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Detroit Lions entering franchise, NFL history books through five weeks

jared ramsey, detroit free press
·4 min read
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The 2023 Detroit Lions are making an early case of being one of the best teams in the franchise's long history.

The Lions look dominant through five weeks on their way to their first 4-1 record since 2011, thanks to a beatdown of the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. Each week, Detroit or its players are setting franchise statistical records.

Detroit's defense has arguably the most impressive tally under their belt. Through five weeks, the Lions have only allowed 342 rushing yards, the least allowed by the franchise since 1932 — the franchise's third season, when it was still located in Portsmouth, Ohio — over the first five games. They entered Sunday with the NFL's No. 1 run defense, then held the Panthers to just 99 yards and zero touchdowns.

The Lions also had three rushing touchdowns from three different players — David Montgomery, Craig Reynolds and Jared Goff — on Sunday. The Lions' big offensive line generated a consistent push in short-yardage situations for the easy scores, like they have all season. That gives the Lions nine rushing touchdowns, the franchise's most over the first five weeks since the 1970 team led by Mel Farr.

Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta (87) catches a touchdown pass against the Carolina Panthers during first-half action at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Oct, 8, 2023.
Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta (87) catches a touchdown pass against the Carolina Panthers during first-half action at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Oct, 8, 2023.

LIONS GRADES: Straight A's for offense in dominating performance vs. Panthers

The offense as a whole is producing on a consistent level the franchise is not used to. 2023 marks only the second time in franchise history Detroit has produced over 350 yards per game (again, over the first five games). The first came in 1954; that season, quarterback Bobby Layne and the Lions advanced to the NFL championship, but lost to the Cleveland Browns.

Sunday marked the fifth time ever the Lions had three passing and three rushing touchdowns in a single game. It was the first time it happened in 61 years after the Lions did it four times from 1950-1962. It was the first time the Lions scored over 40 points this season. The last time came in Week 17 last year against the Chicago Bears.

Star defensive end Aidan Hutchinson's ascent to one of the league's best pass rushers continued against the Panthers. Hutchinson got up to 4½ sacks on the season and intercepted a screen pass from Bryce Young which directly led to a touchdown. It was the second turnover he has forced this season; the first came on a fumble on a sack against the Falcons.

Hutchinson now has four career interceptions, the most by any defensive lineman in NFL history through their first two seasons. He is also tied with Ndamukong Suh for third all-time in Lions history in sacks through two seasons, with 14.

Rookie tight end Sam LaPorta has turned into one of Goff's top options and it has led to record-breaking production. LaPorta ranks second among all tight ends in NFL history (through their first five career games) in terms of receiving touchdowns and games with at least 35 yards receiving.

His production this far has been the most by a rookie tight end in the league since Travis Kelce nine years ago. He is the first Detroit rookie tight end since Jim Gibbons in 1964 to have multiple touchdowns of over 30 yards in a season.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions entering franchise, NFL history books through five weeks