Tag: jared goff

Five things to watch as Lions face winless Panthers; also my prediction

Injury list is long; Branch is out, St. Brown doubtful

Riding a two-game win streak, coach Dan Campbell wants his Lions to stay humble and hungry as they face the Carolina Panthers, a team still looking for its first win.

Detroit (3-1) is coming off another big road win at Green Bay while the Panthers lost their fourth straight, 21-13, against the Vikings.

For the Lions, it’s all about focus and not riding the roller-coaster.

“There’ll be teams that will rise, there’ll be teams that’ll fall, but as long as we just handle our business each week, no different than what we did. We went out to Green Bay and we looked like a hungry team, we looked focused on the details, we played together, we played violent and we made the plays that were there,’’ coach Dan Campbell said. “We played complementary football and I think as long as we keep that as the focus and not about who you’re playing, who do they have up, what are the injuries, what is the weather, what – forget that, man. This is another opponent who’s dying for a win.’’

The Lions still have bad memories of last season when the Panthers beat them, 37-23, on Dec. 24 to snap a three-game win streak and put a dent in their playoff chances.

Five things to watch:

1. The Lions’ defense ranks first in the NFL at stopping the run, allowing just 243 rushing yards in four games. That must continue against the Panthers’ running backs Miles Sanders and Chuba Hubbard. “It goes back to last year where we had a huge emphasis on stopping the run. We truly believe that you stop the run, you make a team one-dimensional, you’ve kind of got a stop on them,’’ linebacker Derrick Barnes said. “… That’s been the main focus and we’re doing a better job this year than last year.’’

2. While Jared Goff’s streak of 383 throws without an interception was exceptional, it was not going to last. Now he’s thrown one interception in each of the last three games. There is no panic. Following each pick, he’s come back with a touchdown drive on the next play.  “Nobody wants those (interceptions), we don’t but I don’t feel like he’s pressing. He’ll tell you, he made an error, made a mistake. He’s falling away in the pocket and makes an ill-advised throw, his eyes are on the receiver and best part about it was he didn’t get frazzled,’’ Campbell said. “… But what I want more than anything is I don’t want him to go into a shell or start panicking. And he’s not …” Goff has completed 69.5 percent of his passes with six touchdowns.

3. Continue to press the quarterback. The Lions defense has 13 sacks in four games – 12 of them in the last two games. Campbell said it’s another lesson of what happens when everyone does his job and stays unselfish. “And it’s really everybody’s in on it. And we’re getting a lot of production and the more we get inside like out of (Alim McNeill) Mac for example, the more you really see Hutch (Aidan Hutchinson) shine. It’s taking stress off of some of these other guys and vice versa,’’ the coach said. “You see Charles (Harris), you see Barnes, you see  Alex (Anzalone), you see (Jack) Campbell, so they’re all playing off of each other, but they’re all doing their job and it’s important.”

4. Don’t expect miracles from wide receiver Jameson Williams. Fans are hungry to see what the speedster adds to this offense. First of all, there’s a chance he might be inactive depending on how he practiced this week. Also, he will be eased into the offense.He played just six games last season and one preseason game this year before he pulled a hamstring and was sidelined until his suspension kicked in. “We know our offense and putting him back in the mix, how much further we can go,’’ said Lions wide receivers coach Antwaan Randle El. “I always make sure everyone understands the humbleness part of it. It’s not that he’s the fix-all, be-all. But he brings a different element that us and many other teams don’t have in terms of speed and the way he runs down the field.’’

5. Even though the Panthers (0-4) are winless, the Lions can not go on cruise control and expect to win the game. Detroit is a 9-point favorite but that doesn’t mean much either. “Look, we talk about it all the time and we’ve lived it. We’ve been there, we know what that’s like. There’s enough of us who’ve been here and know what it’s like when you’re trying to find that win. You’ve lost a few and you’re doing everything you can as players and as coaches to find a way to get that first one. So, we expect their best shot,’’ Campbell said. “Those guys are over there preparing. … And we’re in a race to improve with everybody in this League, and the ones who can improve the fastest are the ones that begin to make a rise in October. So, it goes without saying if you don’t show up and you play sloppy football, you turn the ball over, you don’t get takeaways, you’re not where you’re supposed to be, your odds of losing go way up.”

INJURY UPDATE

The Lions will be missing CB Brian Branch (ankle) and FB Jason Cabinda (knee). WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, who injured his abdomen in the Packers’ win, is ranked as doubtful along with TE James Mitchell (hamstring).

RB Jahmyr Gibbs (hamstring) appeared on the injury report for the first time this week on Friday. He’s listed as questionable along with Taylor Decker, WR Josh Reynolds, S Kerby Joseph, LB Julian Okwara and G Halapoultivaati Vaitai. CB Emmanuel Moseley (knee/hamstring) is expected to make his LIons’ debut in some capacity.

PREDICTION: Lions 31, Panthers 13. The Lions’ defense is playing too well for the Panthers to pull another upset.

Detroit Lions prove that grit, belief and hunger is winning combination

Campbell: We’re still the hunters, not the hunted

Grit may be the motto, but believing is a major reason the Detroit Lions have jumped out to a 3-1 start.

“I don’t care how talented you are, if you don’t believe you can win games and you don’t believe the coaches can put you in position to win games or you don’t believe the guy next to you is going to do his job, it doesn’t matter. You’ll struggle to win and you’ll always have doubt,’’ coach Dan Campbell said on Friday, the day after the Lions crushed the Packers, 34-20, at Green Bay.

“This team believes, this staff believes. We know we can go into any and every game and we’re going to have a chance to win it as long as we don’t shoot ourselves in the foot,’’ Campbell added.

For starters, they dominate on the offensive and defensive lines. They’re getting contributions across the board including from rookies. Are they perfect? Absolutely not.

“Something else we’re doing well right now, we’re making some errors, but we’re able to overcome those right now and that’s a sign of a good team,’’ Campbell said. “You win back-to-back wins, you can overcome some of your own errors, you can win on the road, those are signs of a good team.’’

All seems to be going well for Campbell’s bunch and another big reason is that he wants violent, physical play and he’s getting it.

The Lions will open as favorites against Carolina on Oct. 8 and it looks like it could continue that way down the stretch. They may have invisible targets on their jerseys but Campbell doesn’t see it that way.

“Our focus has still got to be we’re not hunted, we’re still on the hunt. I said this back in training camp, if you’re hunting us you don’t have to look far, we’ll be on your front porch when you open the door,’’ Campbell said.

After the 34-20 win at Green Bay on Thursday night, the Lions are alone atop the NFC North at 3-1.

“We still have a lot to prove. We want to win this division, we’ve done nothing yet. We’re on course, we like where we’re at. We’re still hungry, we have to approach every game that way no different than last night,’’ the coach said.

He was asked when he’ll be able to let himself dream about how good this team can be.

“I’m not going there. We’ve got our standards and we have our own goals, it started that way it’s always going to be the focus,’’ Campbell said. “You have to look at each game individually.’’

Campbell is more a hunter than a dreamer. That’s exactly what he needs to see from his team for the next 13 games.

UP NEXT: Carolina Panthers (0-3) at Lions (3-1), 1 p.m. on Oct. 8 at Ford Field.)

Five reasons the red-hot Lions beat the Packers, 34-20, at Green Bay

With another big prime-time win, the Detroit Lions take over first place in the NFC North. Detroit rolled out to a big start in the first half and then held on in the second half to defeat the Packers, 34-20,  at Green Bay on Thursday night.

The Lions (3-1) sit atop the division alone. The Packers fall to 2-2 while the Bears and Vikings are winless.

“You’ve got to win your division games and, man, if you can get them on the road that goes a long way,’’ coach Dan Campbell said. “We knew that and this is important, it’s not the end-all be-all but it is important.’’

It was Lions’  fourth straight win over the Packers. 

“Our defense continues to play well. I thought they were a force today. We talked about having energy and intensity and be able to deliver in the tough moments. I thought we did that,’’ Campbell said.

“Offensively we were able to move the football, we ran it well. We had a couple shaky spots but we closed that game out with the offense and special teams continues to play well for us,’’ the coach added.

The red-hot bunch, which has won in prime time at Lambeau and Arrowhead, has won 11 of their last 14 games.

“I’m really happy with where we’re at. I’m proud of the guys, the staff, everybody,’’ Campbell said. “That was outstanding to be able to snap back on a short week with that kind of performance. We were really good.’’

Five reasons the Lions won:

1. Detroit’s pass rush picked up where it left off in the win over the Falcons when they had 7 sacks. On two of his first four snaps, quarterback Jordan Love was sacked. It did not end there. He was sacked five times and pressured often. He rebounded a bit in the second half, but not enough. Cornerback Jerry Jacobs had his second interception with four minutes left in the game which pretty much sealed the win. He is the first Lions CB to have two INTs at Green Bay since CB Dick LeBeau on Sept. 29, 1968. “That’s what we all expected from Jerry,” Campbell said.

2. After throwing an interception on his third snap, quarterback Jared Goff shook it off and led the offense to 284 first-half yards and 401 yards total. Goff has said it’s not the big plays that make all the difference, it’s how he bounces back from a bad play. That’s exactly what he did. When the Packers were getting close in the fourth quarter, Goff led the touchdown drive. He finished completing 19 of 28 for 210 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

3. Rookie tight end Sam LaPorta just keeps getting better. His 35-yard catch on third-and-5 in the first, set up the Lions’ first touchdown. He finished with four catches for 56 yards. He also has the most receiving yards and receptions through an NFL tight end’s first four career games.

4. The Lions were able to stop the run, holding the Packers to 27 rushing yards. “It’s always important that you make a team one-dimensional, but we felt like they were going to come out and take some shots early and they did,’’ Campbell said. “They tried to throw it a little bit and see if they could make some hay on the back end. They weren’t able to necessarily do that. … It was an outstanding defensive performance.’’ Quarterback Jordan Love had a tough night. He might have a bright future, but he’s no Aaron Rodgers at this point. Love was 23 of 36 for 246 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.

5. On the other side, running back David Montgomery’s return sparked the Lions 211-yard run game. He scored two first-half touchdowns and added another in the fourth. Montgomery finished with 32 carries for 121 yards. He is the first Lions player to rush for 100-plus yards and three TDs in a game since RB James Stewart did so on Oct. 19, 2000. Rookie Jahmyr Gibbs had 8 carries for 40 yards.

BONUS: Lions fans travel well and they was plenty of Honolulu blue in the crowd at Lambeau. Campbell said he could particularly hear them late in the third and early in the fourth. “It’s awesome. You feel like there’s a little piece of home no matter where you go,’’ Campbell said.

NEXT UP: Panthers (0-3) at Lions (3-1), 1 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 8, at Ford Field.