The Detroit Lions are back to their blowout ways after a big win over the Washington Commanders. Not only was it a return to form for the team, but it was yet another example of why the Lions have something special in Dan Campbell.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. Here are my positional grades for the Lions’ Week 10 win over the Commanders.
Quarterback: A
While Jared Goff was devoid of any eye-popping throws or outstanding plays, he did what was more important: made the right reads and delivered accurate passes that allowed his receivers to maximize yards after the catch (league-leading 191 on Sunday). Goff finished the day with the following Week 10 highs:
- Passer rating: 135.9
- Passing yards: 320
- EPA per dropback: +0.71 (second was +0.28)
He also finished with a completion percentage above expected of +11.5% despite facing pressure on 42.4% of his dropbacks—sixth highest in the NFL of Week 10. Fantastic day from Goff.
Running backs: A+
Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery looked like the Sonic and Knuckles duo we all know and love. While they were certainly aided by a rejuvenated offensive line, both also created plenty of yards on their own. Gibbs’ 9.5 yards per carry was second in the NFL on Sunday, and his rush EPA of +8.5 was first. Gibbs also contributed 30 yards and a touchdown through the air. His 172 yards from scrimmage was the third-most in his young career, and it was his second-best fantasy performance, if that’s your thing.
Don’t overlook Montgomery, who added 71 rushing yards on 4.7 a carry, himself.
Tight end: A
Sam LaPorta continues to be one of Goff’s go-to options on critical downs. On his five catches for 53 yards, he:
- Converted a fourth-and-1
- Turned a third-and-10 into a fourth-and-1 (which was converted)
- Converted a third-and-7
- Moved the chains with a 14-yard reception
While Brock Wright didn’t contribute any receptions in the game, he succeeded in helping improve the Lions’ pass protection and run blocking.
Wide receivers: A-
I’m only dinging this group for a couple of drops: one by Amon-Ra St. Brown, one by Jameson Williams.
Otherwise, it was a fantastic day from this group. St. Brown, Williams, Kalif Raymond, and Isaac TeSlaa combined for 237 yards and two touchdowns on 16 catches. They were constantly getting open, blocking on the edge, and making the most of their opportunities with YAC.
Additionally, it was good to see the Lions finally get some production out of the WR3 position, be it Raymond (four catches, 49 yards) or TeSlaa (1 for 11).
But Sunday was all about Williams. Tying a career high with six receptions (on only seven targets), Williams was the versatile route runner we saw in training camp. He caught just about every kind of route other than a fly. If the Lions continue to use him as a well-rounded route runner, it’s only a matter of time before they connect on a deep shot again.
Offensive line: A
Detroit’s offensive line—despite missing one starter and suffering several in-game injuries—finally looked like they were capable of controlling an entire game again.
Detroit’s’ 226 rushing yards was a season-high for them, and they managed to produce 3.78 yards before contact per attempt, second-highest of any team in Week 10.
Pass protection wasn’t perfect—five quarterback hits allowed is still too many—but when Detroit needed time on long-developing play action passes, they had it more often than not.
Defensive line: C-
On what was a pretty average day from the Lions defense in general, the defensive line had an oddly quiet day. While some of that is attributed to a decent Commanders offensive line, it was still a little disappointing to see Aidan Hutchinson, Alim McNeill, and Al-Quadin Muhammad basically be non-factors in this game.
That said, the front did help hold a very good Commanders rushing attack to just 93 rushing yards and only 3.4 yards per carry. Oddly, it was Roy Lopez with the most notable night, with two tackles for loss, including a half-sack on Marcus Mariota.
Linebackers: B
I don’t know what I can say about Jack Campbell anymore. While not his biggest statistical night (five tackles, 1 QB hit), he still manages to be impressive in his pursuit and tackling. His two-point conversion stop was one of the biggest defensive highlights of the game.
Elsewhere, Alex Anzalone remained tight in coverage, but Derrick Barnes had a relatively quiet night.
Just a solid, but unspectacular game from Detroit’s strongest defensive unit.
Secondary: C+
The Commanders connected on far too many deep shots in this game. Mariota completed passes of 41, 37, and 30 yards—all on deep shots. But on a couple of those plays, coverage was actually pretty decent—the Commanders receivers just made some plays.
We saw more promising play from Terrion Arnold before he had to leave the game with yet another injury (concussion). Additionally, Brian Branch had his best game in weeks, tallying 1.5 sacks, a team-leading seven tackles, including an additional tackle for loss.
Special teams: C-
I don’t think special teams were as bad as they seemed, but there was another big kick return and another blocked kick—and neither of those things are acceptable.
But special teams was actually pretty good outside of that. Kickoff coverage, one lapse aside, was outstanding. Detroit utilized a silly loophole that allowed Jake Bates to purposely kick it out of bounds and pin the Commanders at their own 25-yard line. Here’s where the Commanders started on the other six kickoffs: 26-yard line, 27, 31, 21, 29, 28. Pinning the Commanders inside their own 30-yard line on seven of nine kickoffs is pretty dang good, if you ask me. For comparison’s sake, the Lions started beyond the 30 on two of four kickoffs.
Elsewhere, Jake Bates was perfect on field goals on an outdoor, rainy day.
Coaching: A+
Days like Sunday are a strong reminder that the Lions are in great hands with Dan Campbell. Taking over play calling could not have been an easy decision to make, but it was a necessary one—and it showed, again, that Campbell is so much more than an expert motivator.
The offensive game plan finally seemed to match the team’s strengths. Whether it was utilizing more horizontal routes for Jameson Williams, using the offensive line’s athleticism to run more gap concepts in the running game, or just timing the play-action plays at the right time, just about everything made sense from an offensive standpoint.
Campbell also made one good challenge—and one harmless, failed challenge. He expertly bled nearly all of the clock on the team’s final first-half possession. And he helped the team keep its cool when the Commanders were losing their mind. Detroit was called for just three accepted penalties on the day, and two of them were intentional kickoffs out of bounds.
The ship has likely already sailed, but a game like Sunday shows that Campbell should still be considered for Coach of the Year.
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