Lions Week 11 report card: Offense aces Jaguars ‘test’

Handing out grades for the Lions’ dominant performance against the Jaguars. (SPOILER: A lot of As)

Bring out the refrigerator magnets, because the Detroit Lions’ performance against the Jacksonville Jaguars earned one of the best report cards of all time. Let’s waste no time to hand out some grades from the Lions’ 52-6 shellacking of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Quarterback: A+

I said it before and I’ll say it again. I think this was Jared Goff’s best performance in a Lions uniform. This goes well beyond his statline—which is also incredible: 24-of-29 for 412 yards, four touchdowns, and a perfect 158.3 passer rating.

Goff was also the most poised and efficient I’ve ever seen while navigating the pocket. He side-skirted several potential sacks, kept his eyes downfield, and knew exactly when to tuck and run. He finished with 21 rushing yards, which was the fourth-most in his career, and they were all well-earned.

And let’s not overlook the ball placement, either. All of his passes were spot on, as he finished second in the NFL in Week 11 with a +16% completion percentage over expected, per Next Gen Stats.

You know what? I wasted a ton of words here. Just look at this:

Running backs: A

The duo of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs combined for a total of 218 scrimmage yards and three touchdowns. Both averaged at least 5.0 yards per carry against a very solid Jaguars run defense. Hell, even Craig Reynolds threw in a 19-yard run for funsies.

As a team, the Lions finished with 43 rushes for 196 yards and 4.6 yards per carry. If you take away kneel downs, that’s 41 rushes for 198 yards, or 4.8 YPC.

Wide receivers: A

Amon-Ra St. Brown (161 yards) and Jameson Williams (124) both set career highs for receiving yards in a game. St. Brown started a new streak with Goff, catching all 11 passes thrown his way. Kalif Raymond and Tim Patrick got involved, too. They made some tough in-traffic catches to combine for five receptions and 56 yards.

It’s hard to imagine anything more from this group

Tight ends: B

I make the rules up here, and I’m docking the tight end a full grade because Brock Wright didn’t properly block up the hook-and-ladder play to Jameson Williams. If he does, that 11-yard gain probably turns into a 50+ yard play.

Otherwise, it was a fine day for the Lions offense. Wright eventually found the end zone, Shane Zylstra had a 22-yard gain, and the group deserves some flowers for blocking in Detroit’s run game.

Never at one point in this game did I think about Sam LaPorta’s absence, which speaks to the incredible success of this unit and the offense as a whole.

Offensive line: A+

Zero sacks allowed, just two quarterback hits ceded in 36 dropbacks, and a run game that averaged 5.5 yards per carry with their two primary running backs. When you factor in that the Jaguars have two very good pass rushers in Travon Walker and Josh Hines-Allen and the 12th-ranked run defense by DVOA, this was arguably the offensive line’s best performance of the game.

Defensive line: B

Speaking of the run game, the Lions absolutely shut down the Jaguars’ rushing attack. Obviously, Jacksonville had to abandon the run in the second half, but here are their stats in the first half: 11 rushes, 23 yards. For the majority of this game, Jared Goff was out-rushing Travis Etienne.

However, I was a bit disappointed by the Lions’ pass rush in this game. Detroit constantly had the Jaguars in obvious passing downs and managed just three quarterback hits and a single sack. Za’Darius Smith obviously got a half-sack, but there wasn’t much else happening from the front seven when it came to pass rush, and that should be at least a little concerning.

Linebackers: A

When Alex Anzalone went down late in the second quarter, the Lions’ linebacking corps didn’t miss a beat. Jack Campbell continues his ascent with a half-sack, a game-leading nine tackles, and a tackle for loss. Malcolm Rodriguez had a quiet day on the stat sheet but provided strong, consistent tackling, and when the Lions had to rely on Ben Niemann and Trevor Nowaske, there was no notable step back.

Again, Detroit bottled up the run game, and Evan Engram had just 28 yards on five catches. That’s a superb job by the Lions linebacking corps.

Secondary: A+

While Detroit only had two pass breakups on the day (Kerby Joseph’s interception and Brandon Joseph), Mac Jones had trouble finding open receivers all game. But even beyond that, look to the Jaguars’ second drive to show how impactful this secondary is.

First down: Jones finds Engram, but Brian Branch lays him out to stop him for a 9-yard gain.

Second down: Kerby Joseph makes an incredible open-field tackle to force a third down:

Detroit gets a stop on third down and the rout is on.

The only way the Jaguars were going to get back in the game was via some deep shots. Mac Jones went 1-for-10 with an interception on passes that traveled at least 15 yards down the field.

Special teams: B

Hard to get an A when you don’t punt the entire game. In reality, special teams were a non-factor in this game. The Jaguars did a great job punting and with their coverage units, holding Kalif Raymond to 30 return yards on a total of five punts. Detroit also kicked short on kickoffs a couple times and the Jaguars got right around the 30-yard line each time.

But it’s an above-average performance still because Jake Bates made all seven of his extra points and a 54-yard field goal.

Coaching: A+

I can’t tell you how refreshing it is to have a coaching staff that seems absolutely immune to the trap game. Everyone knew this game should have been a blowout, and you know the team hears some of that stuff. Regardless, the Lions had this team ready, and they were relentless for the entire game. They were not going to leave anything up to chance, and they had no interest in giving the Jaguars even a glimmer of hope in the second half. That’s exactly the mindset this team should have every week, every drive, and every down.

Hey, and Dan Campbell even won himself a challenge!