Detroit Free Press

Aidan Hutchinson leads all NFL rookies in sacks and got his first career interception last week. But as the Detroit Lions defensive end starts to show more of the ability that made him the No. 2 pick in April’s draft, he insists he is not worried about how his statistics compare to his peers. “That’s

He didn’t know what to root for, he said, his voice a mix of lament and confusion, a mix I often hear this time of year, when the Detroit Lions are stumbling, and the playoffs are a pipe dream, and the NFL draft order takes center stage. The torment is a rite of passage for younger

Jamaal Williams left BYU as the career leader in rushing yards, carries and 100-yard games. He topped 1,000 yards in each of his final two full college seasons, and figured he’d have no problem doing the same in the NFL. Six years later, Williams is finally track for his first 1,000-yard season as a pro.

The NFL’s highest-scoring team through the first month of the season, the Detroit Lions have struggled to generate points their past four games and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said a lack of explosive plays is the biggest reason why. “The explosive game hasn’t been there and that’s not just throwing the ball down the field

Aaron Glenn is a big believer in momentum, that one strong performance can lead to others. And with the Detroit Lions‘ NFL-worst defense coming off its best game of the season, Glenn is anxious to see his theory in action this week. “That was something that our guys needed because belief starts to stick,” Glenn,

Apple Podcasts | Spotify • Hosts: Shawn Windsor (@shawnwindsor) and Carlos Monarrez (@cmonarrez) • Producer: Andrew Hammond • Editors: Robin Chan • Executive producers: Anjanette Delgado, Kirkland Crawford • Guest: Dave Birkett, Free Press Lions beat writer • Email: swindsor@freepress.com On this episode: This week, Carlos and Shawn welcome back Free Press Lions beat writer

Watching second-year Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields on tape, Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell is reminded of some the best dual-threat quarterbacks in football. “I feel like you’re watching a little bit of Deshaun Watson in Houston, you’re watching Lamar Jackson (in) Baltimore. There’s a little bit of Jalen Hurts,” Campbell said Wednesday. “Just very

Coaches reveal themselves slowly to us. Their strengths and weaknesses aren’t really known until games are won and lost over a period of time. Mostly, though, coaches tell us who they are when they encounter adversity, on or off the field. That’s when all the bravado, all the pomp and promise of the introductory news

The Detroit Lions snapped a five-game losing streak last week against the Green Bay Packers. When they hit the road for their second division game in as many weeks Sunday, they will be trying to break a longer streak of a different kind. The Lions are 0-11-1 on the road under second-year coach Dan Campbell

Detroit Lions rookie linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez returned to practice Wednesday but is day-to-day with an arm injury he suffered in last week’s win over the Green Bay Packers. “We’ll see where he is,” Lions coach Dan Campbell. “He’s a little bit beat up, but we’ll probably — we may move him around a little bit

Detroit Lions rookie safety Kerby Joseph was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week after his two-interception game against Aaron Rodgers. Joseph, a third-round pick out of Illinois, had the first two interceptions of his career, both near the goal line, as the Lions snapped a five-game losing streak with a 15-9 win over the

I didn’t win the delayed $1.9 billion Powerball drawing Tuesday, sadly for my heirs, but I hit the mailbag lottery with your questions this week. Let’s hop in. Do you think Goff is on the Lions roster next season? — @crowlick It’s been an interesting half-season for Lions quarterback Jared Goff, who played well enough

Dan Campbell doesn’t spend much time obsessing over the “what if,” other than in the immediate aftermath of games. “Then I’ve got to just let it go because there’s nothing I can do about that anymore other than learn from those maybe errors that transpired or things that I didn’t feel like I did well,

Derrick Barnes has been a 15-snap-a-game linebacker most of this season, even though his position coach, Kelvin Sheppard, insists he does not view Barnes as a 15-snap-a-game player. Finally given a chance to play a bigger role Sunday, Barnes did his part to prove Sheppard right. Barnes played what Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell called

Shortly after Dan Campbell finished his Monday afternoon news conference, in which he spoke about how good Sunday’s Detroit Lions win felt and enjoying the moment and relaxing with a beer at home, and why he didn’t give his team a victory Monday, he left the interview room. Then the Lions coach quickly spun around

One thing the Los Angeles Rams excelled at when Brad Holmes was the team’s director of college scouting in 2013-20 was finding and developing undervalued gems at safety. Lamarcus Joyner, a 2014 second-round pick, played well enough in his first four seasons that the Rams used the franchise tag to keep him around for Year

The Detroit Lions lost two rookie starters to injury in Sunday’s win over the Green Bay Packers and are awaiting word on their status for this week’s game against the Chicago Bears. Lions coach Dan Campbell said linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez was due for further testing on his elbow Monday after finishing the game with a

This wasn’t supposed to happen. The Detroit Lions’ defense wasn’t supposed to play this well. Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers weren’t supposed to play this poorly. And Dan Campbell certainly wasn’t supposed to be standing at the lectern with a hoarse voice and a huge smile after leading his team to an improbable

Free Press sports writer Dave Birkett breaks down the Detroit Lions’ 15-9 win over the Green Bay Packers and looks at players and coaches who helped and hurt their stock Sunday at Ford Field. Stock up S Kerby Joseph: A third-round pick out of Illinois, Joseph has shown big-time playmaking ability since entering the starting

Maybe trading T.J. Hockenson wasn’t such a bad idea after all. The Detroit Lions beat the Green Bay Packers in their first game since sending Hockenson to the Minnesota Vikings at last week’s NFL trade deadline, and Hockenson’s replacements accounted for both Lions touchdowns in the victory. “It was good to see,” Lions coach Dan