Tag: Detroit Lions

Five things to watch as Lions face Eagles in a ‘must-win’ game; plus injury update, prediction

Aidan Hutchinson said it simply: This is a must-win game. The Lions (6-3) travel to Philadelphia to play the Eagles (7-2) on Sunday night. Coach Dan Campbell likes Hutchinson’s viewpoint.

“I think we need to apply some pressure on ourselves, in a good way, because I know we’ve got the right guys too,’’ the coach said. “That’s what helps. We’re not – the reality is we’ve still got a lot of games left. How much is a must-win a must-win? But yet, I think when you view it that way, we’ve got to find a way to come away with this one.’’

The crazy atmosphere in Philadelphia has been dialed up since at least 1968 when the fans pelted Santa Claus with snowballs. Since then fans have thrown batteries and spit on opponents. Campbell witnessed it as a player.

“When you’re a competitor, you just love it. Man, you go on the road and everybody – it’s you against everybody else. And it’s very clear that it’s you against everybody else there,’’ Campbell said. “…. You go some places, man, they wave at you, ‘We’re so happy you’re here to play against us.’ This is not one of those places, that’s it. It’s as far from that as you can possibly get. I loved playing atmospheres like that, and I just know the type of guys we have. I think they’re going to eat it up, I really do.”

Five things to watch:

ONE: If the Lions hope to win, they must stop Saquon Barkley. Easier said than done. The running back accumulated 60 yards in the win at Green Bay on Monday. So far this season he has six touchdowns – two of them were receptions. He’s tough. “It’s because he’s big. He’s big, but he’s got the agility and the speed of a scat back,’’ Campbell said. “He’s powerful, he’s strong, explosive. He can hit the hole. And if he’s got a step and there’s a hole, he can take it the distance. And so you can’t just stick an arm out and pull this guy down. That’s what it is. You’re talking about a power back that’s got very good feet, lateral quicks, and explosive and speed to go the distance. That’s what it is.”

TWO: Expect aggressive play-calling from Campbell just like last week. It worked and seemed to spark the offense. Can it do the same against an Eagles’ defense? That’s the big question.

 “It’s great. He did a good job,’’ Goff said. “Yeah, he’s a steady-Eddie and I thought he was great.”

THREE: Dealing with the tush-push is no easy task. While some coaches want the play banned, Campbell has been consistent that it should remain in the game. That is not changing just because the Lions are playing the Eagles. “We have a plan, we have an idea, but we have to execute,’’ Campbell said. Defensive end Aidan Hutchinson said they just need to find a way. “I don’t think anybody has quite cracked it yet. I trust big D.J. Reader in the middle to get the job done – he’s stopped a few QB sneaks in his day,’’ Hutchinson said. “It’s going to be a great battle. You can’t real;y practice a QB sneak, it’s a battle of wills.’’

FOUR:  While the Lions’ offense was on fire last week and has been solid, they haven’t faced a defense created by Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. “He knows himself very well. He knows the opponent, but he knows himself very well and he’s always been great about that. He checks himself, he makes sure that you can’t get a beat on him,’’ Campbell said. “Now, there’s nothing super complex but yet the fact that he asks them to do things they do well and he just kind of keeps moving around, that makes it difficult.’’

FIVE: The Eagles, the defending Super Bowl champs, have at least one characteristic that makes them extremely tough to beat. “When they need a critical play, they come up with a critical play,’’ Campbell said. The Lions have a bit of that same DNA which should create a good battle.

LIONS INJURIES: OUT — TE Sam LaPorta, CB Terrion Arnold, S Kerby Joseph, EDGE Josh Pashal, EDGE Marcus Davenport, G Miles Frazier, CB D.J. Reed and LB Malcolm Rodriguez;  QUESTIONABLE — LT Taylor Decker, CB Amik Robertson, RB Jack Saylors, T Penei Sewell, RB Sione Vaki and TE Brock Wright.

EAGLES INJURIES: QUESTIONABLE — G/C Willie Lampkin.

PREDICTION: Lions 28, Eagles 27.

Detroit Lions Dan Campbell details Jared Goff’s super powers

ALLEN PARK — Jared Goff’s two super powers are playing with the gray matter and the ability to pass in tight coverage. That’s how Lions coach Dan Campbell sees it.

With all due respect to Matthew Stafford, Patrick Mahomes and other stellar NFL quarterbacks, Goff has put together a stellar season through Week 10. He is rated first in the NFL in completion percentage (74); and second in passing TDs (20), passer rating (117.7) and passing first-down percentage (41.4).

“I just feel like he’s gotten better every year, So yeah, yes I do. I think he’s settled into a zone where he continues to take it up another notch,’’ coach Dan Campbell said on Wednesday. “(He) continues to get better, process information, the game slows down for him. He’s playing at a high level.’’

Campbell gave an example of Goff’s ability from Wednesday morning’s walk-through.

“This is the first taste of this gameplan going into Philly. It’s unbelievable what he’s able to grasp, retain, get us in the right play and literally (we) just gave it to him,’’ Campbell said. “He didn’t have time to digest, he’s running out on the field, now you’re walking through it.

“That’s one of his super powers, he plays with the gray matter and he’s got the ability to put it on the spot in tight coverage, I think that’s rare to have both,’’ Campbell said. “He knows what helps him and what makes him who he is. He’s got to be able to rely on that. He’s not a guy who’s – he’s not Lamar Jackson. He leans on what his abilities and skills are. He’s playing at a high level.’’

Goff said that’s a great compliment but he thinks it’s part of his job.

“I think it’s kind of like the baseline of what I’m supposed to do is retain it and be able to spit it out and then be able to kind of do my best to coach it on the field and help these guys where I can,’’ Goff said. “And yeah, I think walkthrough is extremely important. I try to take it pretty serious and make sure everyone’s doing what they’re supposed to do.”

In Sunday’s 44-22 rout at Washington, Goff was 24 of 33 for 320 yards, zero interceptions and a 135.9 rating. So far this season, he has thrown 20 touchdowns against just three interceptions — just one in the last five games.

Goff finds himself in elite company. He is one of two quarterbacks in NFL history to complete  74 percent of their passes, produce 20-plus  passing TDs and have 3-or-fewer interceptions through the first nine games of any season. The other is Drew Brees from 2018.

Lions Jahmyr Gibbs named NFC Offensive Player of the Week

23-year-old running back continues to develop

ALLEN PARK — In his third NFL season, Jahmyr Gibbs continues to develop. It was never more evident than in Sunday’s win at Washington.

Gibbs’ efforts earned him the NFC Offensive Player of the Week award, announced on Wednesday. In that 44-22 romp, he had 142 rushing yards, 30 receiving yards and three touchdowns (one passing). He joins Barry Sanders as the only Lions running backs to win the award on multiple occasions.

Gibbs and the Lions were coming off a less-than stellar performance the previous week in a loss to the Vikings.

“One thing inside of that hoodie is he has a tremendous amount of pride in his performance. I had no doubt the kind of game he was going to come back and have, his demeanor in practice was a very, very serious demeanor. He usually doesn’t say much but there was a certain level of intensity from not doing what he expected to do in that game,’’ said Scottie Montgomery, assistant head coach/wide receivers coach.

Quarterback Jared Goff said Gibbs is good at “kind of everything.”

“Obviously his speed jumps out right away and we can get him on the perimeter in some things. It’s pretty impressive what he can do,’’ Goff said. “Then out of the backfield, his hands and his route-running ability is getting so much better, it’s hard to imagine where the ceiling is for this guy.’’

Montgomery pinches himself every now and then when he sees Gibbs run a play,

“His ability to cut is continuing to get better. He’s starting to understand these vertical cuts — when to put his foot in the ground,’’ Montgomery said. “This guy is super-talented and he’s gifted but the long run (43 yards) he had if you watch it, he’s waiting on blocks to set up, he knows exactly what he’s doing, he can feel the outside presence of the corner and knowing when to hit it, so he’s just doing a really really good job.’’

While it’s Gibbs’ third NFL season, he is only 23 years old. He was successful as a rookie and has just kept growing.

“The game has probably always been pretty slow for a guy that runs that fast. Now with the cerebral part of it he’s starting to play at a different level,’’ Montgomery said. “I just love where he is, especially in some of those tight area runs that people are not talking about. One of his better two or three runs in this game were 3-yard gains, 4-yard gains, where early in his career those would have been TFLs (tackles for loss) because he would’ve tried to spin out. This week he put his shoulder down, stayed tight to the double team, got 3-4 yards off of it.’’ 

Gibbs continues to make his mark on the record book. He joined Barry Sanders as the only players in franchise history to produce at least 10 touchdowns in each of a player’s first three-career seasons. 

He recorded his 11th-career multi-touchdown game (his third this year), tied with Billy Sims for the second-most multi-touchdown games by a running back in franchise history. He also joined Sanders and Sims as the only players in franchise history to top 4,000 scrimmage yards through three-career seasons.

UP NEXT: LIons (6-3) at Eagles (7-2), 8:20 p.m. on Sunday.