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Lions rookie TE Sam LaPorta continues to impress and shatter records

Campbell was an NFL TE, but won’t compare himself to LaPorta

ALLEN PARK — Lions coach Dan Campbell was an NFL tight end for 10 seasons so he has a little insight into Sam LaPorta’s world, but apparently not too much.

Campbell is first to admit he didn’t have near the impact as LaPorta has shown through 12 games of his rookie season.

“First of all I don’t know what that’s like, I know what the run game part of it is like. I have no idea what it’s like to go out there, get open, run routes and catch some balls. I was never even close to that,’’ Campbell said on Monday.

Sure enough in Campbell’s rookie season with the Giants he played in a dozen games with one start and had zero receptions. In his 10-year career he had 91 catches and 11 touchdowns.

It’s fair to say that LaPorta, who was drafted 34th overall, is a different animal. In fact it’s scary to think how good he can become.

LaPorta received the game ball after his nine catches for 140 yards and a touchdown in Sunday’s 33-28 win at New Orleans. He became the first tight end in NFL history to produce at least 60 receptions, 600 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns through the first 12 games of a player’s career.

Not bad. And, as Campbell said, it’s not all about the stats, he is a complete player.

“It is not easy to play this position as a rookie and to do all we’re asking him to do because he does it all, it’s in the run game, it’s protection and then you see the pass production. That’s what everybody sees, the numbers, the separation,’’ Campbell said. “But nobody has any true idea of all the other stuff he does for us. That’s what a tight end does. I’m glad he’s ours.’’

Campbell said LaPorta just keeps growing.

“He doesn’t say a word, he just goes to work, he’s hard on himself but he never gets down, he never feels sorry for himself when he makes a mistake, it drives him,’’ Campbell said. “I know this, in critical times of the game he always shows up. It’s not easy but he’s making it look easy, I know that.’’

In a solid four-year college career at Iowa, LaPorta had just five touchdown catches. He’s surpassed that mark and the Lions have five regular season games remaining.

Here’s a few other crazy stats from Sunday’s win:

— He became the sixth rookie tight end in NFL history, and first since 1995, to produce a game with 140 receiving yards and a touchdown.

— He recorded his sixth touchdown reception of the season, passing TE David Hill (five in 1976) for the second-most a Lions rookie has produced.

— LaPorta has produced seven five-catch games this season. This ties for the second-most by a rookie tight end in NFL history and for the second-most by a tight end in franchise history.

— His 64 receptions are the second-most a Lions rookie has had in a season, regardless of position. The team record is 90 catches, set by WR Amon-Ra St. Brown in 2021.

INJURY UPDATE: Center Frank Ragnow, who injured his knee Sunday, got good news from tests on Monday but Campbell says that doesn’t mean he will play Sunday … LB Alex Anzalone (hand) could have a chance to play this week after sitting Sunday. … DL Alim MacNeil, who was injured Sunday, could miss this week’s game.

UP NEXT: Lions (9-2) at Chicago Bears (4-8), 1 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 10. The Lions beat the Bears, 31-26, in their first meeting.

Lions bounce back and edge Saints in a nail-biter; 5 reasons they held on to win

After taking what seemed like a commanding 21-0 lead midway through the first quarter, the Detroit Lions opened the door and let the Saints back in.

It was edge-of-the-seat time late in the fourth quarter, before the Lions held on for a 33-28 win at the Superdome when Jared Goff connected with Josh Reynolds for 12 yards to convert on third-and-9 with 1:09 left.

The Lions jump to 9-3 and remain atop the NFC North. They were coming off a tough Thanksgiving loss to the Packers and once again showed their resilience. They have not had back-to-back losses in 13 months.

“I think the teams that are able to respond after you lose a tough one, to me, it’s not easy to gain confidence in losses, but I think you have to be able to do that. You understand your own errors, you understand what you have to clean up and then you don’t want to lose that way again or like that again or from that again,’’ coach Dan Campbell said. “We bounced back, I’m not surprised knowing the guys we have, the coaches in that locker room, the players we have. I’m not surprised.’’

That 21-0 lead in the first quarter set the pace early.

“We had some things that we wanted to do particularly offensively and defensively for that matter, and we had a good feel of it, they made some adjustments which we thought they would. Then it comes down to one player here, one player there, we’re an inch away from breaking another one. It was a chess game going on …

Five reasons the Lions won:

1. A strong start was huge – a touchdown on the first drive on a 2-yard run by David Montgomery, then an interception by Brian Branch led to a Sam LaPorta touchdown and then a third TD, a 25-yard catch by Amon-Ra St. Brown. The 21-point lead with 7 minutes left in the first quarter was huge especially because the Saints defense was stingy after that quarter. “We had some things that we wanted to do particularly offensively and defensively for that matter, and we had a good feel of it. They made some adjustments which we thought they would,’’ Campbell said. “Then it comes down to one player here, one player there, we’re an inch away from breaking another one. It was a chess game going on.’’ The coach said they ran the ball intentionally on the first five snaps to re-establish confidence on the offensive line which was coming off a shaky game.

2. All week, and actually for two weeks, the Lions have wanted to cut down on turnovers and have the defense create them. Bingo. Derek Carr was intercepted by Branch on his first snap. And then later Tracy Walker recovered a snap fumble. The Lions have work to do but Jared Goff did not throw an interception and the offense did not give the ball away.

3. Rookie tight end Sam LaPorta had a career day with nine catches (on nine targets) for 140 yards and a touchdown. In the fourth quarter, on the Lions final drive, he caught the ball on a third-and-7 to keep the drive going and the ball away from the Saints who were just down 5 points. He became the first tight end in NFL history to produce 55 receptions, 550 yards and 6 touchdowns through 12-career games.

4. Goff controlled the game and made timely plays. He wasn’t perfect and he has certainly played better but when the Saints were breathing down their throats he remained poised and in control. On the final drive, when they had to hold onto the ball, Goff converted a third-and-7 with a pass to LaPorta and then a third-and-9 with a pass to Josh Reynolds. “That’s our guy, that’s what he does, the line was protecting well today,’’ Campbell said. “LaPorta, to be honest I feel like we were getting separation. LaPorta was showing up and Reynolds made a heck of a catch in the critical moments our offense finished it out for us.’’Goff finished 16 of 25 for 213 yards and two touchdowns. The Lions set a single-season record by producing 325-plus total net yards for the 12th-straight game and Goff obviously has played a major role in that.

5. The defense made a few key plays, but they have plenty of work to do after giving up too many explosive plays. Defensive lineman Bruce Irvin in his first game with the Lions had a big-time sack. Romeo Okwara had another. They looked tough early in the game but faded and let the Saints back in. It was a win and that’s all good, but much work to do especially on defense.

BONUS: Wide receiver Jameson Williams had a highlight touchdown on a reverse end-around early in the fourth quarter. His speed was on full display and he dove into the end zone for a nice flourish. “It’s something that’s been in the laboratory cooking for a while, it felt like it was the right time to call it up,’’ Campbell said. “He executed it great, the thing was well blacked, he did a great job keeping his eyes on it, the rest was up to him. It was pure gasoline around the edge, it was a heck of a play.’’

INJURY UPDATE: Center Frank Ragnow left in the second quarter with a knee injury and didn’t return. Campbell said he won’t have more information until Monday.

NEXT UP: Lions (9-3) at Chicago Bears (4-8), 1 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 10. The Bears will be coming off a bye. The Lions won their first matchup 31-16 on Nov. 19.

Lions Dan Campbell says turnover ratio is concern, but overall he is not worried about team

ALLEN PARK — After rewatching the Thanksgiving loss to the Packers, Lions coach Dan Campbell said the big issue is the turnover ratio.

The Lions had three turnovers against the Packers and four in a win over the Bears the previous Sunday. In those two games Detroit had just one takeaway – a forced fumble by Cam Sutton that was recovered by Alex Anzalone against the Packers.

“That’s the major issue. We can talk about these other things, but until we clean that up the other parts of this are a little bit irrelevant and honestly they’re not the big issues,’’ Campbell said on Monday. “So we need to take care of the football.”

It is not lost on Campbell that six of the seven turnovers fall on Goff. He was intercepted three times by the Bears and lost three fumbles to the Packers.

“We’ve talked, he knows. Like I told him this morning, once you start to break the line of scrimmage you have to tuck it away. It’s as simple as that, it’s an emphasis we work on at practice,’’ Campbell said.

The turnovers are uncharacteristic for Goff who had thrown just five interceptions in the first nine games. Those were his first lost fumbles this season. He fumbled twice in the loss at the Ravens, but both were recovered.

“All these little things that come up, we’re not going to just yell harder, we’re going to give substance, you teach them, you show them,’’ Campbell said. “Here’s where you can be a little bit better – everything from pass pro to the rush, to the way we cover, to the way we jam to the way we protect the football or don’t protect …’’

The turnaround in turnovers will not be easy this Sunday against the Saints who excel at creating turnovers.

They’re very good, it’s a tough place to play too. This is going to be an unbelievable environment. It’s hard to win there but it’s exactly what you want,’’ said Campbell who played for the Saints (2009) and was an assistant coach there for five seasons.

If anyone thinks Campbell is in the dumps after dropping the game on Thanksgiving, they are just wrong.

The Lions are 8-3 and still atop the NFC North.

“I’m not getting worried, I love this, I’m serious. I love this. It’s doom and gloom outside our building, we’ve got six to go, we’ve got an unbelievable opportunity and I love it, I really do,’’ Campbell said.

“This is what we find out what we’re made of and really everybody in this league for that matter. You talk about the month of December, there are some teams that will begin to rise and some teams will fall out of this. I love our team and I love where we’re at, and I know the guys we have in the locker room, I know these coaches. It should be good.’’

INJURY UPDATE: LB Alex Anzalone was injured Thursday and could be out for a bit, per Campbell. Safety Kerby Joseph was hurt but should be good to go. The coach was uncertain if left guard Jonah Jackson (wrist) will be ready to return after missing five of the last six games.

NEXT UP: Lions (8-3) at New Orleans Saints (5-6), 1 p.m., Sunday. The Saints are coming off a 24-15 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.