graded defensive player and possibly the highest-graded player on the team, period.
Then there was the interception. I was in the building for the Lions’ win over the Los Angeles Rams in the wild-card round in 2023. People will probably dispute me on this, but this might have been louder. The place came unglued. Branch looked like the player we all remember.
Jameson Williams
Five catches, 91 yards, and two touchdowns. It was almost three, but he couldn’t get the second foot down in the end zone on another one. Back in the first two weeks of the season, Williams was in the loser column because of drops and other issues. Those are a thing of the past. He had a huge game against Arizona and followed it with another one against the Packers. If he keeps taking the top off defenses, there’s no limit to what this offense can do. Detroit struggled to do that consistently in this game.
DeAndre Carter
If you weren’t watching the return game, you might not have noticed him. Carter was flirting with a touchdown all game and nearly broke one before he got tripped up at the last second. Had he kept his footing, he was gone. Losing Tom Kennedy isn’t good, but finding Carter as the replacement is. Dan Campbell mentioned him in his postgame press conference. Carter is an older player, so I don’t see him as the long-term answer, but I think he can hold that job for the rest of the season.
Khalil Dorsey
It was only 16 snaps, but Dorsey made arguably two of the biggest plays of the game. The Packers can push the ball downfield, and Dorsey had sticky enough coverage on two separate possessions to shut those shots down. Campbell said after the game there’s no reason Dorsey shouldn’t get more snaps. With Ennis Rakestraw leaving early with an ankle injury, I think you’re going to see more of Dorsey.
Amon-Ra St. Brown
St. Brown didn’t feel like he played well against Arizona, and his pattern has always been to follow a bad game with a monster one. That’s exactly what happened. He didn’t find the end zone, but he had nine catches and plenty of yards. Campbell laughed when we asked about it and didn’t even let us finish the question before asking if that really surprised anyone. That’s just how St. Brown is.
D.J. Reed
Reed took a lot of grief early in the season for allowing big plays. The last two weeks, he’s been a problem for the Cardinals and the Packers instead of the Lions. He had a couple of big pass breakups and kept Green Bay from creating the explosive plays it’s known for. Detroit signed him to be the CB1, and he’s looking like it. Let’s see what he does against the Vikings before we start crowning him.
Aidan Hutchinson
A sack, multiple pressures, and a big holding call drawn late in the game. That’s typical Hutchinson. Next up is a Minnesota offense that is much worse than Green Bay’s, at least on paper.
Losers
When I say losers, I don’t mean these guys are losers. I mean they didn’t have a good game.
Jahmyr Gibbs
The box score says 116 rushing yards, and he probably could have had a touchdown if he hadn’t made the smart move to go down. Fantasy managers may be upset, but it was the right call. The first half was rough, though. Fumbling in the red zone isn’t acceptable. To be fair, the Packers didn’t punch the ball out. Cade Mays caused it. This isn’t a big concern, and I think Gibbs would tell you himself it wasn’t his best game.
Cade Mays
I’m a little iffy on this one. This was the first time Mays has ever played for the Lions, and he was thrown right into the starting job. Juice Scruggs had been playing well. He was the highest-graded center in the league, per Pro Football Focus, so the expectation was that Mays would be an upgrade. That’s not what we got. He was good in the run game, but a bad snap led to a fumble at the start of the second half. In pass protection, he allowed a sack and a couple of pressures. I’m not saying he loses the job, and he hasn’t played or practiced in a while. Still, if this continues, you might start thinking about putting Scruggs back out there.
Sam LaPorta
This isn’t because LaPorta was bad. He was targeted just twice all game. The second target was a gigantic catch that put the Lions in position to win. Given his comments on Pardon My Take earlier this week, some people are going to read this as the Lions punishing him. I don’t think that’s what happened. I think he was just defended well all day. Detroit needs to get more out of him, and we’ll see where it goes against Minnesota.
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