DETROIT -- The Detroit Lions (10-4) beat the Denver Broncos (7-7) 42-17 in prime-time action in Week 15 back at Ford Field. This post will run through MLive Lions beat writer Ben Raven’s grades from the game.
Quarterbacks: Jared Goff was back inside the dome behind his stout offensive line, and the veteran quarterback had one of his best showings of the season. Goff was good no across the board, making an absolute killing on play-action looks. He hit 24 of 34 passes for 278 yards, matching his career high with five touchdown passes.
Most importantly, Goff protected the ball while leaning on reliable playmakers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Sam LaPorta. Goff also connected with Jameson Williams for a career-high four passes. He flashed his chemistry with Josh Reynolds on a quickfire fade on Patrick Surtain in the middle of the field. Goff looked cool, calm and comfortable in the team’s blowout victory. Grade: A
Running backs: Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery were great on the ground on Saturday night. Gibbs flashed his explosiveness, running 11 times for 100 yards and one touchdown. And Montgomery was the reliable, powerful hand, with 17 carries for 85 yards.
Gibbs added two catches on two targets for 8 yards and one touchdown. Much was made about the Lions replacing D’Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams, but this showing against the Broncos was a perfect encapsulation of what they envisioned in the end. This duo is a handful that keeps getting better. Grade: A
Wide receivers: It almost felt wrong asking about Amon-Ra St. Brown’s quiet two games this week because you could just feel a patented performance coming from the Sun God. And he delivered against the Broncos, with seven catches for 112 yards and an acrobatic touchdown. St. Brown matched last week’s receiving yardage on the first series in Week 15.
Jameson Williams was more involved than ever before, notching more than two touches in a single game for the first time in his career. And Josh Reynolds had another strong game, with two catches for 41 yards, including that big one on Surtain for 21 yards. Williams needs to show some growth in tracking deep balls. But anything more from the speedy second-year wideout is a big win. Grade: A
Tight ends: Don’t take Sam LaPorta for granted because nothing is normal about what he’s doing for a rookie. LaPorta caught five passes for 56 yards and three touchdowns. He did it in various ways, with his 19-yard score one of the top plays of his ultra-impressive rookie campaign. LaPorta’s slipperiness after the catch, paired with his all-around ability across the board, has been nothing short of incredible this season. He has a chance to finish with the best season for a rookie tight end in league history. Grade: A
Offensive line: Now, that’s more like it. Frank Ragnow re-joined his offensive linemates against the Broncos, and it’s hard to miss the improvement. The rushing attack was lethal, with 28 carries for 185 yards and one touchdown between Gibbs and Montgomery. Goff was sacked twice. But he was able to cook in that pocket, thriving in the play action behind that offensive line. It was shaky in that first quarter. But things got cleaned up quickly, with this group reminding the football world of how special and dominant they can be. Grade: A
Defensive line: This might have been Josh Paschal’s best game as a pro, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Paschal was strong on the edges and the interior, stopping a couple of short passes and getting home for a solo sack and two tackles for loss. Aidan Hutchinson added four solid run stuffs and a quarterback hit on Russell Wilson.
The defensive line remained stout against the run while Aaron Glenn dialed up the blitzes from the second and third levels. Isaiah Buggs was there for the scoop-and-return in the first quarter. And Levi Onwuzurike showed some nice burst and finishing power on his lone tackle. The Broncos ran 28 times for only 83 yards. Grade: A
Linebackers: Alex Anzalone was back to looking like himself in his second game back from injury. He got hit with a pass interference call. But it might have been clean coverage without Kerby Joseph crashing into him and the receiver at 100 mph. Anzalone led the team with 12 tackles, adding two tackles for loss and a quarterback hit with a handful of pressures via the blitz.
Derrick Barnes suffered a shoulder injury in the first half, then somehow returned and made one of the most significant plays of the game. Barnes made a stop at the 1-yard line, leading to the controversial offsides penalty on fourth-and-goal, with the Broncos settling for a field goal in a 28-7 game. Jack Campbell, Malcolm Rodriguez, Jalen Reeves-Maybin and Anthony Pittman saw defensive reps on Saturday night. Grade: A-
Secondary: Ifeatu Melifonwu made his second consecutive start at safety. And, whew, he had a night to remember. Melifonwu came up with the massive strip sack on the first drive of the game in the red zone, which felt like Denver’s last offensive momentum of the first half. He had eight tackles, one sack, one forced fumble, two pass deflections, and even added a special teams tackle.
Cam Sutton had a busy day. Brian Branch had a physical game, thriving in some blitz opportunities. And Kerby Joseph was flying around, playing fast, nearly intercepting a pass in the second half. There was much more good than bad for this group, and that’s the first time we’ve been able to say that in a long time. Grade: A
Special teams: Michael Badgley replaced Riley Patterson as kicker for this one. He hit all six extra-point attempts without trying a field goal.
Jack Fox averaged a season-low 30.2 net yards on four punts. The usually-automatic punter also sent an ugly one only 21 yards early in the game. He remains one of the best around at what he does. But this was an off day for Fox and the punt team.
Most importantly, Malcolm Rodriguez recovered the onside kick in the fourth quarter. And they had some rock-solid coverage, per usual. Grade: B-
Coaching: Dan Campbell and his staff put on a clinic against his old mentor, Sean Payton. It’s hard to disagree with Aaron Glenn or Ben Johnson on much after this performance. Glenn again shifted his personnel and called some vital blitzes that propelled the Lions to a first-half shutout.
And Johnson? It’s hard to describe how important his feel for his quarterback and playmakers are at this point of the season. Johnson is a master of putting his guys in the right spot at the right time and knowing when to call something specific. He’s tuned in at an elite level. The passing attack was crisp, and this was the rushing attack through which this offense wants to build its identity through.
And credit to Campbell. The Lions head coach warned us all week that Payton and the Broncos would try to hang 50 and embarrass them in prime-time action. Instead, it was the Lions to flirt with a 50-burger, winning by 25 points, putting an exclamation point on the win with a late fourth-down touchdown to Sam LaPorta. This was the most complete game this team has played.
And that’s coaching up and down the staff. Grade: A
Lions grades: Coaching staff shines in dominating win over Sean Payton's Broncos - MLive.com
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