A drama-free Lions win was atop many holiday wishlists, and Detroit delivered. Boy did they!
The Lions destroyed the visiting Denver Broncos, 42-17, in front of a raucous Ford Field crowd on Saturday night. The Lions dictated the terms in which the game would be played from the start and never relented in being the hunter and not the hunted.
They wore the mindset change well after struggling in recent weeks. This Week 15 victory was never really in doubt after Jared Goff hit his third touchdown pass of the first half to send the teams to the locker room with a 21-0 Detroit lead.
Here are some initial takeaways from watching Saturday night’s game as it played out.
Defense dominated with proactive pressure
Aaron Glenn’s defense came out with a fantastic, aggressive game plan. They completely squashed the Broncos offense, holding them to 75 yards, four first downs and, most importantly, zero points.
Glenn brought pressure from the defensive backfield. Ifeatu Melifonwu, once again starting in place of Tracy Walker, made things happen with a strip-sack that got scooped up by Isaiah Buggs. The defense recorded five QB hits on Russell Wilson in 10 throws.
Denver found some success on the first drive of the third quarter, getting a touchdown (with considerable help from a 44-yard pass interference penalty on Alex Anzalone). Glenn’s unit rebounded on the next drive with a successful goal-line stand, albeit one where Denver head coach Sean Payton appeared to badly err in not throwing at least one challenge flag. The Detroit defense still had teeth and wasn’t shy about showing it. By that point, it became garbage time thanks to the Lions offense rolling.
It’s a performance that harkens back to earlier in the season when the Lions defense took pride in being the aggressor. This unit doesn’t do read-and-react well, neither schematically or with their talent on hand. Glenn and the defense rediscovered the roar on Saturday night.
Ben Johnson got back on track
It’s been a bad couple of weeks for Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. The highly-regarded mastermind had veered into the “mad” part of the mad scientist status he’s earned, making Lions fans mad in the process. After an unsavory start, Johnson remembered what was so successful.
The play-action fake, something Jared Goff does extremely well, came back as a featured call. Running the dynamic duo of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs on first downs — against the NFL’s worst run defense entering the game — worked too. Goff is at his best when he can spray the ball around to multiple targets, and eight different Lions catching passes in his 24-for-34 night is a great manifestation of that.
Johnson deserves credit for not trying to show how smart he is, something he’s been guilty of recently. In the process, he proved how brilliant he could be.
Dominating the trenches
This is from Denver sports analyst (and old friend) Cecil Lammey. Sometimes the perspective from afar can be sharp, and I think Lammey nailed it with his post,
The battle is always won and lost in the trenches. This is just the 5th time DET OL has played all 5 starters together and it showed with the comfort level QB Jared Goff operated under. #Broncos defense was pushed around up front. @DenverSportsCom
— Cecil Lammey (@CecilLammey) December 17, 2023
The Lions offensive line wasn’t perfect, but they were more than good enough in both the run and pass game. Having the starting five intact made a big difference.
The defensive line did its part, too. Josh Paschal bagged a sack and also blew up an early short pass for a tackle-for-loss. John Cominsky and Aidan Hutchinson were successful at impacting Russell Wilson, even on plays where the Lions didn’t blitz. Take away the 26 rushing yards on Denver’s final drive (with the score 42-17) and the Broncos managed just 57 yards on the ground on 24 carries. Detroit’s defense had more tackles-for-loss (4) than Denver had runs of 10 or more (two, one from WR Marvin Mims).
Top 3 stars of the game
Lots of tough choices to make here…
3rd star: Jahmyr Gibbs – 100 yards rushing on 11 carries and a touchdown, plus two receptions for 8 yards and another score
2nd star: S Ifeatu Melifonwu – 8 tackles, a sack, another TFL, and a pass breakup in the best game of his life
1st star: TE Sam LaPorta – 5 receptions on 6 targets, 56 yards, 3 touchdowns
Jared Goff, Aaron Glenn, Alex Anzalone, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Josh Paschal all earn honorable mentions.
Quick hits
–Loved getting Jameson Williams involved early. “Jamo” had three catches in the first half, the first game of his career with more than two receptions. He played very well working shorter routes, and his speed being used horizontally really opened up the deeper middle for LaPorta and St. Brown.
–Punter Jack Fox had a terrible first quarter, with a shank and a touchback that lacked control. Thankfully, he didn’t punt again until garbage time.
–Michael Badgley as the kicker was fine. He was a practice squad elevation and delivered as needed.
–Jahmyr Gibbs, ladies and gentlemen:
Count the Jahmyr Gibbs broken tackles 💪pic.twitter.com/KzI88SN3DA
— PFF (@PFF) December 17, 2023
–The Lions benefitted from some interesting officiating calls and also from Sean Payton’s unwillingness to challenge them.
–The Lions technically lost the third quarter, 10-7, but Detroit did score in the fourth quarter on a drive that began in the third. Nice progress.
–Will need to watch film to verify, but the initial impression was favorable of Khalil Dorsey playing in place of Jerry Jacobs at outside CB. Then again, the outstanding pressure might be more responsible. Good problem to try and solve this week.
–The Broncos defense had forced 12 takeaways in its last five games, but the Lions did not have a turnover all night.
–Amon-Ra St. Brown’s flip into the end zone on his touchdown was exactly the kind of swaggering statement the Lions needed to send — to themselves. The fine he’ll get for punting the ball is a small price to pay for the lift it brought everyone.
–The Lions gained 448 yards on 64 plays. Their first 10 netted 29, so after that Detroit gained 7.8 yards per play.
–Take away Denver’s last two possessions and they gained 199 yards on 50 plays, a 4.0 average.