Detroit Lions grades: An A for dominant defensive performance vs. Green Bay Packers
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Detroit Free Press sports writer Dave Birkett grades the Detroit Lions in their 34-20 win over the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.
Quarterback
Jared Goff’s night got off to a rocky start when he threw his third interception in as many games on the Lions’ opening drive. Goff made a careless throw, off his back foot into zone coverage, and admitted after the game he has “to find a way to clean it up and not do that again.” But Goff put together another solid performance overall. He grabbed 11 yards on the ground when the Packers gave him a rushing lane. He threw a key block on — or at least got in the way of — Kingsley Enagbare on Kalif Raymond’s 40-yard end around. He evaded pressure to complete a pass to Sam LaPorta in the second half. And he was 7-for-8 passing in the second half to help the Lions salt away a big victory on the road. Grade: A-minus
Running backs
David Montgomery had a huge night in his return from a thigh bruise, showing off his toughness and durability with 32 carries for 121 yards and three touchdowns. Montgomery wore the Packers down with his punishing running style and fittingly capped his night with the game-clinching touchdown on a fourth-and-goal dive from the 1 midway through the fourth quarter. Montgomery averaged only 3.8 yards per carry. But he added 20 yards receiving and he steamrolled a defense that knew he was getting the ball much of the second half. Jahmyr Gibbs had a quiet day in the pass game, with 11 yards on four catches and one drop, but he added 40 yards on eight carries as the Lions ran for 211 yards. Grade: A
Receivers/tight ends
Montgomery was the engine that drove the Lions’ offense Thursday, but Raymond, Amon-Ra St. Brown (five catches, 56 yards), Josh Reynolds (three for 69) and Sam LaPorta (four for 56) all delivered big. St. Brown scored on a slick double move, when he ran a curl-and-go and left Rasual Douglas in his dust. LaPorta had a drop in the second quarter, but shrugged off tight coverage from Douglas to turn a short catch on third-and-5 into a 35-yard gain. And Raymond’s long run and Reynolds’ 26-yard catch set up a Riley Patterson field goal. Marvin Jones had a drop on his only target and remains catchless on the season, but the Lions got good blocking from their tight ends and receivers in the run game. Grade: A-minus
Offensive line
You don’t get 161 yards rushing from your running backs without some dominant blocking up front. Penei Sewell and tight end Brock Wright were out front on Gibbs’ 7-yard first-quarter run that jump-started the offense. Jonah Jackson, Taylor Decker and Wright had key blocks on Montgomery’s first touchdown. Frank Ragnow and Graham Glasgow opened the crease on Montgomery’s second score. And Montgomery sliced between Glasgow and Sewell for his final TD. The Lions did give up two sacks, when they were late trading off rushers on stunts, and the line had three penalties — a questionable holding penalty by Glasgow in the red zone, another hold by Jonah Jackson on a Montgomery run and a false start by Decker on the same series. But Decker played through a tough ankle injury and the line was collectively very good. Grade: A-minus
Defensive line
The Lions got five sacks from five different linemen en route to 12 sacks in their past two games. Aidan Hutchinson (1½ sacks) yanked Jordan Love down by his jersey working inside on a stunt with Alim McNeill on the Packers' opening drive. Hutchinson and Charles Harris split a sack on the final play of the first half, and Hutchinson nearly had another sack in the second quarter when he forced Love to throw a pass left-handed to avoid a safety. McNeill destroyed back-to-back plays in the second quarter, making a tackle for loss on AJ Dillon when he beat a pulling blocker into the backfield, then sacking Love on the next snap working off another stunt with Hutchinson. Isaiah Buggs pushed his way past Josh Myers for his first sack of the season, and John Cominsky had a sack and a big stop on an option keeper by Love on a 2-point try. The Packers barely moved the ball in the first half and finished with a measly 27 yards rushing. Grade: A
Linebackers
The Lions didn’t get many splash plays from their linebacking corps Thursday, but the group played a big hand in Green Bay’s struggles to move the ball. Alex Anzalone tipped a Love pass early in the second quarter that Jerry Jacobs hauled down for an interception, and Derrick Barnes had six tackles despite missing time with cramps in the Lions’ quest to get population to the ball. Cominsky said Jack Campbell deserved an assist on the Packers’ failed 2-point try, when he strung the play out long enough for Cominsky to fight off his block. Grade: A
Defensive backs
Jerry Jacobs had one of the best games of his career, two weeks after he said he played one of his worst (in the Lions’ loss to the Seattle Seahawks). Jacobs intercepted two passes, made five tackles and finished with four pass deflections. Jacobs did have one pass interference penalty, Will Harris got beat on a go route on the final play of the third quarter, Tracy Walker whiffed on a potential interception and Green Bay’s first touchdown, early in the second half, came on a miscommunication when Jacobs and Ifeatu Melifonwu both followed the in-breaking receiver on a rub route. But the secondary was good in support and gave Love nowhere to throw the ball early. Cam Sutton played the pitch perfectly on an option play in the second quarter, when he flipped Aaron Jones on his head for a 2-yard loss, and Brian Branch had a team-high seven tackles and a pass breakup that was nearly an interception before leaving with an ankle injury. Grade: A-minus
Special teams
Keisean Nixon tried returning the ball from his end zone on the Lions’ first three kickoffs and the Lions stopped him short of the 25-yard line all three times. When Nixon let Jack Fox’s fourth kickoff land in the end zone for a touchback, Packers fans gave him the ol' Bronx cheer. Raymond spun out of one tackle on his 10-yard punt return. Fox averaged just 36.5 yards on his four punts as he mishit a 39-yarder in the third quarter and the Lions gave up one 34-yard return. Jalen Reeves-Maybin also was called for a hold on a punt return, but Craig Reynolds had a big tackle on Nixon on a fourth quarter kick return and Patterson made both of his field goals, from 33 and 37 yards. Grade: B
Coaching
The Lions are one of the best teams in the NFL and they came out of the gates playing like it Thursday. They were dominant defensively in the first half, holding the Packers to 21 net yards, and they hit two big plays on offense in Raymond’s end-around and St. Brown’s touchdown. Aaron Glenn has the defense playing its best football since he arrived in 2021, and Dan Campbell deserves a nod for the way his team embraces big games. Campbell’s lone fourth-down decision was a no-brainer, keeping his offense on the field on fourth-and-goal from the 1 on Montgomery’s touchdown run. Maybe the Lions got a tad complacent at halftime, given their start to the third quarter, but four games into the season Campbell seems to be pushing all the right buttons with his team. Grade: A
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions get an A for dominant defensive performance vs. Packers
