Post by D6 on Dec 17, 2023 7:18:51 GMT -5
Thoughts in ****
Instant observations: Lions blast Broncos for 10th win, can clinch North next week
Instant observations: Lions blast Broncos for 10th win, can clinch North next week
Published: Dec. 16, 2023, 11:19 p.m.
Detroit Lions host Denver Broncos: Week 15
By Kyle Meinke | kmeinke@mlive.com
DETROIT -- The NFL’s worst title drought is officially on its deathbed.
Hours after the Minnesota Vikings fell in overtime against Cincinnati, the Detroit Lions dismantled the red-hot Denver Broncos 42-17 on Saturday night at Ford Field. And just like that, they are 10-4 heading into Christmas weekend -- their first 10-win season since 2014 -- and hold a three-game lead in the division with three to play.
**** Tremendous win by the Lions against a Broncos team that was 6-1 in their previous 7 games. The 2nd QTR of this game was the Lions best quarter of football through the first 14 games. This was arguably the Lions best performance through 14 games of the season. Great job by the Lions Offense, after the opposite was the case in Chicago last Sunday. The Lions Defense had a very good performance also. The much more aggressive approach by Aaron Glenn paid huge dividends. ****
Yes, that means the Lions’ magic number has dwindled to one for their first NFC North crown since, well, the NFC North became a thing. They haven’t won a division title since taking the old NFC Central in 1993, the longest continuous drought in the league. The Cleveland Browns haven’t won a division title in 1989, but also didn’t exist from 1996-98.
No one has lost quite like the Detroit Lions.
Now their next win -- or a loss by Minnesota (7-7) -- will raise a banner into the dusty, lonely rafters of Ford Field, and guarantee the first home playoff game in the history of the stadium.
As it happens, Detroit will travel to Minnesota next week with a chance to put away the Vikings for good.
**** This is a great opportunity for the Lions but it's not going to be easy. In their loud dome in Minnesota, the Vikings exotic blitzes by their Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores, are going to be a huge challenge for Jared Goff and the Lions Offensive Line. The return of WR Justin Jefferson, who I believe is at the very least the best WR in the NFC, gives the Vikings 3 big time weapons in their passing game. Rookie WR Jordan Addison and former Lions TE T.J. Hockenson are the other two.****
No matter what happens, the Lions are near-locks to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2016. That could happen as soon as this weekend if:
SEA loses/ties against PHI, or
LAR loses/ties against WAS + TB loses against GB, or
LAR loses/ties against WAS + ATL loses/ties against CAR, or
GB-TB tie + LAR loses/ties against WAS
**** The Lions best change to clinch a playoff spot either today or on Monday Night is for Philadelphia to win in Seattle. I would be pleasantly surprised if the LA Rams lose at home to Washington. ****
The Lions are on the brink of postseason football despite scuffling in recent weeks. They went 4-3 in their last seven games, turning their prime-time game against Denver into a high-stakes affair. Then after a quiet first quarter, they played some of their best football in months, offering hope they can get their groove back heading into the most important weeks of the season.
**** The Lions have been the best team in the NFL this season in Prime Time Night games. The next one, at Dallas, will be a huge test for the Lions. The Cowboys have been the best team in the NFL at home this season. ****
Tight end Sam LaPorta continued his epic rookie campaign by catching three touchdown passes, giving him nine on the season, a new franchise record for a first-year tight end. His first score was especially big, shaking one defender after making the catch, then sprinting for the goal line before plowing his way through a second defender into the paint.
**** Tremendous play and overall receiving performance by Sam LaPorta! Congrats to Sam LaPorta on breaking the Lions rookie TE TD record!****
That broke a stretch of 10 straight drives without a score, dating back to last week.
And it started a stretch of five straight drives with a touchdown against Denver.
**** Against a Broncos team that has been playing high caliber Defensive football much more often than not in their previous 8 games (beginning with their Thursday Night loss in Kansas City), the Lions Offense was outstanding on those 5 straight drives!****
Jahmyr Gibbs scored twice, once on a brilliant crossing route where he split two defenders that gave Detroit a 14-0 lead in the second quarter, and again when he took a toss left and vaporized the Denver defense for a 12-yard score that made it 35-10 in the fourth.
**** Great job by Jahmyr Gibbs, great blocking, and play calling by Ben Johnson!****
Amon-Ra St. Brown also flipped into the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown just before halftime, and Jared Goff finished with five touchdown passes overall, matching a career high.
**** Terrific bounce back game for Jared Goff and Amon-Ra St. Brown!****
The only essence of trouble occurred when Denver finally found the end zone to open the third quarter -- what is it with the Lions and third quarters, anyway? -- but Gibbs answered the rally immediately, keeping alive the following drive with an 11-yard dash on third-and-10, then blasting up the right hash for another 38 yards.
**** Ben Johnson's play calling made a tremendous positive difference in this game. The same regarding the Lions run and pass blocking. Great job by Kalif Raymond on the long Gibbs run. He made two good blocks, the 2nd one because of his hustle down field. ****
That’s a bad, bad man.
And on third-and-goal from the 3-yad line, LaPorta caught a low timing pass from Goff for his second score of the day, and a 28-7 lead.
Sam LaPorta beat CB Patrick Surtain II for his 2nd TD of the game. Surtain is a Pro Bowl caliber CB. Some believe he's the best CB in the NFL, which I disagree with. IMHO, the best CB in the NFL is Jets CB Sauce Gardner. ****
The defense also played its best game in weeks -- months? -- by sacking Russell Wilson twice, hitting him eight times and keeping the Broncos off the board until the game was already in hand 21-0 in the third quarter.
**** This was by far the best Defensive performance by the Lions since the bye. ****
More on all that in the observations:
-- The Lions now have their first 10-win season since 2014, and can match the franchise record for victories in a season by taking two of their final three games. They wrap up the season with two games against Minnesota, bookending a difficult trip to Dallas in Week 17.
**** This is only the 6th time in the last 54 seasons the Lions won at least 10 games. Great accomplishment for the Lions in getting win # 10 as early as in Game # 14. ****
-- The Lions could have used Jalen Carter, the frontrunner for defensive rookie of the year. But their decision to trade out of the No. 6 pick continues to reap a huge windfall on offense, where Jahmyr Gibbs just blew past the 1,000-yard mark in total offense. He’s just the third rookie in the league to accomplish the feat this season, joining Puka Nacua and Bijan Robinson, and he’s the first Lions rookie to do it since Jahvid Best in 2010. Throw in the second-round pick they acquired in the trade back -- which was spent on none other than Sam LaPorta, the best rookie tight end in franchise history -- and Detroit made out quite well in the deal despite missing out on a game-altering defender who would have surely helped on that struggling front.
**** Brad Holmes and Co. deserve high praise for the pair of Gibbs and LaPorta. ****
Gibbs entered the weekend averaging 5.4 yards per carry, which was second in the league, and his eight rushes of 20 yards led the NFL. He continued to roll over Denver too, running for 100 yards and one touchdown -- all on just 11 carries -- and adding another 8 yards through the air. He scored twice, plus had two huge touches to set up yet another score to open the third quarter, running for 11 yards on third-and-10, then taking the next handoff and racing through the defense for a 38-yard romp.
“He is a runner who has versatility to run any scheme that you want to run,” head coach Dan Campbell said this week. “He’s got home-run speed if he finds a crease, but he’s also a matchup piece for you in the pass game because he can do so many things. He’s instinctive. The more reps he banks, he just gets better and better and better.”
A few days later, Gibbs showed exactly what Campbell meant. It’s amazing to think of how far the kid has come this season, from struggling with his role and playmaking in the opening weeks, to one of the league’s most explosive players in space down the stretch. There’s no telling where this offense would be without him.
**** Gibbs has differential abilities, with the best yet to come if he remains relatively healthy. I think Gibbs is going to be an even greater factor as a receiver in the future. ****
The same could be said for LaPorta, who was taken with the pick in the trade back and is now the only rookie tight end ever to have at least 70 catches, 700 yards and nine touchdowns in a season. He’s not only the greatest rookie tight end in franchise history, but one of the best ever. Period. You could make the case Detroit wound up with two of the best players not taken in the first round, along with Brian Branch.
**** Brad Holmes and co. hit the jackpot in Round 2 of the 2023 Draft!!!****
-- Back-to-back games with fewer than 50 yards is hardly a slump for most mortals. But Amon-Ra St. Brown is no mere mortal, and he was using his mini-slump -- if you want to call it that -- as fuel this week. Then he lit the Broncos defense on fire, leading Detroit with seven catches for 112 yards and one touchdown that you will surely see on highlights for years. With just seconds left before halftime, St. Brown caught a short pass from Jared Goff, then sprinted toward the end zone, where two players stood directly in his way -- so he just went over the top, and flipped right over the defense for the score. That made it 21-0, and the rout was on. St. Brown now has six 100-yard games this season.
**** The flip over the top by Amon-Ra St. Brown was a great football play. It wasn't a celebration play. Those 7 points were huge!****
-- The Lions have been searching for playmaking ability at safety since losing Ceedy Duce (C.J. Gardner-Johnson) back in Week 2. Tracy Walker wasn’t getting the job done, so Ifeatu Melifonwu replaced him last week in Chicago. And a week later, the little-used defensive back made plays all over the field, including one of the biggest of the game. Denver opened the game with a 40-yard bomb, and it looked like it might be more of the same from the Lions defense. But then Melifonwu crushed quarterback Russell Wilson on a blind-side blitz, and knocked the ball loose. Isaiah Buggs scooped up the ball and rumbled the other way -- rumble, big man rumble -- setting the tone for a bounce-back game from the defense.
****Great call by Aaron Glenn and play by Ifeatu Melifonwu! This play changed the complexion of the game! ****
They played their best defensive game in weeks, and Melifonwu was one of their best players of all. He also hit Wilson on a third-down pass, forcing another stop, plus broke up one pass in the end zone and another bomb over the middle field. He finished with eight tackles, two quarterback hits, one sack and two passes defended overall -- a breakout performance for the former third-round pick. He was the first return in the Matthew Stafford trade, and as he heads toward the final month of Year 3, he is finally starting to turn a corner.
****Iffy was arguably the Lions Defensive player of the game! This game is an illustration of why I felt it was important that the Lions held on to Iffy, despite the numerous injuries he dealt with since early in his rookie season. ****
With Duce cleared to practice next week and expected to return for the stretch run, brighter days could be ahead for the secondary.
**** At least brighter days at Safety. ****
-- The Lions have been shaking up their beleaguered secondary lately, and continued to make changes at cornerback. This week, they finally benched the struggling Jerry Jacobs, who gave up big plays in each game for a month while racking up more defensive pass interference penalties than anyone else in the league. Khalil Dorsey started in his place against Denver, while Kindle Vildor rotated onto the field for the second straight week too, and even hit Russell Wilson to force an incompletion.
**** Of the two CBs that played opposite Cam Sutton, who I thought had a strong performance, Kindle Vildor was better and more consistent. ****
-- The Lions have been begging for production in their pass rush outside of Aidan Hutchinson, and they got it from Josh Paschal, who sacked Russell Wilson on third down and finished with two tackles for loss overall. Aaron Glenn also came after Wilson on the blitz, with Ifeatu Melifonwu and Alex Anzalone both hitting Wilson twice, while Brian Branch and Kindle Vildor hit him once apiece.
**** The 3rd Down sack by Josh Paschal in the 2nd QTR was a huge play. On that play, Paschal won a one on one matchup, when he was lined up as a DT, with an overall 4 man rush."
-- Linebacker Derrick Barnes left the game in the second quarter with a shoulder injury, but returned for the second half and made what turned out to be a huge goal-line tackle on third-and-short. Denver jumped early on the following fourth-and-inches, and settled for a field goal in a 28-7 game. Field goals were never going to help much in a game like that with 15 minutes to play, and Denver never seriously threatened.
**** Great play by Derrick Barnes, with help from Alex Anzalone. ****
Barnes has enjoyed a breakout season, already racking up career highs in tackles (71), tackles for loss (four) and quarterback hits (three). He’s also logged the second-most snaps at linebacker this season, trailing only Alex Anzalone.
**** The Lions LB situation is better than it's been in a long time. Jack Campbell continues to progress. Jalen Reeves-Maybin, who contributed to the Broncos 2nd Down play being kept out of the end zone, on the drive that they settled for a FG. ****
.........
This new thread is a continuation of the following thread:
Lions vs. Broncos preview: Game # 14 (2023): Flexed to Sat.
detroit-lions-forum.proboards.com/thread/1953/lions-broncos-preview-game-flexed