Pride of Detroit
The Detroit Lions squeaked by the Chicago Bears, washing a bit of the bad taste out of their mouths after a tumultuous three-game collapse to close the season. Kelvin Sheppard’s defense blanked Chicago through three quarters, while the Lions offense moved the ball reasonably well before repeatedly ramming its head into the brick wall that was the red zone.
By definition, a last-second field goal win as underdogs qualifies as gritty. But for a stretch—as the Bears ripped off 16 straight points—the Lions again looked rudderless, dispirited, and uncomfortably familiar, briefly resembling a shell of themselves. Still, given the circumstances, Sunday played out about as well as it realistically could have.
Detroit sent its worst-to-first rival Bears into the postseason riding a two-game losing streak, secured a fourth-place schedule for next season, and maintained relatively premium draft positioning (pick No. 17 overall) despite the win.
There are still major decisions looming around the coaching staff, scheme, roster evaluation, and roster construction in what’s shaping up as one of the most consequential offseasons in franchise history. But this was the Lions’ best performance in at least a month, and the final stock report of the season reflects that.
Stock up: Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR
The Lions needed their best players to step and make the biggest plays more this season, but in Week 18, St. Brown consistently played like the best player on the field.
Things didn’t get off to the hottest start. On the opening drive, St. Brown dropped a slant on third-and-five that stalled a red-zone possession and forced the Lions to settle for a field goal. The drop immediately brought back that uncomfortable feeling of the dark cloud hanging over this season. Fortunately, St. Brown quickly broke through and made it vanish with one of his finest performances of the year.
St. Brown spent most of the day cooking former Lion C.J. Gardner-Johnson and alleged Pro Bowl snub Nahshon Wright, finishing with 11 receptions, 139 receiving yards, and eight first downs (four on third down). The Lions’ All-Pro wideout directly contributed to every point Detroit scored, with his biggest play coming on a 26-yard catch-and-run in the game’s final minute to set up the game-winning field goal. A high note to end the season.
Stock up: Avonte Maddox, S & Rock-Ya Sin, CB
A major hat tip to the Lions pro personnel department for prioritizing these two depth pieces on relatively affordable veteran contracts that any team could have topped if they wanted to.
It’s not hyperbole to say that down the stretch—despite a few ups and downs—these two were Detroit’s most important defensive backs.
Ya-Sin ended the Bears’ opening drive of the second half by bullying Colston Loveland on third down and breaking up a slant. On the very next drive, Maddox bullied D.J. Moore at the goal line for an interception, snuffing out another Bears possession with an aggressive, decisive play on the ball.
Across 33 coverage snaps and three targets, Ya-Sin allowed just one first-down...
