Pride of Detroit
It looks like the Detroit Lions got scared straight. After a rough outing in Week 1, the Lions looked like their normal selves against the Chicago Bears, handing their division rival their sixth loss in the past seven matchups. It was a massive win by every definition of the word, and it certainly eased concerns that this team may take a step back after losing both coordinators.
Let’s hand out some grades for the Lions’ performance in their 52-21 victory over the Bears.
That is about as close to a perfect performance as you can get in a single week of football. In Week 2, Jared Goff ranked:
Goff also managed the pocket well, staying patient when he needed to, and sliding out to avoid any sacks on the day.
Statistically, the Lions’ duo of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery were electric. They combined for 23 carries, 151 yards (6.6 YPC) and two touchdowns on the ground—plus an additional four catches for 14 yards in the passing game. However, for the second game in a row, Gibbs turned a negative play into a massively negative play by trying to do too much. The statistics are a little bolstered by a few explosive plays, but for the Lions to generate three explosives (15+ yards) is also a credit to both backs.
Not much statistically to show for the Lions tight ends. Sam LaPorta caught three passes for 26 yards, and Brock Wright actually outgained him with three-for-28 yards and a score. But I thought on initial viewing that this unit did a much better job both in terms of pass protection and run blocking.
Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams were consistently torching what is a pretty decent Bears secondary. St. Brown looked damn-near unguardable, catching nine of his 11 targets for 115 yards and three touchdowns. Meanwhile, Chicago looked fully incapable of matching Williams’ speed. While he only finished with two catches for 108 yards and a score, Williams was open two additional times. On one, Williams lost his shoe, which likely impacted his ability to get under the ball. The second was a wide-open post route that Goff and Williams simply couldn’t connect on.
And I’m certainly not going to overlook Isaac TeSlaa’s one-handed grab.
No unit had a bigger turnaround from Week 1 to Week 2 than the Lions’ offensive line. After averaging just 2.1 yards per carry last week, the Lions averaged 5.9 against the Bears. Perhaps most notable is the fact that the Lions’ rushing attack averaged more yards before contact per attempt (3.55) than any other team in Week 2. Last week, they...
