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Alim McNeill latest Lion to earn extension, vows to continue working hard

Hutchinson update, new nickname for RBs, Branch honored

ALLEN PARK — Just when the Lions needed some good news after Aidan Hutchinson’s broken leg, they got it when defensive tackle Alim McNeill was signed to an extension through the 2028 season.

“I’m fired up for Mac, he earned that. He’s a pivotal piece here for us, he’s one of our pillars here,’’ coach Dan Campbell said on Wednesday. “We’re fired up for him. He’s playing at a high level and he’s going to have to continue.”

His new deal is worth $97 million with $55 million guaranteed, per ESPN.

McNeill had arguably his best game of the season with two sacks, seven pressures and four tackles in the 47-9 win at Dallas on Sunday.

“I wouldn’t say anything specific was clicking. No. 1, I was just getting off the ball. My main goal for that game was to get off the ball and everything else would solve itself,’’ McNeill said Wednesday. “So I would really say my get-off was clicking, I was able to get off, read plays and diagnose things quickly.’’

He feels the need to play that way every game especially with the long-term absence of Hutchinson.

“I feel I can do that, that’s what I do as a player when I’m locked in and honing on my keys. I do expect that from myself,’’ McNeill said. “That’s how we all feel, we’re going to have to step up in different areas and pick up slack in different areas that 97 had. Everybody 97 does a lot for us.’’

McNeill said he’s been focused on football so didn’t know the deal was close until his agents called and told him a few days ago. He hasn’t had time to celebrate and seems level-headed about the newfound riches. When asked how the deal would change his life, at first he just laughed.

“A lot. A full 360. As far as me, myself, it’s not going to change who I am, the person I am. I’m still going to come in here everyday and work like I did beforehand,’’ McNeill said.

Campbell said he kind of hates getting deals done in the season but he understands the timing.

“I mean it’s good but you’re trying to focus on football – they are, we are. Sometimes you start working on these and it takes a minute and bleeds into the season,’’ Campbell said. “It’s something we wanted to do. We wanted Mac around here long-term. I go back he’s one of the original, the original ‘21 (draft) class. He’s part of that core with (Amon-Ra) St. Brown and (Penei) Sewell and those guys.

“I’m glad we got that done, he earned it. Everybody loves Mac. It’s good to have Buttercup back,’’ said Campbell who came up with that nickname a few years ago.

McNeill was a third-round (72nd overall) draft pick by the LIons out of North Carolina State in 2021.

Scottie Montgomery, Lions running backs/assistant head coach, is from North Carolina too and remembers watching McNeill in high school play football and baseball.

“Sounds funny, fantastic baseball player. Fantastic. But a great football player as well. Really raised the right way if you talk to him you understand who he is, what type of person he is,’’ Montgomery said on Wednesday. “This is one of those stories if you do things the right way over and over again and you play at the Detroit Lions, you can see the people we’ve signed since January or February. This is the kind of place that takes care of its own.’’

Since April, the Lions have extended Amon-Ra St. Brown, Penei Sewell, Jared Goff, Taylor Decker and David Montgomery.

NOTES:

— Edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson is back in Michigan following surgery on Sunday in Texas to repair his broken tibia and fibula. “I talked to him yesterday and look he’s doing good. He’s trying to process everything, it’s still pretty new so exactly what is this, where do I go, which you would expect he’s laying in a hospital room with his leg up,’’ Campbell said.

“He’s back – he doesn’t want to be a stranger, he talked about being back a little bit when it made sense, he knows he’s welcome here any time. We’d love to see him, the whole team would love to see him, he’s a huge part of what we are and we hate it for him.’’

His recovery is expected to be four to six months.

— Isaiah Thomas, a defensive lineman who will wear No. 35, was signed off the Cincinnati Bengals practice squad. “This move felt right for us, we liked him, we’re glad he’s here. He brings more competition,’’ Campbell said. “We get somebody else to look at, he’s part of the mix and the more competition you bring in the better you find out and those guys go after it a little bit. It doesn’t mean we’re done, it means that’s where we’re at.’’

— Running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery have landed on a nickname — Sonic and Knuckles after video game characters. “If you watch, David is a huge fan of cartoons, Disney channels and Sonic and Knuckles, the speed and brashness of Knuckles,’’ Montgomery said. “Of course I know about it because I have children. Sonic and Knuckles, it works well. I’m going to run with it.’’

— Lions safety Brian Branch was named NFC defensive player of the week for his effort in the 47-9 win at Dallas where he had two interceptions and a forced fumble. e

— Lost in the news of Hutchinson’s serious injury, was that defensive tackle Kyle Peko suffered a torn pec at Dallas and is out for the season. “Peko has been one of those kind of silent producers for us, does all of the dirty work,’’ Campbell said. “And he’s the one who frees up Alex (Anzalone) and Jack (Campbell) and Rodrigo (Malcolm Rodriguez) and those guys to make the plays they make. … We hate it for him. We’re going to miss him too.’’

UP NEXT: Lions (4-1) at Viking (5-0), 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 20, in the first divisional game for Detroit. The Vikings are 1-0 in NFC North after edging the Packers, 31-29, in Week 4.

Lions earn first playoff win in 32 years, edging the Rams 24-23

DETROIT — If an NFL playoff game ever lived up to its billing, it was the Detroit Lions’ 24-23 win over the Los Angeles Rams in the wildcard matchup Sunday night at Ford Field.

It was Detroit’s first playoff win since Jan. 5, 1992, and because the Packers beat the Cowboys in the early game, the Lions will be back at Ford Field at 3 p.m. next Sunday. They’ll play Monday’s winner between the Bucs and Eagles.

While quarterbacks Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff were Sunday’s most obvious storyline, Goff and the Lions knew they couldn’t get caught up in that and they did not.

The Ford Field fans, who had adored Stafford for a dozen years when he was in Detroit, were all in Goff’s camp. They chanted his name loud and often. He’d never experienced anything like it, but it was certainly well deserved.

“It was kind of tracking for this matchup for a while so I had time to get ready for the fanfare that would be. I just kept going back to what this game was about and it was about us,’’ Goff said.
“It wasn’t about them. It wasn’t about me, it wasn’t about my history there, it wasn’t about anyone on their team or any coaches. It was about us. It was about the 53 in this locker room, our coaches and this organization getting a playoff win.’’

It wasn’t perfect but in the NFL a win by one point is worth as much as a 20-point victory.

Five of the reasons the Lions won:

1. The Lions’ defense held the Rams to 0-for-3 in the Red Zone. It was the key to the close game. “We wanted to be disruptive, we wanted to be aggressive,’’ coach Dan Campbell said. “It wasn’t perfect but at the end of the day we knew we had to limit points, keep them out of the end zone. We did that. We talked about it at halftime, we needed to stop.’’ And they did. Stafford was his usual amazing self (25 of 36, 367 yards) but was held to just two touchdowns. The Rams’ last three scores were all field goals.

2. Goff had complete control of the game and played nearly flawlessly. He completed 22 of 27 passes for 277 yards and a touchdown. “I thought he played top-notch football. He probably had two errors and everything else was on point,’’ Campbell said. “He looked loose, he looked relaxed. I thought he threw the ball with conviction, strong in the pocket. Got us in the right play, he felt that way all week, he felt locked in all week. He’s been that week for six weeks, we feel he’s really honed in.’’ The coach also said he’s one of the reasons they won the game. “What a stud,’’ he added.

3. Aidan Hutchinson woke up with a cold on Saturday but you’d never know he was a bit under the weather during the game. He finished with a pair of sacks and five quarterback hits. If you’re counting, that’s seven sacks in the last three games. He said he heats up at the end of the season. Good timing. He said they’d worked to improve on red zone defense which came down to a mentality shift. “Now we’ve just got to stop the self-inflicted wounds because they kill you in these big games,’’ Hutchinson said

4. With two minutes left, on a second-and-9 play, Goff passed to Amon-Ra St. Brown for the first down. It was a play they’ve run regularly throughout the past few years. No surprise it worked. At first Goff said he was excited to get the first down. It took a second for him to realize that one play ensured the win. “That was the moment where we needed to seal this game and we felt like the right thing to do was get it in (Goff’s) hands and get it to our best player,’’ Campbell said.

5. The fans did their job from before kickoff through the very end – and then they stuck around a bit afterward. They were outfitted with bracelets that flashed with the music, and they were ready to be loud. And they were. “That is arguably the best environment I’ve ever been in. That was absolutely electric,’’ Campbell said. “What’s crazy, I was coming down for pregame warmup, and you could just feel it, it was humming, the building was humming and I swear you could feel the electricity down the tunnel where I was coming down and it only grew from there. Our fans showed up in a big way. For two years that building has been rocking, it was different today, it was a whole nother level.’’

NEXT UP: At 3 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 21, the Lions will host the winner of Monday’s Eagle-Bucs matchup. They earned another home game when the Packers destroyed the Cowboys, 48-32, at Dallas.

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

It’s not all about the gumbo in New Orleans.

The Lions (8-3) are coming off a tough Thanksgiving loss to the Packers, while the Saints (5-6) will try to snap a two-game losing streak when they face each other at the Superdome on Sunday.

It will be a homecoming of sorts for Lions coach Dan Campbell who was a tight end for the Saints in 2009 and served as an assistant coach there from 2016 through 2020.

“It was a winning organization, still is, but (in) my time there, things were run right, they were done right and there was a winning attitude, winning atmosphere and that’s what it was all about,’’ Campbell said. “It’s just special and that’s why it will always be special. To be able to go back and play there makes it special.”

The coach loves New Orleans’ shrimp gumbo, but this is a business trip with higher goals. The Lions, still atop the NFC North, remain a confident and hungry bunch.

“I don’t feel like that (hunger has) dwindled away or drifted. That’s been there. And I think if anything, we understand the areas of improvement, where we must improve and it’s ball security. And that’s everybody,’’ Campbell said. “… I like where they’re at. I don’t feel – I feel like it’s a team that’s ready to go, ready to work. So, I feel like we’re where we’ve been. We’re good. We just (need to) eliminate some mistakes here.”

Extra ball security drills were a part of practice this week after three lost fumbles on Thanksgiving.

With an eye on the playoffs, every one of the six remaining games is crucial.

Scottie Montgomery, assistant head coach and running backs coach, said he’s learned more about this team over the past few weeks.

“They’re like their head coach, they’re tough as hell. Resilient, just when people get ready to count them out there’s going to be another fight … I’ve not been on a team quite like this before,’’ Montgomery said. “This team has a different level, we used the team grit for a lack of better word sometimes. This team is like their head coach, tough as hell. Smart and detailed and disciplined. At the end of the day, the team that makes the fewest mistakes and the little people are tough, you’re going to win.’’

Five things to watch against the Saints::

1. The Lions must hold onto the ball — no interceptions, no fumbles lost. It seems simple. This week they worked on ball control drills in practice – although it’s nothing new. It has been a point of emphasis. It was exemplified when they lost to the Packers on Thanksgiving with Jared Goff losing three fumbles. “We’ll clean that up and we’ll be good to go from there. There are a couple plays last week where he’s holding onto the ball longer than we wanted to. And that’s – they had a good defense compared to our call as well, so that’s on me also trying to help him, so that number one gets open a little more for him and so it all plays a part,’’ offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said. “We all have a hand in it, but he’s certainly taken ownership of it and we’ll see some dividends paid here soon.”

2. Speaking of turnovers, Goff needs to play a clean game. He lost those three fumbles on Thanksgiving and while the Lions pulled out a win over the Bears the previous Sunday, it was tougher because he was intercepted three times. It was an uncharacteristic game for Goff who had just five interceptions in the first nine games. His confidence has not waivered and the coaches still have faith in him. “The ones that we’ve had over the last two weeks are not entirely his fault. Some of those interceptions, that’s the cost of doing business,’’ Johnson said.

3. Detroit’s defense must step up to close games out. Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said the defense did some good things against the Packers. “Scoreboard wasn’t it, because we lost. But when you go out there and you have two turnovers and you get a ball back, you have some fourth-down stops and you get the ball back, I mean those are things that our guys have to look at and be like, ‘You know what? We took the field.’ And our motto is man listen, that’s more TV time for us any time we take the field,’’ Glenn said. “And man, those are the positives that I try to make sure I talk about with our guys, so we can start looking at the fact that we want to start trending, so was everything great? No, it wasn’t. And we have some things we have to work on, we all know that. So each week, I mean that’s what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to make sure we’re trending in this direction.’’

4. Campbell admitted he made a bad decision on the fake punt on Thanksgiving. The coach makes smart moves for the most part. The players have his back, he’s earned their respect but while he wants no mistakes on the field, he’s got to make sure he gives them the best possible avenues to achieve.

5. The Lions are not in panic mode coming off the loss to the Packers and near-loss to the Bears. They’ve had a long weekend to reset and recover. It’s possible we’ll see a few personnel changes. “I would say you look at everything. I think it’s – you do step back and you say, ‘Alright, is there somebody we need to get a look at in this position whether it be who’s currently a backup for us, somebody that’s been inactive or our vet squad,’’ Campbell said. “I mean we are constantly looking at that. We tell those guys all the time, ‘You earn your right to go out there and play and don’t ever think you’re just out here being a show team. That’s not what all this is. Yes, you’re giving a look, but you’re working your craft. And the better you get, the more you catch the eyes of everybody in this building.’ And then it makes you want to give them an opportunity to see what they’ve got. If it’s showing up in practice, well maybe it shows up in the game, so.”

INJURIES: LB Alex Anzalone (hand) is doubtful; LG Jonah Jackson (ankle/wrist) questionable; and QB Hendon Hooker (knee) is out.

PREDICTION: Lions 27, Saints 21. The Superdome is a tough place to play. Both teams will attempt to bounce back from losses. Edge to Detroit which has the better offense.