Dan Campbell got his first road win as Detroit Lions coach a little over a month ago. Since then, the Lions have been on a roll away from Ford Field.
The Lions won their third straight road game Sunday against the New York Jets, a streak Campbell said Monday is proof the Lions have turned the corner as a team.
“Every good team I’ve ever been a part of, normally, you do a couple of things. Not normally, you do,” Campbell said. “You win multiple games at multiple points in a season, which we’ve done. We won three in a row two different times, and you win on the road, which we’re figuring out how to win on the road. And that’s not by accident. Our guys are playing good football right now.”
SHAWN WINDSOR:Lions learning to handle the ‘cheese’ as they become talk of NFL
Since starting 1-6, the Lions have sandwiched two three-game winning streaks around a home Thanksgiving loss to the Buffalo Bills. They beat the Green Bay Packers at Ford Field and won road games against the Chicago Bears and New York Giants in November, and have beaten the Jacksonville Jaguars and Minnesota Vikings at home and Jets on the road in December.
The Lions are 3-3 on the road this season and have a chance for their most road victories since 2017 (five), though they’ve played significantly better at home this year.
The Lions’ three road wins this season have come by a combined 14 points, while three of their four home victories have come by more than one score. Jared Goff has three touchdown passes in six road games this season, compared to 20 in eight home games, and four of the Lions’ five lowest-scoring performances of the season have come away from Ford Field.
“The hardest thing for the offense (on the road) is just being able to function in silent cadence,” Campbell said. “If you’re really disciplined in what you do and you get an environment and the crowd noise and the momentum, usually that’ll shift to the home team at some point. But if you’re very disciplined, you can work your way back out of it. And I think we’ve done a good job of that. We don’t let the momentum go so far the other way we can’t swing it back in our favor.”
Windsor:Detroit Lions learning to handle the ‘cheese’ as they become talk of NFL
On Sunday, the Lions made critical plays in key moments. Their defense forced a three-and-out after their offense was stopped on the goal line, and Kalif Raymond returned the ensuing punt for a touchdown. Goff threw a 51-yard catch-and-run touchdown pass to Brock Wright on fourth-and-1, after the Jets took their first lead of the game. And the Lions got two sacks on New York’s final series, that ended with a missed 58-yard field goal attempt.
At 7-7, the Lions must continue their road success to make the playoffs. They play two of their final three games on the road, at the Carolina Panthers on Saturday and at the Packers in Week 18, after a home game against the Bears.
“In some of the most critical moments, we’re making the play,” Campbell said. “We’re playing the play to finish it out instead of doing the other way that ends up costing us.”
LIONS GRADES:Sterling defensive effort from front seven brings win over Jets
Safety check
If DeShon Elliott misses time with the dislocated shoulder he suffered in Sunday’s win over the Jets, Campbell said the Lions will prioritize one trait above all else when picking his replacement.
“We need dependability,” Campbell said. “We don’t need speed, we don’t need quick(ness), we need football players. We need dependable football players right now with three to go. So that’s what’s got to be most important, and whoever those guys are, those are the guys that are going to play for us.”
C.J. Moore played most of his 29 snaps Sunday after Elliott left late in the third quarter when he hurt his left arm attempting to make a diving tackle.
Elliott, who has played his best football since a midseason benching, told the Free Press after the game he dislocated his shoulder but hoped to be fine.
Campbell said Monday that Elliott was undergoing further medical testing to determine the extent of his injury.
CARLOS MONARREZ:Give Sheila Hamp the credit for this Lions win over the NY Jets
Second-year defensive back Ifeatu Melifonwu also could see time at safety, though Melifonwu is new to the position after playing cornerback as a rookie and missed time earlier this year with an ankle injury.
“It’ll be the combination of who gives us the best opportunity defensively, but also special teams and the team in general,” Campbell said. “Let’s put our guys in a position they’re going to help us as a team the most, so we’ve got a couple of options as we move forward.”
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.