In the Lions’ Week 4 victory against the Seahawks, some stars made plays and others needed to fix some mistakes. Who walked away a winner and a loser?
After winning in their first road game of the season against the Arizona Cardinals, the Detroit Lions returned home for “Monday Night Football” against the Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks have had Detroit’s number, winning the past six matchups with the last Lions win happening all the way back in 2012. On Monday night, though, Detroit would snap the losing streak and defeat the Seahawks, 42-29.
Lions quarterback Jared Goff played a perfect game tonight as the offense was able to move through the air and on the ground with relative ease. The defense, on the other hand, had some struggles that kept Seattle in the game until the very end.
Check out my winners and losers in the victory against the Seahawks.
Winners
Jack Campbell
The sophomore linebacker Jack Campbell has been improving as the season has gone on so far. Last year, Campbell did well but nothing that jumped off the page. But so far this year, Campbell has been slowly playing more and more. After the Lions took the lead in the first quarter, it looked like Seattle would move down the field and tie the game as Seattle wide receiver DK Metcalf was taking over. Metcalf broke tackles and fought for extra yards until Campbell hit him hard in the back, forcing the fumble and the Lions recovered it.
Jack Campbell punches it out #SEAvsDET | ABC/ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/w8mv28bq1t
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) October 1, 2024
The fumble recovery would turn into a short field for Detroit and they would take advantage of the favorable field position to take the lead, 14-0. Campbell finished the game with seven tackles and a tackle for loss alongside the forced fumble.
Ground Game
When it was announced that Lions center Frank Ragnow would miss time due to a pec injury, I thought the ground game would take a step back. I didn’t believe it would be a big step back, but enough that the Lions offense would have to work harder to move the ball on the ground. On Monday, it seemed like nothing had changed.
Detroit ran the ball 28 times for 116 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 4.1 yards per carry. It didn’t matter who was running the ball between Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, it worked with ease with both of them.
Left guard Graham Glasow moved to center and backup guard Kayode Awosika moved into left guard and they played well throughout the night. Detroit showed that they have some depth on the interior of the offensive line which helped greatly in the end.
Jared Goff
Not just another strong game from Goff here, but a perfect one. Goff went 18-for-18 for 292 yards and two touchdowns. The Seahawks pressured Goff, sacking him three times, and even forcing a safety late in the fourth quarter. Despite the pressure, Goff avoided more sacks and kept plays alive.
Goff made safe throws, nothing risky, but he held onto the ball a little too long at times—although, the safety could be tied to that and poor playcalling. When the running game is working well, and the Lions play with a lead, Goff doesn’t have to do too much or be a hero, which works for everyone as long as it ends with a Lions victory. Goff even got bored throwing perfectly, so he joined in on the scoring with a 7-yard touchdown catch from wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.
#EasyToCelebrate a TD like that@budlight pic.twitter.com/Z1n9L6yKxT
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) October 1, 2024
When Goff wasn’t dancing around in the pocket and completing 360-degree passes, he looked comfortable and calm. After a shaky start in the first two games, Goff seems to be back to where he was last season, and to have that earlier in the year is nice to have for the offense.
Losers
Penalties
Most of the flags on Detroit that were called were correct, but some were questionable at best, which helped move Seattle down the field and score multiple times. In the end, Detroit was called for 12 penalties for 101 yards, which is unacceptable. If the team was called for fewer penalties, the game could have been an even bigger win.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell doesn’t like when the team is sloppy and I am sure with the bye week next week, he and the coaching staff will work on containing the poor play at times. Most of the flags were on the defense, which falls on defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn to speak up as well, and make it a point of emphasis for his defense to be more disciplined.
Run defense
Entering tonight, the Lions’ defense only allowed 230 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, with an average of 3.6 yards per carry. After a strong start in the first half, the Lions’ run defense fell apart in the second half. Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker II finished the game with 12 carries for 80 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 6.7 yards per carry.
Overall, Seattle ran 19 times for 133 yards for three touchdowns and got seven yards a carry. Going up against an offensive line that has been struggling this season, that isn’t a good look for the defensive line. Part of the success for Walker though, was on himself as he made some nice plays to avoid tackles and find the end zone multiple times. You can’t blame the defensive line when the running back makes a good play overall, but the tackling at times by the defense was poor.
