Tag: Brian Branch

Lions versatile safety Brian Branch one of defensive standouts in win over Bears

ALLEN PARK — When Dan Campbell listed the outstanding defensive players from the 52-21 win over the Bears, safety Brian Branch was at the top of the list.

Branch had a standout game with a pretty nice stat line — he forced a fumble, had a sack and made six tackles.

On Monday, Campbell said Branch makes life much easier on the pages because of his versatility. 

“We bring it up all the time, he’s a safety that has cover ability like a corner, he can blitz like a linebacker and tackling and fill in the run gaps,’’ Campbell said. “There’s so many different things he can do. The guy is a major asset for us.’’

After Sunday’s game the Lions are 1-1, the Bears 0-2.

It was a huge bounceback for Detroit after a lackluster loss at Green Bay in Week 1.

“It showed us what we’re capable of doing. We know how good we are when we execute what coach Shep (DC Kelvin Sheppard) calls,’’ Branch said. “Coach Shep called a great ball game … Just moving forward we re-established our brand of football 

Facing Ben Johnson, Bears head coach and former Lions offensive coordinator, was down-played leading up to Sunday, afterward Branch wasn’t afraid to share his feelings.

“Really, all these games are personal, but this one we felt like we’d been betrayed from the staff to players,’’ Branch said. “And we love Ben, we still love Ben. He’s a great coach. He’s a great mastermind but, yeah, it was time to get after him.”

Branch explained they felt betrayed because Johnson went to an NFC North opponent.

The Lions won’t face the Bears again until the final game of the regular season. Date to be determined but likely Jan 3 or 4. 

INJURIES: Marcus Davenport left the game early with a shoulder injury. Campbell doesn’t have all the test results in yet, but he’s hoping he won’t be out too long.

UP NEXT: Lions (1-1) at Baltimore Ravens (1-1), 8:15 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 22.

Five reasons the Lions bounced back and routed the Bears, 52-21

DETROIT — For the Detroit Lions, the train might have nearly gone off the track a week ago in Green Bay, but the boys were back on Sunday in a 52-21 rout of the Chicago Bears at Ford Field

“I’ve said this all along, this train keeps rolling and it’s always going to start with the players,’’ coach Dan Campbell said. “We have players, we have playmakers, and they’re made the right way. They’re the right kind of guys. They know how to get in the ditch and just start digging. They don’t worry about the other stuff.’’

The fact they were facing former offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, now the Bears head coach, did not play a huge role in their turn-around. Moreso it was just motivation to win a division game.

Both offensive and defensive lines stepped up their games.

“I knew we would play better because our guys came into work and we knew what we needed to clean up and we worked at cleaning it up,’’ Campbell said. “They had the right look and they came out fighting – that’s what they do.”

The Lions came out and scored the first touchdown on a 5-play, 60-yard drive ending with a Jahmyr Gibbs 6-yard touchdown run.

They were up 28-14 at the half and held the Bears to just one touchdown in the second half. The Lions moved to 1-1 while the Bears dropped to 0-2.

Five of the reasons the Lions won:

ONE: Jared Goff pitched a near-perfect game, passing for five touchdowns and completing 23 of 28 passes for 334 yards. He got plenty of help from WR Amon-Ra St. Brown who caught nine balls for three touchdowns and 115 yards. “He’s a stud. He’s as good as they get in our league, he’s a stud, he does everything in the run game, everything in the pass game,’’ Goff said. “As reliable of a player as I’ve ever thrown to in my life. We have a pretty good chemistry going on in our fifth year. We push each other really hard.’’

TWO: Explosive plays were huge. Goff threw five passes of 29 or more yards. Jameson Williams had just 2 catches — one for 64, the other a 44-yard touchdown.  He wasn’t alone. “It always starts with the O-line here, it does, probably most teams but for sure us. When they play well it allows us to do a lot,’’ Campbell said. 

THREE: The defense made huge stops, none better than stuffing the Bears on back-to-back plays of third-and-1 and fourth-and-1 early in the second quarter. Safety Brian Branch was all over the field finishing with a sack, a forced fumble, a pass defense, two tackles for loss and six tackles. Bears QB Caleb Williams was sacked four times with Aidan Hutchinson getting first sack of the season and Branch, Al-Quadin Muhammad and Marcus Davenport also pitching in. “Just moving forward we re-established our brand of football,’’ Branch said.

FOUR: The Lions created two turnovers with a Kerby Joseph second-quarter interception that led to a Brock Wright TD catch. Earlier Branch forced a fumble with Jack Campbell recovering. Terion Arnold’s interception with 12:15 left was negated by a roughing the passer penalty. “It’s huge in this league, that’s what it’s all about getting takeaways, coach Campbell and coach Shep (DC Kelvin Sheppard), all our coaches preach that — no matter what the offense is doing the defense has to force turnovers,’’ Branch said, “We force turnovers then it gives our offense another chance to score.’’

FIVE: The offensive line settled down and was much improved from Week 1. RBs Jahmyr Gibbs (12-94 yards, 1 TD) and David Montgomery (11-57, 1 TD) got the run game in gear averaging 5.9 yards per carry – much improved over 2.1 in the Green Bay opener. Gibbs scampered 42 yards to set up another Goff-St. Brown touchdown late in the third. Goff could see the line really jell. “In particular, Tate (Ratledge) and (Christian) Mahogany as younger players were able to get last week out of the way and settle in a little bit today,’’ Goff said. “More Tate than Mahogany who had experience last year. I thought Tate played great today. I haven’t seen the tape but at least in pass pro I felt firm there, you felt strong, it felt like he was pushing downhill.’’

UP NEXT: Lions (1-1) at Baltimore Ravens (1-1), Monday, Sept. 22 at 8:15 p.m.

Lions play their best aggressive football in 52-6 win over Jaguars

5 reasons why win streak extended to 8 games

It wasn’t just a win, it wasn’t just a shellacking, it was likely the best game the Detorit Lions have played in the Dan Campbell era.

The Lions (9-1) dominated the hapless Jacksonville Jaguars, 52-6, at Ford Field on Sunday for the Lions’ eighth straight win. It’s the best start to a season since 1934 and longest win streak since that same year.

In Sunday’s win the Lions set franchise records with margin of win (plus-46 points), total net yards (645) and total first downs (38).

Campbell said it was their best game to date and then gave in when asked if it was the best game he’s seen his Lions play.

“Probably top to bottom this is probably the best game — offense, defense, special teams —  everything, it was pretty good, man,’’ Campbell said. “We did what we needed to do on both sides of the ball.’’

The Lions were coming off a win at Houston where the offense faltered. “We were proud of that win last week that was hard fought, but we also wanted to get that bad taste out of our mouth and we did that today,’’ Campbell said. “It’s outstanding.’’

They flicked the switch and Goff and his guys came out and scored touchdowns on their first seven possessions.

“There’s a collective will power they can use together. I really felt like we pulled on each other today and played some of our best ball up to date,’’ Campbell said. “That was satisfying always to get a win in this league because they’re hard to come by but when you play up to your potential in all areas it’s a really good feeling.’’

It’s a talent-rich offense and it showed once again on Sunday. Goff connected with nine different pass catchers and the offense finished with 645 total net yards. Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montgomery and Amon-Ra St. Brown all scored a touchdown in the same game for the eighth time. That is the most instances of a trio of teammates doing so in NFL history.

The Lions  have scored six-plus touchdowns in three-straight home games for the first time in franchise history. And they have also scored 42-plus points in three-straight home games, tying the franchise record-long streak, which was done in 1952. The franchise records crumble each week. And these Lions are not done yet.

Five reasons the Lions won:

ONE: They are a confident, talented team that plays with a violent, aggressive streak on both sides of the ball. They were heavy favorites and weren’t going to let the opportunity for their ninth win slip by. “It was an outstanding effort by a ton of players,’’ Campbell said. The offensive play stood out. “It’s fun, we were moving the ball pretty good. Our run game was pretty good, our pass game obviously pretty good too,’’ Goff said. “Everything was working. It felt like Ben (Johnson, the offensive coordinator) could call anything and we would make it work.’’

TWO: Goff was taken out early in the fourth quarter when the Lions held a 49-6 lead. He finished with a perfect passer rating (158.3) for just the second time in his career. He completed 24 of 29 passes for 412 yards and four touchdowns. It was an amazing comeback from last week at Houston when nothing seemed to go right for him and he threw five interceptions. “I thought Goff was outstanding once again. I’m not surprised, that’s the type of player we have, that’s the type of football he’s been playing for a while now,’’ Campbell said. “He’s a stud.’’

THREE: Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, or Sonic and Knuckles as they like to be called, can also be called the best running back duo in the NFL today. It’s impossible to rate one above the other. Both display jaw-dropping moves with the football in hand. Montgomery had two rushing touchdowns while Gibbs added another. Both can also be a threat in the passing game. Gibbs had a 54-yard passing play (on a checkdown) to go with his 69 rushing yards. Montgomery had 3 catches for 20 yards along with 75 rushing yards. 

FOUR: Oh, and the Lions have the best safety duo in the NFL with Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph. Never was that more apparent than in back-to-back plays in the first quarter when Branch bulldozed Evan Engram after a 9-yard catch and then Joseph blasted Travis Etienne Jr. for no gain. Joseph intercepted Mac Jones in the third quarter with the Jaguars closing in on perhaps scoring a touchdown. Detroit’s defense held the Jags to just 170 yards, 10 first downs and two field goals.

FIVE: Wide receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams played outstanding against the NFL’s worst defense. St. Brown had 11 catches for 161 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while Williams had 4 catches for 124 yards, including a 64-yard pass play for a touchdown where he just outran his defenders as he neared the end zone. Campbell called St. Brown their rock – he can line up anywhere and is dependable. It was Williams second game back after a suspension, he had critical catches and continues to improve each week.

INJURY UPDATE: LB Alex Anzalone is out for 6-8 weeks with a broken forearm. He left the game in the second quarter holding his arm.

UP NEXT: The Lions (9-1) at the Indianapolis Colts (5-6), 1 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 24.