Top takeaways from film review of the Lions Week 12 win over the Colts

There are two ways to spin the performance of Detroit’s run game against the Colts. Because the Lions won, and because the numbers look pretty impressive on the surface — 137 yards on 33 carries — the offense earned the positive spin.

More specifically, David Montgomery and (especially) Jahmyr Gibbs outplayed their blocking from the line. Their ability to consistently scrap for yards after contact was huge in this one.

Normally outstanding, the Detroit offensive line struggled some against a very savvy, talented Colts defensive front. The Colts attacked gaps and fired off the ball quickly, often beating the interior blockers (especially LG Graham Glasgow) to the desired spot. Indy’s linebackers were very effective in run blitzes and stuffing A-gap options immediately.

There were instances where Gibbs and Montgomery were slowed down, but the Lions RBs also made them pay for run dogs and overaggressive pursuit. Gibbs broke several tackles by using the defender’s momentum against them, angling and cutting quickly enough that would-be tacklers couldn’t get a clean shot. His second touchdown run is a great example:

https://x.com/NFL/status/1860775218723086370

Gibbs great feet allow him to quickly escape when it appears the closing defender has the right angle on him.

Montgomery used his physicality quite well. Perhaps my favorite play of the game came courtesy Montgomery on a 3rd-and-6 from the Colts 19 nearing halftime. He bounced an inside run out to his right, splitting a very narrow seam behind RT Penei Sewell and C Frank Ragnow. The first Colts defender got a hand on his leg at the 17. Some 11 yards and six Colts defenders later, Montgomery finally went down.

“Sonic and Knuckles” gained over 100 yards after contact in this game. Again, that’s the positive side of the spin cycle. That they were so consistently hit at or near hte line of scrimmage by Colts defenders beating the blocking scheme is a very legit negative. Even Penei Sewell couldn’t get to his spot fast enough on a couple of zone runs, and No. 58 is the best run-blocking right tackle the league has seen in a long time.

Brian Branch has been a huge part of the Lions defensive rise with his impactful play at safety. Moving from the slot to the down safety in Detroit’s base Cover-1 defense has proven to be a perfect fit for Branch in his second season. Branch is a worthy All-Pro candidate.

But he didn’t play like one in Indianapolis. Branch had an uncharacteristic rough outing against the Colts, and it started on the first defensive series. On one of the designed Anthony Richardson QB runs, Branch took himself out of the play by getting too aggressive and leaving the hole he was responsible for plugging.

Some of the issue was the Colts offensive sets forcing the Lions defense into more split-safety looks. Indianapolis uses their 2nd TE a lot more than they use a 3rd WR, and countering that meant the Lions used more 3-LB looks. In those situations, Branch often played split high looks with fellow safety Kerby Joseph. It took away the football geometry Branch is used to in attacking the ball on outside runs, and instead of making sure tackles, Branch was diving at feet or a count later than usual to get to the point of attack.

That’s not to say Branch was all bad. His man coverage and assignment recognition in coverage were very good all afternoon. Branch’s ability to run in phase with Colts slot WR Josh Downs forced two separate instances where Richardson had to look elsewhere.

After the game, Dan Campbell awarded linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez a game ball for his effort. “Rodrigo” was the primary replacement for injured team captain Alex Anzalone, and on this day, No. 44 was very up for the challenge.

It’s pretty clear that coordinator Aaron Glenn issued one primary task to Rodriguez: stop Jonathan Taylor at all costs. Rodriguez wasn’t exactly a “spy” on Taylor, the Colts talented RB, but he never lost track of him on run plays. Rodriguez showed patience in strafing laterally to mirror Taylor as a potential runner, and he did a great job of keeping himself clean. His closing speed and ability to read/anticipate Taylor’s vision was on expert level.

The play after Richardson hit Alec Pierce over the top for a big gain to set up the Colts in the red zone, Rodriguez immediately diagnosed the shotgun delayed handoff to Taylor. He ran past the center and hit Taylor almost as soon as the stunned RB got the handoff, dropping him instantly.

Great game from Rodrigo in a situation where the Lions defense needed him to come up big.

One of the key themes I’ve hit upon throughout this 10-1 Lions start is how well the team forces opponents to try and come up to their level of play. Detroit doesn’t play down to the inferior opponent’s level, not more than an occasional bad drive or two.

There were so many instances of that theme in this game. The Colts have enough talent to come close to matching the Lions, but they’re not disciplined enough or polished enough to take advantage of chances to prove they belonged with the Lions.

During the game, it felt like much of that could be chalked up to an inexperienced quarterback in Richardson. Film review was much kinder than expected for Richardson; his mates let him down–repeatedly. A dropped TD here, an errant missed blocking help assignment there, so many (legit) penalties everywhere. Three of Richardson’s four best throws wound up not producing anything through no fault of his own.

Having said that, he’s going to have nightmares about Alim McNeill being in his face or at his feet repeatedly. McNeill had a monster game in attacking a replacement rookie center.

–Za’Darius Smith had a pass-rush win against perennial All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson where Smith put the Colts LG on his back with a brutal 2-hand shove. I don’t watch every Colts game, but I’ve seen plenty of Nelson over the years and I’ve never seen him turned into a turtle flipped on his shell before.

–Rookie RB Sione Vaki only played one snap, and he proved in that snap he’s absolutely not an H-back. Lined up as a tight slot, Vaki completely whiffed on his blocking assignment, getting Jahmyr Gibbs tackled in the backfield. Tough assignment for a guy who has been a safety nearly all of his football life.

–On the play near the end of the first quarter where Goff had to roll to his left and hit Tim Patrick on the run, Sam LaPorta was uncovered on a deep post. The pressure prevented Goff from delivering, and it looked on the broad angle like Goff did see LaPorta, too.

–Goff had 10 incomplete passes in the game. Four of them appeared intentional. Two others were miscues with LaPorta (one high miss, one drop of an imperfect throw). Goff continues to be more accurate and as in command of the opposing defense as any QB in the league.

–In the postgame recap, I gave punter Jack Fox one of the three stars of the game. Fox was awesome, no doubt about it. But undrafted rookie long snapper Hogan Hatten deserves some praise. His snaps were all perfect; not just good, but perfect. On all four Fox punts, Hatten almost instantly ran past the Colt assigned to block him at the release, too.

–Taylor Decker was having a fantastic game before he got hurt. It might be a coincidence or the quality of the opponent, but the Lions left their veteran left tackle on an island–no TE help, no real RB and WR chip help. A few years back, Decker told me he felt like he moved better when he was on the end of the line, and he sure looked special in those situations against the Colts.

–The play Decker was injured, Dan Skipper was so badly beaten by Colts rookie Laiatu Latu around the edge that the blocking help (Sewell, peeling off a combo block inside) couldn’t even get there. Skipper was in as an extra tackle for the first time all game on that play.

–David Long made his Lions debut. The veteran LB had one really nice coverage rep (the play was negated due to a Colts penalty), but beyond that, Long looked very uncomfortable in the Detroit defense. He’s earned the benefit of the doubt for everything being new to him, but this first impression validated why Miami moved on. Ezekiel Turner was much quicker to react and more effective playing LB in his limited usage. Ben Niemann looked good in the normal Rodriguez role, too.

–In the spirit of Thanksgiving coming quickly, I’ll sum up my thoughts on Kindle VIldor by saying this: Please get healthy immediately, Terrion Arnold. Your team missed you, and the Bears WRs are a lot better than the Colts offer.