The Detroit Lions played their best all-around performance in weeks on Saturday night, pounding the Denver Broncos 42-17. Pro Football Focus recognized the dominance by giving the Lions their best team grade since the Week 5 win against hapless Carolina and Detroit’s second-highest score for the season. The overall grade of 87.9 is the team’s third-best since the start of the 2016 season.
Detroit’s player grades reflect the impressive overall game.
Top offensive grades
WR Amon-Ra St. Brown – 90.1
RB Jahmyr Gibbs – 88.8
RT Penei Sewell – 85.9
QB Jared Goff – 83.8
RG Graham Glasgow – 82.8
Nice to see St. Brown bounce back from having the lowest grade in Week 14 to the best in Week 15.
Bottom offensive grades
TE Brock Wright – 33.3
WR Donovan Peoples-Jones – 56.3
OT Dan Skipper – 58.2
TE James Mitchell – 59.8
WR Kalif Raymond – 64.6
Normally there is a 10-snap minimum, but the Lions ran fewer plays this week (66), so Skipper (8 plays) and Mitchell (6) are included. Those are really lofty “lowest” scores beyond Wright.
Worst defensive grades
DT Benito Jones – 30.3
LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin – 32.3
LB Derrick Barnes – 40.1
EDGE Bruce Irvin – 43.3
LB Alex Anzalone – 50.1
In looking at the grades here, all three LBs got hurt by allowing completions (combined 8-for-8 when targeted) in the passing game. Reeves-Maybin missed a tackle after a completion and that really hurt his grade with just 10 overall snaps.
Best defensive grades
CB Kindle Vildor – 82.7
CB Cam Sutton – 79.7
DL Levi Onwuzurike – 73.6
EDGE Aidan Hutchinson – 72.6
S Kerby Joseph – 72.2
Vildor only played 18 snaps but made the most of his reps. No one in the top group missed a tackle or committed a penalty, the two typical biggest hits on PFF grades.