Pride of Detroit
The Detroit Lions weren’t at their best against the Cleveland Browns. The run game may have reached 100 yards, but they struggled to get there. Jared Goff and Jameson Williams didn’t look their best, as the Lions’ entire offense was held to just 277 yards—nearly as low as their awful performance against the Packers in Week 1 (246 yards). The secondary looked leaky at times, and they gave up yet another opening-drive touchdown to a terrible Browns offense.
Yet, they were in control of the game for almost the entirety of the afternoon and won by 24 points.
That result can lead to a few conclusions. On one hand, the Lions will almost certainly not get away with such a performance against a more well-rounded team. The Browns may have a suffocating defense, but they don’t offer much else. A team with a good defense and strong quarterback play (see: Eagles, Rams, Buccaneers) may have beaten the Lions with a performance like that.
On the other hand, the Lions proved, yet again, that they can win in multiple ways. Their defense and special teams can create game-shifting plays when needed. And their offense can still be pretty darn good on third down (6-of-14) and the red zone (3-of-3) against one of the better defenses in football. Even when the offense isn’t at its best, this team is dangerous. So, in a way, did Sunday’s game prove Detroit is actually more invulnerable?
The PODcast crew debates this topic to kick off our Lions vs. Browns recap, but there is a whole lot more we discuss on the show. That includes:
You can check out the show by searching “Pride of Detroit” on your favorite podcasting platform or listen using the embedded Spotify player below.
You can also check out the full podcast with bonus between-segments content over on our YouTube and Twitch pages.
