Tag: Jacksonville Jaguars

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.

Lions look for more offensive efficiency in 2nd half of season

Dan Campbell, Jared Goff agree it’s an area of focus

ALLEN PARK — Walking off the field after the comeback win in Houston on Sunday, quarterback Jared Goff had a few words for coach Dan Campbell: “We’re just different.”

Campbell  agrees. The Lions are 8-1, own the best record in the NFC and show no signs of impending disaster despite a slew of injuries on defense. It’s a good place to be in, they know it and they’re fighting to maintain the same level of play.

“Every team is different, my notion is that the adversity we’re built for is different than every other team in the league,’’ Goff said on Wednesday. “I think I said it after the game, it truly is. There are a lot of good teams in our league but it would be hard-pressed to find some who have been through what the core group of this team has been through.’’

The 1-6 start of the 2022 season comes to mind.

Any game like that (in Houston) where you dig yourself in that big of a hole, knowing we’re built for that and built to come back in those instances,’’ Goff said.

What is the word for that type of resiliency? Oh yes, grit.

That does not mean there isn’t work to do.

Campbell said that offensive efficiency is one area of growth he’d like to see in the second half of the season. He’s seen efficiency in spurts but not consistent enough.

“ I’m not even talking about where you’re scoring touchdowns every time. You just want to get out there knowing you’re converting first down, first down, first down. Does that lead to a field goal or did you have to punt, but at least you’re moving the football because that gets us in a rhythm,’’ Campbell said on Wednesday.

He said some of that is the fundamentals.

“Don’t try to do too much early, let the game come to you and if we convert the next first down that gives us another three or four plays, convert the next one, get another three or four opportunities,’’ Campbell said. “Pretty soon we gain our momentum and we’re really good about that. I think that, in general, just getting our flow back a little bit. It’s not something I’m concerned with, but I feel it’s an area that I feel like we can improve and will improve.’’

Goff agrees with his coach. He had his worst game of the season throwing five interceptions in the win at Houston.

The last three games, the Lions have won beating the Titans 52-24, the Packers 24-14 and the Texans 26-23.

“I think the Tennessee game was somewhat of an outlier, when we weren’t in the red zone we weren’t really moving the ball down the field. Green Bay conditions and whatnot and we weren’t able to be as explosive as we wanted to and obviously last week (at Houston) wasn’t as explosive as we wanted,’’ Goff said. “He’s absolutely right. It starts this week for us.’’

It’s a good week to get the offense on a roll, playing Jacksonville (2-8) on Sunday at Ford Field. The Jaguars own the NFL’s worst total defense allowing 390 yards per game — 129 rushing and 261 passing.

Detroit Lions can’t find offensive rhythm in preseason loss to Jaguars

Bridgewater gets start; 5 rookies have standout games

DETROIT — Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater made his Detroit Lions’ debut, playing most of the first half, in the Lions’ 25-7 preseason loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars at Ford Field on Saturday.

“It’s tough to lose no matter what time of year it is and what you’re doing. You don’t like to lose that way but also you have to keep in perspective it is about evaluation,’’ coach Dan Campbell said. “We’re trying to put these guys in position where you can find out about them a little bit and I felt like we found out a few players today that we have to know.’’

Bridgewater, whose first practice with the team was on Monday, got sacked on his first snap. He didn’t get many reps in the joint practices with the Jaguars this week, so playing time was crucial. 

“I thought Teddy was solid. I mean there are always going to be things to clean up, but in my head it was always about getting him in a flow, let’s get him in there, let’s get him used to how we run our offense, our cadence, our shifts, our motions and just go play a little bit,’’ Campbell said. “It wasn’t that he was going to have a perfect quarterback rating.’’

Bridgewater completed five of 11 passes for 34 yards and carried the ball once for negative-8 yards playing behind the second-string offensive line. Most of the offensive starters were on the sidelines. 

“There’s some throws you wish he had back, a couple of things. But also I thought he made some really good throws too,’’ Campbell said. “He had probably three drops that could’ve been for conversions.’’

Quarterback Nate Sudfeld (9-of -18, 80 yards and one touchdown) took over with 1:45 left in the first half and finished the game. Campbell said the original plan was for Bridgewater to play three series, but since they were three-and-outs, he wanted him to get a chance to get into a flow.

While offensively the Lions couldn’t get into a rhythm, Campbell found other positives.

“I thought we had some really good returns on special teams. I thought on defense – we had a couple things early – but ultimately I thought our defense made some critical stops and played pretty good football for a while,’’ Campbell said.

The defense, second- and third-stringers, gave up 399 yards of offense to the Jags who started quarterback C.J. Beathard.

While most Lions’ starters did not play, a few rookies made the most of their time against the Jags. Some of them including Sam LaPorta and Jahmyr Gibbs did not see action. Here are five rookies — four of them undrafted — who stood out:

1. Not surprisingly, first-round pick Jack Campbell’s impact was tough to miss. The linebacker led the Lions with seven tackles and played into early in the second half. “I felt like it was let’s let him go a little bit, let’s let him play. His was just speed of the game, picking it up, playing faster. We feel like the more he plays the more we’re going to see out of him,’’ Campbell said.

2. Wide receiver Chase Cota is trying to make a case to fill a spot on the roster. He picked up where he left off in the preseason win over the Giants when he had four catches for 60 yards from Nate Sudfeld. Against the Jags, he returned a punt for 28 yards and finished with one catch for 8 yards while playing with Bridgewater. With Sudfeld in the game, a wide-open Cota caught a 1-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter. “We got a call, it was like a bunch of cross and stuff and so I knew as long as I could get hidden in there I could come out the backside Scot-free kind of,’’ Cota said. “It worked out really good, we executed and everyone pulled their guys away. It was exciting to celebrate with the fans.’’

3. Cornerback Steven Gilmore gave up a deep catch in the first quarter but came back and saved a touchdown with a pass breakup in the endzone on a third-and-9 play. He followed that up with an interception. The ball was touched by Tracy Walker and bobbled into Gilmore’s arms. “Those are the types of things you’re looking for from these young players. These things are going to happen, you’re going to get hit on a play, something bad is going to happen, you may get a flag thrown on you, it’s all about what happens next,’’ Campbell said. “You want to know if these players are resilient, I would say Gilmore that was encouraging. You give up a big one and then you go right back, don’t bat an eye and you get a knockdown in the red zone then he gets a ricochet interception those things are big.’’

4. Wide receiver Dylan Drummond, who has been solid throughout camp, caught two passes for 29 yards — including a 23-yarder — on five targets.

5. Cornerback Starling Thomas, a standout during training camp so far, returned two kicks for a total of 66 yards and picked up four tackles on defense.

NEXT UP: The Lions play their final preseason game at 8 p.m. on Friday at the Carolina Panthers. The roster must be cut to 53 players by 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 29. It’s the only NFL cutdown date this year.