The Detroit Lions, who haven’t lost consecutive games in years, kept that streak alive Sunday in a 44-22 victory over the Washington Commanders.
There are plenty of players who should receive a game ball for their performances in this win, but one group in particular played at a high level despite injuries and personnel changes this week.
Playing ball: The offensive line
Last week against Minnesota, this offensive line struggled. Jared Goff was sacked five times and the running game couldn’t move forward even though Detroit had two of the best running backs in the league: Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery. To add insult to injury, Detroit lost left guard Christian Mahogany to a broken ankle and Penei Sewell, Tate Ratledge and Taylor Decker missed some snaps due to various ailments.
With Kayode Awosika replacing Mahogany against Washington and the other four starters back and healthy, Detroit’s offensive line was dominant in this matchup.
In pass protection, they played a near-perfect game. Jared Goff finished the game without being sacked and only took five hits all afternoon. The Lions’ passing game was electric, with Goff completing 25 of 33 passes for 320 yards and three touchdowns.
In the running game, this unit made great strides, given how poorly they did the week before. Detroit racked up 226 yards on the ground, including two touchdowns by Gibbs. One of the most impressive statistics of the game was the fact that Washington did not record a single tackle for loss. While there is no easily accessible data on how many times this has happened in league history, it seems like this could be a landmark statistic for Detroit given that TFLs are a common part of the game.
Detroit’s line still suffered some injuries in this game. Sewell had to miss a few plays and Dan Skipper came in to replace him. Trystan Colon also replaced Graham Glasgow at center for a time. Once the game was almost over with a few minutes left in the fourth quarter, the substitutes came in and still managed to finish the game without a sack or TFL allowed.
It should also be commended that the entire offensive line unit finished this game without a penalty. Another big change from what we saw in their previous game against Minnesota.
Honorable Mention: Dan Campbell
It says a lot about a head coach that his team never loses two games in a row. The man who runs his program with the word “grit” as his motto has a team that plays with a ton of grit.
Campbell took over offensive play-calling for coordinator John Morton, and the offense racked up 546 total yards. While it’s unclear if that change will be permanent, similar to the Anthony Lynn situation in Campbell’s first season as head coach, it’s clear he’s capable of commanding the offense while still fulfilling his other duties as the Lions’ leader.
What stood out the most was how much the ball was distributed under their order of play. Jameson Williams, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Sam LaPorta, Kalif Raymond, Isaac TeSlaa, Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montgomery and Sione Vaki all had offensive touches in this game. With so many weapons at their disposal, it is difficult for opposing defenses to cover such a diverse and versatile offense.