4 takeaways from the Lions blowout win over the Jaguars

Four takeaways from the Lions historically impressive beatdown of the Jaguars in Week 11.

The Detroit Lions took it to another level on Sunday, completing their third blowout win of the season with a 52-6 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

An iconic offensive performance

Earlier in the week, Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson expressed some frustration with the offense, noting that the team had mostly been carried by the defense and special teams over the past few weeks. So he offered a challenge to his own unit: “The challenge for us as an offense right now is to pull our weight because we feel like those two other units are doing it on their side of the ball right now,” Johnson said.

Safe to say, the Lions offense answered the call. This tweet pretty much says it all:

The Lions scored touchdowns on all seven of their first seven drives, and none of them were shortened by a defensive turnover or special teams. Every single touchdown drive was at least 60 yards long. Jameson Williams and Amon-Ra St. Brown each had 100 yards and combined for 15 catches, 265 yards, and three touchdowns. Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery combined for 26 carries 144 yards and three rushing touchdowns.

In short, everyone on the offense ate.

Jared Goff bounces back

It’s hard to say whether Goff can re-enter the MVP conversation after a five-interception night—even if those weren’t all on him—but he did everything he possibly could to put that game far in the rear-view mirror.

Goff was perhaps even more impeccable than his “perfect” game against the Seattle Seahawks earlier this season. Goff went 24-of-29 for 412 yards, four touchdowns, and a perfect passer rating of 158.3. With a wildly impressive 14.2 yards per attempt and zero sacks allowed, Goff pretty much did whatever he wanted all game. Even more impressively, Goff managed the pocket beautifully all game and even finished 21 rushing yards—the fourth-highest total for a single game in his career.

I would argue this was Goff’s best game of his Lions career, and I don’t imagine I’d get much pushback there.

Kerby Joseph’s range is unbelievable

There’s not a ton to say about the Lions’ defensive performance, even though they held the Jaguars to just 170 yards of offense and only allowed a pair of field goals. It was a mixture of good coverage, and a swarming run defense.

But the most impressive feat of the day came from Lions safety Kerby Joseph, who tallied his (league-leading) seventh interception of the day. Mac Jones thought Luke Farrell had produced enough separation, but Joseph came from the middle of the field and closed the gap almost immediately. Watch the play below, and you’ll notice that Joseph started on the opposite hashmark.

He’s a special play-maker on the back end of this Lions defense alongside Brian Branch.

Lions linebacker depth is likely to be tested

The Lions lost Alex Anzalone to a forearm injury, and coach Dan Campbell confirmed after the game that he suffered a fracture and will miss six to eight weeks. Presumably, he’ll go to injured reserve, where he’ll join fellow linebackers Derrick Barnes and Jalen Reeves-Maybin.

The Lions boasted a very strong linebacker room to start the season, so they have decent starters in both Malcolm Rodriguez and Jack Campbell, but the depth is about to be seriously challenged. Get ready to see a lot more of the likes of Ben Niemann and Trevor Nowaske.