Finally, it happened: For the first time since their Week 9 bye, the Lions performed well on both sides of the ball during their Saturday night game against the Broncos.
First off, Jared Goff improved his play after misfiring on the ball ten times in the previous four weeks. He completed the game without making any mistakes and tied his career high with five touchdown passes—a feat he had only previously achieved in 2018 while playing for the Los Angeles Rams.
The Lions’ two-headed monster, which included David Montgomery and Jammyr Gibbs, was then running back. They had a very productive day on the ground. Together, Gibbs and Montgomery gained 185 yards on the ground, with each rushing for at least five yards per carry.
It was Gibbs’ second career game with at least 100 yards as a ball carrier, and he led the way with 100 rushing yards (on just 11 carries). With an average of 5.8 yards per rushing attempt, he now leads all running backs—yes, all running backs—due to his performance.
Tight end Sam LaPorta, Gibbs’ rookie counterpart, also turned in another impressive performance.
The Iowa product most famously caught a career-high three touchdown passes from Goff. Additionally, he caught five passes for 56 yards, making history as the first rookie tight end in the NFL to finish a season with at least 70 receptions, 700 receiving yards, and nine receiving touchdowns.
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“Today, we did a great job combining the pass and the run. We performed well in both of those categories. After the Week 15 victory, LaPorta told reporters, “I felt like we could open up a lot of things in the offense today, and anything that Ben Johnson called was going to work for us.
It’s true that we staged a few plays that were unsuccessful. However, I believe that when everyone is playing complementary football and doing their jobs, it’s difficult to stop the offense. Indeed, a fantastic team victory.
On the other side of the ball, however, Detroit consistently pressured Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson, recording two sacks of the seasoned passer. Wilson fumbled early in the first quarter, which was recovered by the Lions thanks to the efforts of defensive lineman Isaiah Buggs and safety Ifeatu Melifonwu.
For just the third time this season, Melifonwu got the start and played brilliantly. In addition to his nine total tackles, he also forced a fumble by Wilson, picked up a sack, broke up two passes, and had two QB hits.
Veteran safety Tracy Walker, who has had a difficult season overall in 2023, was replaced at the start by Melifonwu.
Dan Campbell explained the decision to launch Melifonwu, saying, “You trust your gut and go with it, and we felt like that was the right move, and Iffy’s continued to grow.” And you know what, Iffy? His strength has always been resilience.
He’s been able to stay on the field, his body is holding up, and he’s a physically strong, intelligent, and athletic player. We’re improving, he has range and length, and his return with Kerby (Joseph) is encouraging. We’re improving.
Melifonwu not only had a strong performance against the pass on Saturday, but he also assisted Detroit in containing Denver’s run game during the Week 15 encounter. He and his defensive teammates limited the combined rushing yards of Samaje Perine, Javonte Williams, and Jaleel McLaughlin to less than 100 (a pitiful three yards per carry).
It brought back memories of how well the Lions had played earlier in the season against their opponents’ ground games. Recall that during the season’s first six weeks, Aaron Glenn’s team was unable to let a team amass 100 total rushing yards.
And before the Lions’ primetime game against the Broncos, Glenn’s team had gone four weeks without letting the opposition accumulate more than 100 rushing yards.
The Lions’ defensive performance was a return to form, and the timing couldn’t have been better. Not only is the regular season coming to an end, but there is only one more magic number left for Campbell’s team to win its first division championship since 1993.
Additionally, how about this? Next Sunday in Minnesota, the Lions will play for the NFC North Division championship. Detroit will be the division champions if they win the Week 16 match and take care of business.
Regarding the chance to defeat the Vikings and secure the division, Campbell remarked, “We wouldn’t have it any other way.
Go out there, in a challenging environment, on the road, and we have an opportunity to get the next one. We’re going to be anticipating it, so, man.
As I am certain that I am, so too are our guys. We completed the tasks necessary to defeat a strong team today in order to reach 10 victories; the only task left is to determine how to reach 11.
The Lions demonstrated their potential on Saturday night when they played complementary football. It was also very similar to the winning style of football they had been playing for the better part of the season.
I’m not going to promise that they will resume playing that style of football consistently at this point. However, if Campbell’s squad is able to accomplish this, it will demonstrate that it is a team capable of causing havoc in the postseason.
Recall that these are not the lions of your father or grandfather. These are the “Brand New Lions,” and they will not back down from a challenge.
And the rest of the NFC should be afraid if these Lions start playing consistently strong football on both offense and defense.
