Donovan Peoples-Jones – Lions Lowdown

Five things to watch as the Lions face the Chargers; plus prediction

Lions coach Dan Campbell said Saturday’s cross-country plane ride to Los Angeles should be good for his players who will be able to put their feet up and relax after a tough week of practice.

Coming off the bye, the Lions (6-2) will face the Los Angeles Chargers (4-4) who have won two straight and are coming off a Monday night win over the Jets.

This game, which starts at 4:05 p.m., also marks the start of the second half of the season which obviously is key to the Lions’ playoff hopes.

“Now, we’re not guaranteed six more wins playing the way we played in the first half. We have to get better, we have to,’’ Campbell said. “Every year there are teams that are jockeying for these spots, what happens is some of these teams that look pretty good right now begin to fall and some of these other teams will start rattling off some wins. We have to improve and I believe we can. We still have not put a complete game together will all three phases in one game.’’

Quarterback Jared Goff, who is one reason the Lions have won six games, agrees with Campbell that the Lions have room for improvement.

“I think there’s a lot of meat on the bone, both for offense and defense,’’ Goff said. “I’m sure they’d say the same thing where we feel like maybe the Carolina game was a complete game, but other than that, I don’t know if we’ve really had one, and how do we get closer to that as the season comes to an end? And no reason to not start this week and try to put together a complete game this week as well.”

Five things to watch:

1. The Chargers defense has held opponents to just 89.8 rushing yards per game. The Lions have to find a way to get through. They will benefit from the return of RB David Montgomery, who has missed two games, and the maturation before our eyes of rookie Jahmyr Gibbs. The Lions average 131.4 rushing yards per game so something has to give.

2. Chargers’ quarterback Justin Herbert has gone three straight games without an interception while passing for six touchdowns in that span. He’s played at a consistent level throughout his career. “Any quarterback that’s had the consistency he’s had — No. 1 he’s got ability, he’s a smart guy, but man he’s got it – he’s wired right. He’s tough, he can read the field very well,’’ Campbell said. “I know they can put a lot on his plate – the runs, the checks,the audibles. And he’s highly competitive. Usually if you have all those traits it’s hard not to be a pretty good player.’’ Campbell also said that Jared Goff has those same traits.

3. Goff will be facing a defense that had eight sacks in the win over the Jets on Monday night with Joey Bosa, Khalil Mack and Tuli Tuipuotu breaking through for 6.5 of those. “We’ve seen some good pressure players too, we just faced one before the bye in (Maxx) Crosby. He’s pretty good too,’’ Campbell said. “We’ve seen our fair share, (I) certainly like our tackles and like our O-line, but we’re going to have to have a plan for those guys.’’

4. After the offensive line played seven different formations in the first eight games due to injury, it appears all will be healthy for Sunday. Ironman Graham Glasgow, who has played at center and right guard could be the starter at right guard over Halapoulivaati Vaitai who is struggling to get fully healthy, Campbell said Glasgow has earned that right. “Certainly Graham has been productive for us and he has been productive at three different spots, LG, center and right guard before that,’’ Campbell said. “He’s a steady, reliable piece for us.” Ragnow, who missed one game, will be back at center and a healthy Jonah Jackson, who has missed three games, will be back at left guard.

5. Campbell and Chargers coach Brandon Staley are two of the more aggressive coaches in the NFL. Don’t expect that to change on Sunday. “I think you’ve got to play the way you feel. Certainly there are things he believes in, there are things I believe in, I don’t think that gets altered by either one of us, we’re going to do what we’re going to do,’’ Campbell said

BONUS: Wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones went through his first week with the offense It’s not a certainty that he will be active. Campbell will make the decision after talking to WR coach Antwaan Randle El and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. “I want to make sure he’s comfortable too, I do,’’ Campbell said.

PREDICTION: Lions 28, Chargers 24

Lions Dan Campbell says team hasn’t played best football yet; plus notes

Injury updates, plus Donovan Peoples-Jones gets acclimated

ALLEN PARK — During the bye week, Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell and his staff self-scouted the team which is 6-2 and atop the NFC North heading into the final nine-game stretch.

He boiled it down to three areas that need work on both sides of the ball: turnover-takeaway ratio, red zone and third-quarter production or lack of.

“We still have left so much out there, as good as we’ve played to get six wins, we’ve been able to complement each other, but I would say we’ve not played our best football collectively – offense, defense and special teams,’’ Campbell said on Monday.

So far they have turned the ball over 10 times (5 interceptions, 5 fumbles lost) while also getting 10 takeaways (7 interruptions, 3 fumbles recovered.)

In the Red Zone the Lions’ offense has had a 48.1-percent success rate while the defense has allowed opponents to score 65.4 percent of the time in the Red Zone.

Campbell would like to see a quicker start in the third quarter on both sides.

On special teams he thinks Kalif Raymond can start breaking through on returns.

“We’re one block away, we’re close but we have to start breaking some of these with him in the return game,’’ Campbell said.

Injury update

Coming off the bye week, center Frank Ragnow, running back David Montgomery and left guard Jonah Jackson are trending in the right direction to play on Sunday at the Los Angeles Chargers.

While they have been dealing with injuries that kept them out of games, they were able to participate in Monday’s walk-through.

“All three of those guys moved around today, they were out there. Today was really more priming the pump, getting ready for (Tuesday),’’ Campbell said. “We did some individuals, some group, special teams segment and they were all involved in all three of those.’’

Campbell said Tuesday’s padded practice will be a bigger indication of if they are ready to play.

If Montgomery returns after missing two games, rookie Jaymyr Gibbs will still get his fair share of work, although Campbell doesn’t foresee him getting 65 plays as he did in the win over the Raiders.

“We know what Dave can do but we know Gibbs has gotten better every week so we’re going to ask those guys to do the things they do well to help our offense move the football,’’ Campbell said.
When Montgomery was healthy he was getting the bulk of the carries, while Gibbs was allowed to slowly adjust.

Peoples-Jones gets to work

Wide receiver Donovan People-Jones, who was acquired last week from the Browns, was on the field during Monday’s walk-through but Campbell is taking it slowly with the fourth-year player out of Michigan.

“I think more of it was getting him in here, getting him acclimated with our resources that we have. We’ll get him up to speed with the playbook, make sure he’s good and healthy, then see where he is,’’ Campbell said. “Certainly we acquired him because we think he can help us but I also want to make sure he’s ready mentally and physically. I want to make sure he’s 100 percent ready before we do that. This week will be big for him. … We’ll take it day to day.’’

Jones, who will wear No. 19, had eight receptions for 97 yards in six games with the Browns this season.

UP NEXT: Lions (6-2) at Los Angeles Chargers, 4:05 p.m. on Sunday. The Chargers (3-4) play the N.Y. Jets on Monday night.

Lions acquire WR Donovan Peoples-Jones from Browns; plus notes

ALLEN PARK — The Lions filled a position of need on Tuesday when acquired wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones from the Cleveland Browns.

Detroit sent a 2025 sixth-round pick to Cleveland. Tuesday at 4 p.m. was the NFL trade deadline.

Peoples-Jones, who played at Michigan, was a sixth-round pick by the Browns in 2020. He’s a 24-year-old Detroiter who played at Cass Tech.

“We’re excited about the kid. He’s had good production in the past, he’ll be a good fit here. He’s been a high character kid,’’ Lions GM Brad Holmes said announcing the deal. “… I just talked to the kid. He’s fired up about getting this process going.’’

Holmes said they needed to add a wide receiver since Marvin Jones Jr. left the team last week.

“You always feel like you’re one injury away and that was a position we felt like if we could find a steady, reliable guy that fits us, that can play outside. That was something we were looking at to see if we could acquire,’’ coach Dan Campbell said.

Holmes said Peoples-Jones is a big guy (6-foot-2, 204 pounds) who has good contested catch skills.

“We feel like he fits our style. And he’s smart and can play multiple positions,’’ Campbell said. “We feel like he’ll be a good fit for the team and the room.’’

This season Peoples-Jones has played in seven games with five starts for the Browns with eight receptions for 97 yards. In his career, he’s played in 50 games with 30 starts, with 117 receptions for 1,837 yards and eight touchdowns.

While it would seem that the defensive line is an area of need, Holmes said they looked at every position prior to the deadline.

“A lot of these names that you might see pop up, they look good in the media and they are names, it’s not reality. Those same names that you see pop up when you start getting in conversations, it just doesn’t work out for us,’’ Holmes said. “Every team is in a different place, a different direction, a different phase. There’s nothing we leave unturned. We looked at every position and this was the best one for us.’’

Bye week timing

The players watched film from Monday night’s game on Tuesday then were given the rest of the week off due to the bye.

“I think it’s perfect timing. This is exactly when, from where we’re at, it’s perfect,’’ Campbell said. … “We’re going to get reinforcements back for the Chargers who will be critical to help us.’’

Campbell said he will spend all day Wednesday to look at the last eight games and then will get away for a few days.

The next game is Nov. 12 at the Los Angeles Chargers.

Long snapper out

Long snapper Scott Daly is going to need surgery after injuring his knee on the last kick on Monday, a missed 26-yard field goal. It’s a position that doesn’t get much thought unless there’s an injury.

“It’s going to hurt to lose him,’’ Campbell said.