With multiple candidates but only so many to go around, here are our game ball winners for the Detroit Lions in Week 2.
A 22-0 halftime lead faded to eight-point lead and an eventual nine-point win, but the Detroit Lions got a win over the Washington Commanders on Sunday. That’s ultimately all that matters, and if the first two games are any indication the Lions will play plenty of exciting games this season.
All three phases contributed to the building of that 22-point lead, as the Lions simply dominated the Commanders. The vulnerabilty of the defense was uncovered in the second half, but last season an interception to help close the deal would not likely have happened.
Some of the players who had to step up on Sunday did to help the Lions get their first win of the season, and there are several candidates worthy of getting a game ball.
But there are only so many game balls to go around here, to preserve the highest prestige of the honor. Only the best of the best will get a game ball, with plenty of ways to qualify beyond the stat sheet or preventing the opponent from denting the stat sheet.
Here are the three Detroit Lions players who get the Sidelion Report game balls for Week 2.
3 Detroit Lions who get game balls for Week 2
Credit: Rey Del Rio/Getty Images
3. OL Dan Skipper
Skipper was a late preseason cut for the Lions, but he was brought back quickly to the practice squad as a sign of how the coaching staff valued him. As left guard Jonah Jackson (finger) was downgraded to doubtful the day before the game against Washington, Skipper was elevated to the active roster seemingly as a healthy body for an injury-thinned offensive line.
Skipper had never started an NFL game before Sunday, and besides that he’s a tackle by trade. But he performed well, as the sixth-highest graded Lions offensive player by Pro Football Focus (66.8). On D’Andre Swift’s long run, he took a lead role as he bulldozed through the second level of Washington’s defense.
Peter Schrager of NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football” gave Skipper his Week 2 game ball. Who’s to argue?
Skipper stepped up when called upon, as a fresh poster boy for the culture head coach Dan Campbell is creating in Detroit. He gets the first game ball here, rather easily.