The Detroit Lions went into Cincinnati and came away with their fourth win in a row, this time beating the Bengals 37-24.
It was a huge day for both the offense and defense. Jared Goff threw for three touchdowns and David Montgomery scored twice, one rushing and one on a pass to Brock Wright. The defense put together a stellar performance as well with three sacks, nine QB hits, three interceptions, and 11 pass breakups.
There are many players deserving of a game ball this week, but one linebacker’s heroics late in the game sealed the win for Detroit and earned himself Pride of Detroit’s game ball for this week.
Game ball: Derrick Barnes
Stats: 8 total tackles, 1 sack, 1 QB hit, 1 TFL, 1 safety
Detroit’s linebacker corps arguably had their best game of the season thus far. The starting three of Alex Anzalone, Jack Campbell, and Derrick Barnes combined for over a third of the team’s total tackles and had three out of five of the team’s tackles for loss. The unit shut down the Bengals’ run game, allowing just 85 yards on 16 carries.
In the fourth quarter with about five minutes remaining, Detroit’s comfortable lead was becoming much less so. The Bengals scored a touchdown and attempted an onside kick. Though they didn’t recover it, their defense forced a punt after two short rushing attempts by the Lions and a sack on Jared Goff. A perfect punt by Jack Fox placed the ball on the 7-yard line, and Cincinnati was ready to mount a comeback.
With under two minutes to go, Bengals quarterback Jake Browning dropped back for a pass. His left guard went into pass protection, but nobody was there for him to block. From his linebacker position, Derrick Barnes looked like he was dropping into coverage at first, but a lane was open and he went in for the blitz.
Barnes played this perfectly. The guard was caught looking to his left, presumably watching for Aidan Hutchinson. Barnes flew downfield in this moment, hitting the lineman with a quick juke move and avoiding the block. Barnes had no trouble finding Browning, who was several yards in his own endzone, and took him down for the sack.
This safety gave Detroit both the ball and a much more manageable 13-point lead with very little time left to go, killing any hopes of a Bengals’ comeback.
Honorable mention: Sam LaPorta
Stats: 5 receptions, 92 yards, 1 TD
The former Pro Bowler and second-team All-Pro tight end has had a very quiet start to the season. In the last three games, LaPorta averaged three receptions per game for about 33 yards. He was utilized much more against the Bengals and it paid off big for Detroit’s offense.
On Detroit’s first drive of the game, LaPorta first had a 22-yard catch that placed Detroit in the redzone. A few plays later, he scored his first touchdown of the season on a 10-yard catch-and-run.
LaPorta also had an impressive 39-yard play on a short out route in the third quarter that he ran up the sideline, requiring three Bengals defenders to try and take him down.
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