The Detroit Lions need wins in any capacity down the stretch, but we would appreciate some less dramatic ones going forward.
The Lions won the hard way against the New York Giants, rallying to force overtime before Jahmyr Gibbs capped off his masterclass with a 69-yard touchdown run. Following an Aidan Hutchinson sack to seal it in overtime, the Lions advanced to 7-4 on the season and are still firmly in the playoff hunt.
Yet going forward, did this win help alleviate any concerns about the Lions? A win is a win, but this was far from Detroit’s prettiest.
Today’s Question of the Day is:
Do you feel better or worse after the Lions’ win over the Giants?
My answer: A little worse.
The performance that Gibbs put on against the Giants was one for the ages—264 total yards and three touchdowns is a rare feat. He is officially the engine of the offense and the frontrunner for team Most Valuable Player. That being said, we already knew that Gibbs was an elite and special running back, and while the stat line is certainly impressive, I do not believe it is enough to bump the Lions up my power ranking. I needed to see a more complete game from Detroit, and I do not feel like we got that against New York.
The pros from this game are limited, though impactful. Along with the aforementioned Gibbs explosion, Amon-Ra St. Brown rebounded from a quiet game the week prior with 149 yards and a touchdown on nine receptions. The offensive line was floundering to start the game against the Giants, but I think things looked far better from the second half onward, paving the way for some crucial Gibbs rushes. I think the run defense looked solid, holding the Giants to a 3.1 yard per attempt average. Thomas Harper recorded a timely interception (albeit without a timely response from the offense on the subsequent drive).
Though there were encouraging signs, this was a game that the Lions should have won without the need for a dramatic overtime. The reason for the early deficit was the secondary getting carved up by Jameis Winston. The Lions defense had been making lemonade out of lemons in recent weeks, having lost starters like D.J. Reed, Terrion Arnold, and Kerby Joseph. With Reed making his return, the expectation was that the defense would improve further. Instead, everything somehow got worse.
Amik Robertson had one of his worst games as a Lion, while the linebackers and safeties were struggling to cover the likes of Theo Johnson, Tyrone Tracy, Isaiah Hodgins, and… Jameis Winston? The coverage was subpar far too often, and with some difficult offenses upcoming, they cannot allow quarterbacks and receivers to have free rein in the secondary. However, the defensive line was also liable for the coverage issues. Aside from literally the last play of the game, the Lions could not get home and sack Winston. To Winston’s credit, he did well to navigate the pocket, but the team needed more than a one-sack performance. Per ESPN, the Lions had seven quarterback hits on Sunday, six of which came from Hutchinson. The Lions simply do not have the horses to generate a stable pass rush.
I am still concerned about the passing game. Though Jared Goff came close to a 300-yard game with a pair of touchdowns and an interception that was not his fault, it was far from a great outing for him. The continual trend of the season is that when Goff has time to operate, he can be elite. When bombarded with pressure, specifically from the interior, he struggles with escapability, vision, and, frankly, decision making.
In third quarter, Kayode Awosika was beat cleanly by Rakeem Nunez-Roches. This gave Goff a split second to pull the trigger on a pass to either Brock Wright in the flat or St. Brown in the slot. Neither happened, as Goff stood still in the pocket and took the sack. Awosika was clearly at fault for allowing the sack, but Goff also has to feel for that rapidly collapsing pocket.
It was also another game in which Jameson Williams was held without a catch—his sixth game with two or fewer receptions. His performances over the prior three games—14 catches for 273 yards and three touchdowns—instilled some belief that he had evolved from this boom-or-bust player. He has talent and the Lions offense has opportunities to feed him, but it simply is not translating to consistent on-field success.
Additionally, nobody is standing out as a tertiary receiver with Sam LaPorta out of the lineup. Kalif Raymond, Brock Wright, and Isaac TeSlaa combined for 66 yards on five catches. Tim Patrick was a revelation for the Lions in 2024, but the expectation was that TeSlaa would supplant his role after a successful preseason. Instead, the role has all but disappeared from the offense. Of Goff’s 38 targeted attempts, 25 of them were in the direction of St. Brown or Gibbs. The Lions badly need someone else to step up on a consistent basis. That player formerly was LaPorta and presently should be Williams, but at this rate, I would accept any production from the depth chart.
Though the Lions won, I think the schedule ahead is rough. The Packers and Bears are among the hottest teams in the NFC right now and should be favorites to win the division over Detroit. The Los Angeles Rams should be viewed as the best team in the NFL. The Dallas Cowboys look much improved in their upset of the Philadelphia Eagles this week, a team that had stonewalled the Lions the week before. Of the remaining six games, the Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers could be the most winnable, but neither will be a sure-fire win. The Vikings pitched a masterclass against the Lions in Week 9, while the Steelers tend to play well against good teams, having defeated the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts already this season.
Detroit has a short week ahead of them due to their Thanksgiving date with the Packers, meaning they will have little time to fix their mistakes from this past game versus the Giants. A win next week would do a lot to calm the nerves of the Detroit fandom. A loss next week would likely scuttle any hopes of winning the NFC North and shrink their margin of error going forward.
It was not an easy win for the Lions, but it was a win regardless. That being said, this game was more of a wakeup call than many had expected.
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