Detroit Lions deliver performance worthy of Super Bowl chase in 42-24 win over Panthers
Dan Campbell doesn’t worry about opponents his Detroit Lions see eye-to-eye with.
“Because I believe we can compete with anybody and beat anybody in this league,” he said.
It’s the ones good teams like the Lions tend to overlook that give him pause — or did before Sunday, at least.
Coming off an emotional road win against a division opponent, back home with extra time to soak in their praise and playing against the worst team in the NFL, the Lions delivered a knockout performance befitting a Super Bowl contender, pummeling the Carolina Panthers, 42-24, at Ford Field.
“There’s nothing better than when you tell your team just concerns and you talk about it and your team tells you, ‘Coach, just freaking relax, all right? We got it,’” Campbell said. “And they did that today. They came out, they set the tone for the game and really never let off the gas.”
DAVE BIRKETT'S LIONS GRADES: Straight A's for offense in dominating performance vs. Panthers
David Montgomery ran for 109 yards and a touchdown, Jared Goff threw three touchdown passes and ran for a fourth score and the Lions forced three first-half turnovers that led to points to win their third straight game by double digits.
At 4-1, the Lions sit alone in first place in the NFC North, off to their best start since going 5-0 to open the 2011 season. They visit the NFC South-leading Tampa Bay Buccaneers next Sunday in a late-afternoon showcase game with early-season playoff implications.
“I think we’re becoming a more mature team and understanding when we play a team that, with all due respect to them, they’re 0-4 and we feel like we can do some good things against (them),” Goff said. “Again, all due respect. We’ve been there. Like, we know what that feels like. But when we’re becoming this team that we hope to be, when we play a team that we want to get after, we got to go do it, and I thought we did a good job today.”
The Lions dominated every facet of the game Sunday, scoring touchdowns on four of their first five drives to build a commanding 28-10 halftime lead.
Montgomery, the hero of last week’s win over the Green Bay Packers with 32 carries for 121 yards and three touchdowns, opened the scoring Sunday with a 42-yard touchdown run on the Lions’ third offensive play.
He became the first Lions running back to top 100 yards rushing and score a touchdown in back-to-back games since Kevin Jones in 2004, and he did it while shouldering the bulk of the backfield work with rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs out with a hamstring injury.
Aidan Hutchinson intercepted a Bryce Young pass on Carolina’s second possession to set up Goff’s first touchdown pass, 4 yards to Sam LaPorta, and Alim McNeill forced a Miles Sanders fumble and Jerry Jacobs intercepted another Young throw that led to second-quarter scores.]
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“We do like where we’re at, but at the same time, we’re still hungry,” Jacobs said. “We did hype up the crowd — we belong. But at the same time, I don’t think we’re done. We’re still going. And like I said, we’re hungry. We’re coming, so I can’t wait to see this team go far. Like, we’ve got that mindset.”
Goff finished the day 20-for-28 for 236 yards and played his first turnover-free game since Week 1.
He capped a 10-play, 38-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Josh Reynolds to give the Lions a 21-7 lead after Sanders’ fumble, and threw his second TD pass to LaPorta, this one from 31 yards out, two series later after Jacobs’ pick.
Goff’s second touchdown to LaPorta came on a reverse flea-flicker and was one of two trick plays the Lions hit in the game. Montgomery also ran for a first down on a direct snap from center Frank Ragnow that sailed through Goff’s legs.
Montgomery brushed off a reporter’s suggestion after the game that Sunday’s performance proved the Lions are about more than hype.
“Nah, he said. “It ain’t nothing proven yet. It’ll be proven once we do it all, and I firmly believe that and I know we’re capable of doing that. We just have to do it.”
Montgomery finished with 19 carries, and the Lions ran for 159 yards as a team on a day they played without both Gibbs and leading receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown because of injuries. St. Brown suffered an abdominal injury against the Packers, and Gibbs pulled a hamstring in practice Friday.
Even without two of their top offensive weapons, the Lions' points were a season high as they topped 350 yards of offense for the fifth straight game. It’s the first time the Lions have topped 350 yards in five straight games to open the season since 1954.
Jameson Williams caught two passes for 2 yards and played 27 snaps in his season debut for the Lions after serving a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s gambling policy.
Young was 25-for-41 for 247 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions and Adam Thielen had 11 catches for 107 yards for the Panthers, who remain the only NFL team without a win at 0-5.
“These guys are hungry,” Campbell said. “I just think that they smell the wins, they enjoy winning like anybody would, but they also understand what it takes to win right now and what we’re doing to win these games. So I think from that standpoint it’s just I think they want more, I think we want more, and I think when you have that you’re always on the hunt.”
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions searching for more after win: 'Nothing proven yet'
