Tag: Jameson Williams

Five reasons the Lions lost, 41-34, to the Rams; still a chance for playoffs but it’s slim

It certainly wasn’t the outcome the Lions wanted. After they were beaten, 41-34, by the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday their playoff chances took a hit, a big hit.

“We’ve got to get better, we have to move on. We can’t sulk about it, we can’t feel sorry for ourselves, we make the corrections and move on,’’ coach Dan Campbell said.

The loss dropped their chances of making it into the playoffs to around 40 percent. They would have to win their final three games to have a chance. A win over the Rams would have boosted that to 73 percent. The Lions dropped to 8-6 and remain third in the NFC North and out of the playoffs. 

“My message is don’t go numb when you get these losses – win, lose, win lose,’’ Campbell said. “We have to get out of that rut – it can’t be OK. It should burn at you, it should eat you up, do not go numb to the losing. It’s as simple as going back to work and we have to play better with Pittsburgh coming to town.’’

The coach said he doesn’t believe for a minute that any of his players have lost confidence. He said they’re frustrated because they don’t like losing.

“I go back to this, the core of this group, they’re the right guys. They’ve been through this,’’ Campbell said. “Most of those guys know what the dumps look like and we’re not in the dumps. They know what that was like – back to back to back to back losses. You don’t ever want to even get a taste of that again.’’

Five reasons why the Lions lost:

ONE: The third quarter did not go well for the Lions on either side of the ball. The defense gave up 24 points and 272 yards in the second half, while the offense could manage just 10 points in the second half, all in the fourth quarter after amassing 24 first-half points. “The third quarter we have to be able to stop the bleeding offensively and we weren’t,’’ Campbell said. “We never got our run game going. I thought (Jared) Goff, (Amon-Ra St. Brown and (Jameson Williams)  played their tails off. I thought they played at a really high level to give us a chance.’’

TWO: Detroit’s defense just couldn’t stop the explosive plays from Matthew Stafford and the Rams’ offense. Stafford was 24 of 38 for 368 yards, a pair of TDs, one INT and he was sacked twice.  Puka Nacua had 9 catches for 181 yards while Colby Parkinson had 5 catches for 75 yards and two TDs. The Rams run game was effective with Kyren Williams (15-78, 2 TDs) and Blake Corum (11-71, 1 TD). “We knew that team didn’t make mistakes, it cost us. We couldn’t do enough,’’ Campbell said.

THREE: The Lions could not get the run game going which is usually key to the offense. On the plus side, Jared Goff had a solid game finding A,on-Ra St. Brown (13 catches, 163 yds, 2 TDs) and Jameson Williams (7 for 135 and 1 TD). Goff finished 25 of 41 for 338 yards, 3 touchdowns and was sacked once. “When you can’t get the run going, it limits what you can do and what you can do off of it,’’ Campbell said. “I don’t regret for one minute getting the ball to St. Brown and Jamo but we’ve got to get the run game going.’’

FOUR: Aidan Hutchinson intercepted Stafford early in the first, but it was the defense’s only takeaway of the game and it wasn’t enough. In the previous win over Dallas, the three takeaways were huge.

FIVE: Campbell’s play-calling in the second half was somewhat confusing at times. Yes, he wanted to get the run game going, but on a third-and-11 inthe fourth quarter, he put the ball in the hands of Jahmyr Gibbs who just could not break through. They settled for a field goal when a more aggressive approach might have paid off.  

UP NEXT: Pittsburgh Steelers at Lions, 4:25 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 20 at Ford Field. The Steelers face the Dolphins on Monday night.

Five reasons the Lions pulled off a 44-30 win over the Cowboys

DETROIT — After a disappointing loss to the Packers on Thanksgiving, the Lions bounced back in a huge way with a 44-30 win over the Cowboys on Thursday night at Ford Field.

With the victory, the Lions (8-5) kept their playoff chances alive. The Cowboys (6-6-1) had their three-game win streak snapped and saw their playoff hopes dwindle.

In the last three years Detroit is now 15-0 following a loss. 

“The intensity, the urgency. The guys don’t ever get frazzled, they don’t get panicked, they just go to work,’’ coach Dan Campbell said. “They did it again.’’

The Lions never fell behind, leading 20-9 at the half and keeping their foot on the gas.

They played complementary football with the offense scoring 44 points, the defense coming up with big plays when it mattered most including forcing three turnovers and special teams pitched in too. Jake Bates kicked three field goals (another was blocked) and kick returners gave the offense good field position throughout and the opposite for Dallas.

“Everything was big and the guys really stepped up. We did, we played complementary football that above all is what really makes a difference,’’ Campbell said. “That’s what good teams do. It doesn’t matter how good your offense or defense is if you’re not able to help each other out when you need it with one of the phases it makes it tough and we were able to do that.’’

Five reasons the Lions won:

ONE: The offensive line helped give Goff more protection than he had a week ago. They weren’t perfect – Trystan Colon and rookie MIles Frazier alternated at left guard in place of the injured Kayode Awosika. Dan Skipper provided much help as the sixth lineman. Having Amon-Ra St. Brown back was huge (6 catches 92 yards).  “St. Brown is what we are, where he goes, we go,’’ Campbell said. He wasn’t sure St. Brown’s ankle would be well enough to play until Wednesday. Goff was 25 of 34 for 309 yards and a touchdown. He was sacked just once.

TWO: Running back Jahmyr Gibbs ran for three touchdowns while David Montgomery added another. The Dallas defense just didn’t have an answer for them. Gibbs converted a third-and-8 in the third when he caught the ball near the sideline, stopped and deked DaRon Bland out of his cleats to get extra yards for first down. It was a thing of beauty. Gibbs had 7 catches for 77 yards and a dozen runs for 43 yards, while Montgomery ran 6 times for 60 yards and had one 13-yard catch.

THREE: The defense came up with big plays when needed. First snap of third quarter Derrick Barnes intercepted Dak Prescott and two plays later Goff connected with rookie Isaac TeSlaa for a 12-yard touchdown. Prescott passed for 376 yards and a touchdown, threw a pair of interceptions and was sacked five times. Al-Quadin Muhammad sacked Prescott three times.

FOUR: The Lions were 3 of 8 on third downs, but often they were moving the ball so well they didn’t get to third down. Campbell opted for field goals on a few drives instead of going for the TD on fourth down. No fourth-down attempts.

FIVE: Play calling on both sides was more effective. Jameson Williams finished with 7 catches for 96 yards. It was an all-around better effort. The Lions looked more like the team from weeks ago when they were ranked as one of the best in the NFL.  “We challenged a number of our guys and they really showed up for us. That team (Dallas) is hot – it was a hot team coming in here. That’s a potent offense,’’ Campbell said. “Was it perfect? No. We still have some stuff that wasn’t good.’’

NEXT UP: Lions at Los Angeles Rams, 4:25 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 14.

Lions dig hole in division losing to Packers, 31-24; 5 reasons for the loss

DETROIT — Dan Campbell often talks about how games are won or lost on just a few plays. It was no different on Thanksgiving when the Green Bay Packers edged the Lions, 31-24 at Ford Field.

The coach can pinpoint two key plays that were costly.

“We played with the energy – really this game came down to fourth down and those critical moments we were 0-2 and they were able to capitalize on three of them,’’ Campbell said. “Those are the one or two plays that make a difference when you’re playing a really good team.’’

The Lions dropped to 7-5 and remain in third place in the NFC North. The Packers are 8-3-1 in second place. The first-place Bears (8-3) play at the Eagles (8-3) on Friday while the Vikings (4-7) play at Seahawks (8-3 on Sunday.

“Like I told the team, it’s frustrating, I know. We’ve got a lot to be thankful for even after a loss,’’ Campbell said. “We’ve dug ourselves a little bit of a hole, that’s the bottom line, we are in a little bit of a hole, but that’s just what it is there’s nothing more than that. All we’ve got to do is worry about cleaning up this then getting to the next game and winning the next one in front of us.’’

The Lions host the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night, Dec. 4, at Ford Field.

Five reasons the Lions lost:

ONE: How about some pass rush? Packers quarterback Jordan Love had all day back there. He wasn’t sacked and the Lions only had one quarterback hit. The talent is there but something is wrong. Campbell couldn’t pinpoint a reason for the lack of pressure. “I don’t know. It’s a good question, until I watch this game i want to know what this game looks like before I make a comment on that,’’ Campbell said. “I’m not sure.’’

TWO: Detroit’s defense allowed too many conversions on third and fourth downs. The Packers went for it on fourth down three times and converted each one. Also, too many explosive plays were given up. Christian Watson scored on a 51-yard pass play and there were four other plays of 20 yards or more given up to the Packers.

THREE: Conversely, the Lions were 0-for-2 on fourth downs Thursday. They haven’t converted on fourth down since the win over the Commanders on Nov. 9. They were 0-for-5 on fourth downs in the loss to the Eagles and didn’t try one against the Giants. Goff said there is no magic potion. One of the misses was on a fourth-and-3 at Green Bay’s 21 early in the fourth quarter when it appeared Jameson Williams dropped the ball. “I’ve got to connect with Jamo on the one down in the red zone,’’ Goff said. “I’ve got to give him a better throw and if he makes the catch he might score right there …’’

FOUR: The offense got off to a slow start, hey were down 10-0 early in the second quarter. Goff was 0-3 and was sacked once in the first quarter and then completed 15 straight passes until Williams dropped the ball on fourth-and-3 in the fourth. The offensive line did not give Goff enough protection which has become an issue. He was sacked three times — 2.5 courtesy of Micah Parsons. The Lions were playing without center Graham Glasgow, wide receiver Kalif Raymond and tight end Brock Wright. Amon-Ra St. Brown went down in the first quarter and didn’t return. Goff credited Williams (7 catches, 144 yds, 1 TD), Isaac TeSlaa (2 catches, 35 yards, 1 TD) and Tom Kennedy (4 catches, 36 yards) for stepping up.

FIVE: Certainly the Lions have running back talent and they have to be patient with it, but the run calls on third down don’t always seem to be the best option and they keep calling them. The LIons were 8 for 13 on third downs. Jahmyr Gibbs carried 20 times for 68 yards (3.4 yards per carry) and David Montgomery eight for 32 yards and a touchdown. 

NEXT UP: Dallas Cowboys at Lions (7-5), 8:15 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 4.