We graded every Lions player from Sunday’s loss, and the gap between Detroit’s best and worst was massive

Sam LaPorta came one point away from a perfect score, Alim McNeill led the defense, and Detroit’s cornerbacks had a night they’d rather forget.

Mike Payton — Detroit Lions Beat Writer

Oct 5, 2026 11:45 AM EDT

Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta (87) misses a pass intended for him against Carolina Panthers safety Nick Scott (21) during the second half at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Detroit Lions are back for another round of M.O.O.N. grades, and the Carolina Panthers game gave us plenty to work with. Some Lions players came close to a perfect score. A couple of others had nights they’ll want to forget.

If you missed the debut last week, here’s a quick refresher. M.O.O.N. stands for Measure of On-Field Net Impact. The idea is simple. A player earns points for impactful plays and loses points for plays that hurt the team. At the end of the game, we add it all up.

Quarterbacks have their own scale. They start at 20 points and earn more through completion percentage, passer rating, touchdown passes, yardage milestones, and big-time throws. Turnover-worthy plays cost them. Offensive linemen start at 25 and are graded on pass blocking and run blocking, including pressures and sacks allowed. Everyone else on offense and defense also starts at 25. The goal for every player is 50.

Nobody has hit 50 yet, by the way. To be honest, I’m not sure anybody can.

You can click on every player in the table, and it will tell you how the grades came about for them.

Offense

Lions Offense M.O.O.N. Grades

Measure of On-Field Net-Impact · Week 4 · Lions at Carolina Panthers · Oct 4, 2026

Player	Pos.	Snaps	Grade
Sam LaPorta	TE	56	49/50
Amon-Ra St. Brown	WR	68	43/50
Jameson Williams	WR	70	43/50
Jared Goff	QB	71	41/50
Jahmyr Gibbs	RB	62	40/50
Isaac TeSlaa	WR	58	39/50
Juice Scruggs	C	71	38/50
Christian Mahogany	LG	71	34/50
Sione Vaki	RB	12	30.5/50
Penei Sewell	LT	71	29/50
Tate Ratledge	RG	71	28/50
Larry Borom	OL	2	25/50
Tom Kennedy	WR	1	25/50
Skyler Gill-Howard	TE	1	25/50
Blake Miller	RT	71	19/50
Brock Wright	TE	25	17.5/50

Tap a player to see the grade breakdown. M.O.O.N. Grades combine impact plays, charted performance and playing time on a 50-point scale.

The highest-graded offensive player for Detroit was tight end Sam LaPorta with 49 points. He had two explosive plays of 15 yards, four plays that moved the chains, eight receptions, and a touchdown. He also didn’t have any negative plays. So what kept him from 50? He just didn’t hit the blocking numbers that would have pushed him over the top.

Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown came in at 43. He had two explosives, four first downs, and eight receptions. It was a solid game for him, but he never found the end zone, and that kept his number down.

Jameson Williams had what I believe was his best game of the season. He had one explosive play, six plays that went for first downs, and six receptions. Like St. Brown, he never got in the end zone.

Then there’s quarterback Jared Goff. He stacked yardage points on top of each other, earning two for going over 100 passing yards and three more apiece for clearing 200, 300, and 400. Add in points for a touchdown pass and three big-time throws, and it was a big night. Still, it wasn’t enough to get him to 50.

Now for the rough ones. It wasn’t a great game for rookie right tackle Blake Miller. He earned six points for a good pass-blocking performance, but he got nothing for his run blocking. He had a 57.1 run-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus on 17 run-block snaps, allowed three pressures, and committed two penalties. Not good, but also not the worst game he’s ever played.

The lowest-graded player on offense was tight end Brock Wright. He had just one reception, allowed a pressure, and committed two penalties. Those weren’t minor penalties, either. He walked out with 17.5 points.

Defense

Lions Defense M.O.O.N. Grades

Measure of On-Field Net-Impact · Week 4 · Lions at Carolina Panthers · Oct 4, 2026

Player	Pos.	Snaps	Grade
Alim McNeill	DL	62	43.5/50
Aidan Hutchinson	DE	70	42/50
D.J. Wonnum	DE	36	31/50
Tyleik Williams	DL	50	31/50
Skyler Gill-Howard	DL	32	30.5/50
Tyler Lacy	DL	33	29.5/50
Jimmy Rolder	LB	7	29/50
Chuck Clark	S	75	28.5/50
Derrick Moore	DE	8	27/50
Jack Campbell	LB	75	26/50
Trevor Nowaske	LB	36	25.5/50
Malcolm Rodriguez	LB	28	25.5/50
Roger McCreary	CB	75	25/50
Jalen Mills	DB	4	25/50
Levi Onwuzurike	DL	10	23/50
Christian Izien	DB	73	21/50
Ennis Rakestraw Jr.	CB	31	18/50
Derrick Barnes	LB	45	16.5/50
D.J. Reed	CB	75	14.5/50

Tap a player to see the grade breakdown. M.O.O.N. Grades combine impact plays, charted performance and playing time on a 50-point scale.

On the other side of the ball, defensive tackle Alim McNeill led the way with a 43.5. He had four pressures, a sack, a tackle for loss, and 2.5 tackles. He didn’t have a single negative play. He just didn’t have quite enough positive ones, like a forced fumble, a pass breakup, or an interception, to reach 50.

Defensive end Aidan Hutchinson was right behind him with 42. He racked up seven pressures and three tackles, but he never got home for the sack.

Here’s where it gets ugly. There was some hope that cornerback Ennis Rakestraw would see more playing time. He did. We thought things might be better against the Panthers. They weren’t.

Rakestraw earned three points for three tackles, but he lost 10 points by allowing two completions. He also gave up an explosive play and missed a tackle. That added up to an 18 out of 50.

The worst grade of anyone in this game belonged to cornerback D.J. Reed. He earned 5.5 points for tackles, but he lost 16 points for allowing five completions, an explosive play, and a touchdown. That’s a tough day at the office.

Check out the full M.O.O.N. grades tables

That’s the rundown for this week. But you should really dig into the tables. You can click on every single player and see exactly how he earned his grade, why he landed where he did, and what kept him from 50.

Next week, we’ll see whether anyone finally breaks through to 50.

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