Turns out the Lions good players are good no matter who coaches them, 7 other big takeaways from 52-21 win
Well, that is definitely how you answer. All the reactions to Week 1 just feel pretty silly after the Lions’ dominant 52-21 win over the Bears. Let’s just jump right into the big takeaways. Lions’ offense doesn’t look too different without Ben Johnson All week, that’s what you heard from people from far outside of […]
Well, that is definitely how you answer. All the reactions to Week 1 just feel pretty silly after the Lions’ dominant 52-21 win over the Bears. Let’s just jump right into the big takeaways.
Lions’ offense doesn’t look too different without Ben Johnson
All week, that’s what you heard from people from far outside of the building. Dan Orlovsky talked about how the Lions’ offense was the thing he was most concerned about. Peter Schrager brought up Jared Goff’s record without Johnson and Sean McVay. There were literal fans of this team asking for the Lions to fire John Morton after one game.
Then the Lions came into Week 2, and while there were some things that still need to be fixed, they largely ran a clinic on Johnson and the Bears. If this game doesn’t calm you down a bit, I don’t know what will. I mean, 50-plus points is pretty good.
Amon-Ra St. Brown went full Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction on Ben Johnson
St. Brown hit the field and took Johnson’s Big Kahuna burger, drank his Sprite, and double-dog dared Johnson to say “what” again before he recited Ezekiel 25:17 and racked up six receptions for 100 yards and a touchdown in the first half.
He was clearly taking this one personally. At the end of the day, St. Brown put up nine catches for 115 yards and three touchdowns, and then opened a briefcase that had a golden light in it. Not sure what was in there.
Goff Report
Goff must have seen this Tweet and all the talk about how he’s not good without Johnson. He took it personally, Michael Jordan style, and balled out of control in this game.
Goff finished the day going 23-of-28 for 334 yards and five touchdowns. He just played one of the best games of his career in this one. He navigated pressure, he found his guys, and he even ran a little. Just an outstanding day.
Brian Branch had himself a day
What a game from Branch. He had two forced fumbles in this one. One of those got recovered by Jack Campbell, and the other by the Bears. Branch also chipped in with a tackle for a loss on D’Andre Swift. Then he added a sack in the fourth quarter.
He had another pressure in the game, too. Just an All-Pro outing from him. He would have had a big pressure that resulted in an interception, but he couldn’t change his approach in mid-air and got called for roughing the passer.
Lions are still struggling to run the ball their way (I wrote the first part of this in the third quarter)
Offensively, this was a much better game for the Lions. They put up points and got things going, but in terms of the run game, it was still not as sharp as you’d hope to see it. They racked up a lot more than 42 yards, like they did in Week 1, but still, there’s some ground to gain with this almost brand-new offensive line. If anything, this was a good step in the right direction.
This is where we get to have some fun, and you get a peek behind the curtain. I wrote all that up before Gibbs decided to go HAM late in the game and get up to 94 yards. It just kind of came out of nowhere. Now, I’m not sure there’s anything to complain about. It was pretty much a perfect game for the Lions.
Paying Jameson Williams ahead of the season was clearly the right move
There were some questions about playing Williams after what many thought would be his big prove-it year, but you can see from this game just how big a part of this offense he is. He had a big 64-yard play and then had a big 42-yard touchdown.
On top of that, he pulled off some big blocks and had some other contributions in the receiving game. He is a game-changing player who can…well, change the game at any point. You have to pay him. This thing is going to look like a discount after the offseason.
Pressure and sacks! Sweet, glorious pressure and sacks
The other big thing everyone was worried about after Week 1 was that this team couldn’t get pressure, especially on a mobile quarterback. The Lions brought it in this one.
They ended the day with 12 pressures and four sacks. Not bad at all, right? Again, it’s almost as if reacting to one game is a completely insane thing to do. Aidan Hutchinson got his return sack in this one and also put up five pressures.
Weird halftime thing
Just bringing this up because it was weird. At the end of the half, Isaac TeSlaa had a big catch, and he went out of bounds. The problem is that the Bears didn’t think he did, and while the officials were figuring out what to set the clock to, the Bears just decided to leave the field and had to be called back and then line back up.
Then the Lions scored a touchdown with six seconds on the clock. It was just weird.
Detroit Lions News
4 winners and 10 losers from the Lions win over the Bears, no, that 10 is not a typo
The Detroit Lions responded and responded big with a 52-21 win against the Chicago Bears at Ford Field on Sunday. We’ve got four winners and 10 losers from this game. Winners Jared Goff Goff had a very strong game, completing 82.1% of his passes for 334 yards and five touchdowns. It was truly one of […]
