Detroit Lions vs. Carolina Panthers: Game recap, highlights

The Detroit Lions enter Week 5 on top of the NFC North with a 3-1 record and look to stay hot against the NFL’s last winless team, the Carolina Panthers.

The Lions are a 9.5-point favorite against the Panthers (0-4) and No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young at Ford Field. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. and the game will be televised on Fox. You can also watch by livestreaming on FUBO (free trial).

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Game recap

Final: Lions dominate Panthers for 42-24 win

The Lions moved to 4-1 on the season after dominating the winless Panthers for a 42-24- win. The Lions jumped out to an early lead on a long David Montgomery touchdown and capitalized on three forced turnovers to turn the game into a blowout.

Aidan Hutchinson had another massive performance to lead the defense. The star defensive end recorded an interception, one sack and three tackles. Jerry Jacobs also had an interception and Alim McNeil forced a fumble. The Lions gave up 342 yards and two touchdowns to Bryce Young but caused constant havoc on every dropback.

Jared Goff was 20-28 for 236 yards and four total touchdowns. He added a quarterback sneak late to go along with his three first half touchdowns — two to Sam LaPorta and one to Josh Reynolds. Montgomery had the one touchdown early and finished the game with 109 yards on 19 carries. Craig Reynolds also found the end zone late in Jahmyr Gibbs’ absence.

The win keeps the Lions atop the NFC North standings. Detroit will hit the road next week to play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

1:55, fourth quarter: Young finds Thielen for late touchdown

The momentum the Panthers found on offense in the fourth quarter was effective but came far too late. Bryce Young hit Adam Thielen in the flat on fourth-and-goal and the former Viking stretched the ball across the goal line for a touchdown.

7:27, fourth quarter: Craig Reynolds scores first touchdown of the season

Reserve running back Craig Reynolds made the most of his spotlight in garbage time as the featured back. Reynolds filled in for David Montgomery and handled the entire load without Jahmyr Gibbs and Zonovan Knight, who left the game with injury. Reynolds had six carries for 48 yards and a touchdown on the drive that included multiple impressive cutback runs.

11:52, fourth quarter: D.J. Chark scores in return to Ford Field

Former Lions wide receiver D.J. Chark found the endzone in his return to Detroit late in the game. After a questionable roughing the passer extended the Panthers' drive, Bryce Young found Chark on a post route in the endzone. It is his second touchdown this season.

14:45, fourth quarter: Jared Goff converts QB sneak TD, Lions lead 35-10

The Lions' dominant day continues. Detroit drove 50 yards in seven plays, finishing off with multiple powerful David Montgomery runs down to the one-yard line. Jared Goff got the job done himself with a quarterback sneak on the first play of the final quarter to extend the lead to 25 points.

The third quarter featured no points or turnovers on either side. Detroit's defense has bottled up any attempt of a comeback by Bryce Young and the Panthers. Emmanuel Moseley was downgraded to out with a knee injury. He returned for his 2023 debut with the Lions after tearing his ACL in 2022 with the 49ers.

Halftime: Panthers add last-second field goal, Lions lead 28-10

Bryce Young keeps bouncing back after he bad mistakes. He led another, long drive down the field that took up the final three minutes of the half to get a field goal to help stop the bleeding.

It has been all Lions through the first 30 minutes at Ford Field. Detroit's defense forced three turnovers that led to three touchdowns to create the sizable advantage. Aidan Hutchinson and Jerry Jacobs intercepted Young and Alim McNeil forced a fumble that was recovered by Will Harris.

Jared Goff is having another great game even without his top target, Amon-Ra St. Brown. He is 13-17 for 143 yards and three touchdowns in the first half. Sam LaPorta has two catches for two touchdowns and Josh Reynolds has the other. David Montgomery is continuing to produce at a high rate and scored a 42-yard touchdown on his first carry of the game.

3:21, second quarter: LaPorta finds the end zone again after Jerry Jacobs INT

Jerry Jacobs immediately got the ball back for Detroit on the second play after the touchdown. Bryce Young misfired on a deep shot and Jacobs was able to come down with it and return it to the Panthers' 31-yard line.

On the first play, the Lions broke out the bag of tricks. Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson dialed up a reverse flea flicker, which resulted in a wide open Sam LaPorta on a wheel route for an easy touchdown.

3:50, second quarter: Josh Reynolds hauls in touchdown, Lions lead 21-7

The turnover led to points again for Detroit. After the fumble, Jared Goff calmly drove the Lions into the end zone thanks to a good blend of runs and play action passes. Goff finished the drive with a fake to David Montgomery on the one-yard line then fired the ball to Josh Reynolds for the score.

9:58, second quarter: Will Harris recovers fumble

The Lions defense came up with another big play immediately after the turnover on downs to get the ball right back. Alim McNeil punched the ball out of Miles Sanders' hands to force a fumble which was scooped up by Will Harris in good field position.

10:07, second quarter: Lions fail on fourth down

The Lions first negative drive of the day came because of a failed fourth down at the Panthers' 37. After two drops from Jameson Williams and Sam LaPorta, Dan Campbell decided to be aggressive on fourth and short and keep the offense on the field instead of opting for the long field goal. Goff tried to swing a short pass to David Montgomery, but the play was blown up for a turnover on downs.

12:48, second quarter: Panthers respond with long touchdown drive

Bryce Young shook off the interception and manufactured a 14-play scoring drive to cut into the Lions' lead. He finished the drive with a play action touchdown pass to Tommy Tremble on the goal line. Laviska Shenault and Miles Sanders both had big runs on the drive for first downs too.

Lions cornerback Emmanuel Moseley left the game with a lower leg injury mid-drive. It is Moseley's first game since an ACL injury last season and first game as a Lion. Panthers rookie guard Chandler Zavala was stretchered off the field and taken to a Detroit hospital with a neck injury. He did raise his arms and give a thumbs up as he left the field.

4:53, first quarter: Goff finds Sam LaPorta for play action touchdown

It did not take long for the Lions to capitalize on Hutchinson's massive play. After a few runs up the middle, Jared Goff perfectly executed a play action fake to David Montgomery and hit rookie tight end Sam LaPorta wide open in the flat for the easy touchdown. It is the second touchdown for LaPorta in his young career.

7:36, first quarter: Aidan Hutchinson intercepts Bryce Young deep in Panthers territory

The dominant start of the season for Aidan Hutchinson continues this week. After getting free from a blocker, Hutchinson reached a hand out and snagged a screen pass from Bryce Young for an interception. He had a brief return inside the Panthers' 20 but got chopped down. He limped off the field after the hit.

It is the fourth career interception for Hutchinson, the most by any defensive lineman in the first two years of their career in NFL history.

9:41, first quarter: David Montgomery rips 42-yard touchdown

The Lions defense gave up some ground but forced a punt on their side of the 50 to set up the offense for the first time today. It only took three plays for Detroit's potent offense to take advantage.

On his first carry of the game, David Montgomery reached the endzone after bouncing an inside run to the boundary and outran the Panthers defense in a 40-yard dash. Jared Goff hit on two in-breaking throws to Kalif Raymond and Marvin Jones on the first two plays of the drive to set up the homerun play.

Injury report, Jameson Williams' return

Despite having 10 days off since beating the Green Bay Packers in Lambeau Field, the Lions are dealing with new injuries and will be without two of their top offensive weapons. Amon-Ra St. Brown, who leads the team in receiving, is out with an abdomen injury that kept him out of practice all week; rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs is sidelined with a hamstring injury suffered Friday in practice.

Rookie standout defensive back Brian Branch is also out with the ankle injury he suffered against the Packers.

The good news for the Lions: 2022 first-round receiver Jameson Williams is suited up and will play in a limited role after his gambling suspension was lifted two weeks earlier than expected. Williams will work back up to game speed and help replace St. Brown along with Josh Reynolds, Kalif Raymond and Marvin Jones Jr. David Montgomery is expected to get the lion’s share of the work again without Gibbs suiting up — Montgomery had a career-high 32 carries last week.

Pregame notes

The Lions defense enters the game ranked fourth in the league in total yards allowed and first in rushing yards allowed after back-to-back stifling performances. The leader of the unit is Aidan Hutchinson, who is blossoming into a star pass rusher in his second year. Hutchinson is tied for 10th in the NFL with 3.5 sacks and has made a habit of breathing down every quarterback’s neck all game from nearly every position on the defensive line.

It is shaping up to be another favorable matchup for the group against the Panthers, who have the 25th-best offense averaging 16.8 points and 282.5 yards per game. The game will also be a shot at redemption for defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and the defense, which was gashed on the ground for 320 yards by Carolina last Christmas Eve in a loss that ultimately cost them a playoff berth.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions vs. Carolina Panthers: Game recap, highlights