The Detroit Lions have finally put together something they hadn’t managed in a calendar year: back-to-back wins.
That alone is enough to sharpen the way people look at Dan Campbell’s team, but Sports Illustrated NFL insider Albert Breer thinks there’s something bigger at work here. After Detroit’s gritty win over the Green Bay Packers, Breer pointed to the way this roster was built and how the young core is now pairing talent with experience.
"The bigger thing, though, is the reminder of how that roster was assembled, and how the young core is filled with smart guys like (Jahmyr) Gibbs who now have the experience to match. It’s also why, before that 10-play, 71-yard drive, the team could survive a Dan Campbell dice roll, where he left the offense on for a fourth-and-1 from the Lions’ own 24 in tie game with 4:53 left."
That fearless approach has become part of the Lions’ identity, and the outside chatter about Campbell’s decision-making doesn’t seem to shake a locker room that’s already used to it. The bigger picture, at least in Breer’s eyes, is that Detroit may be looking more and more like the NFC’s most dangerous team.
The conference also doesn’t feel as intimidating as it once did, especially with the Los Angles Rams stumbling out of the gates. And in Detroit, the defense has started to clean itself up after an uneven start.
Kelvin Sheppard has helped improve the secondary, with D.J. Reed playing better and rookie Keith Abney plus third-year cornerback Ennis Rakestraw emerging.
Safety Brian Branch has also given the defense a spark, while there’s still hope Kerby Joseph can get back on the field at some point this season.
Breer sees the Lions inching closer to taking control of the NFC North, and the schedule gives them a chance to prove it right away. Detroit hosts the undefeated Vikings next week.
"As a result, they’re getting closer to controlling the NFC North. Next week, they’ll get the undefeated Vikings at home," writes Breer.
"And they couldn’t be more ready for that after riding out some bumps, and injuries, early in the year. Branch and Cade Mays are back now.
Joseph will be soon. The team, coming together and beginning to illustrate how Campbell and GM Brad Holmes built it, is starting to roll."
Jared Goff has been a big reason for that surge. Over the last couple of weeks, the quarterback has pushed his way into MVP talk, and the numbers back it up: he has 14 touchdown passes and no interceptions this season.
Up front, Detroit has been sturdy as well. The offensive line gave up just five pressures against Green Bay, and the group should only get stronger with Cade Mays returning to the lineup. Through it all, Goff has been sacked only 12 times this season.
Campbell said earlier this week that the team is starting to stack wins and build momentum.
"I mentioned this all the time. Good teams win multiple games at multiple points in a season," said Campbell earlier this week.
"And so this is a step in the right direction. We have got back-to-back wins.
We need to try to put - stack some more here together. So, this was big.
That was against a good opponent that was hot in our division. So those are good things, man.
And so we have got to build off of it. And obviously we have got another hot team coming in right now, Minnesota, that we're going to have to be on top of our game.
We have got to play a lot cleaner than we did against Green Bay.
"But man, there's some things we are definitely getting better at. I'm excited about this O-line playing together.
I mentioned this before, but now that we've kind of got those guys going here, we can get this five settled in and let them just soak them with reps together in real games and let them grow," Campbell added. "And then I'm excited for the defense where it's going.
We are improving right now. And this is going to be a big task.
This is a tall task against a really good opponent with some weapons, but it's another, man. We're excited about this, man.
Second division game at home. So it's good, man.
It's good to get a win.”
In Other News...
Cade Mays Gave Lions Fans One Worry And One Big Reason For Hope
Cade Mays first game with the Lions came with the kind of mixed tape that always leaves a coaching staff sorting out the good and the bad. In his Week 7 debut at center, he was part of a line that helped Detroit get off to a fast offensive start, and his presence showed up in the pass protection that kept Jared Goff more comfortable than he has been for much of the season.
The concern, of course, is that the Lions are still trying to settle the middle of the line while also figuring out how to get more out of Larry Borom in jumbo packages. Borom has not yet given Detroit the kind of reliable blocking it wants in those looks, so Mays debut offered a reason for hope even as it underscored how much work remains before the front five feels truly settled. [Read more 🡒]
Lions Packers Aftermath Has One Debate Green Bay Fans Wont Drop
The latest chapter in the Lions-Packers rivalry left plenty for Green Bay fans to argue about, especially in the wake of a game that exposed familiar problems on offense. Detroit came away with the better result in a 20-17 finish, and the discussion afterward has centered less on one unlucky bounce than on whether the Packers simply failed to do enough to win it.
A big part of that debate is the ground game, which never found much room to operate and has been a concern well beyond this matchup. Green Bays rushing attack was so inefficient that its season-long average sat at 2.9 yards per attempt, a mark that underscores how little margin the offense had once the game tightened up. From the Lions perspective, it was the kind of divisional win that comes from making the other side live with its own shortcomings. [Read more 🡒]
Lions Deadline Buzz Centers On A Cornerback Fix Brad Holmes Needs
The Lions have spent much of the season searching for help at cornerback, and the discussion around the deadline is already starting to sharpen around one obvious area of need. With November 10 approaching, Detroit will be one of the teams worth watching if it decides to add a veteran presence to steady the secondary for the stretch run.
One name that keeps surfacing is Eagles cornerback Riq Woolen, a player on a one-year contract who could become available if Philadelphia continues to slide. The Eagles have not played like a club comfortable standing pat, and if the season keeps drifting in the wrong direction, a move for draft capital would make sense. For Detroit, the appeal is simple: a chance to address a thin spot without waiting for the offseason market to do the work. [Read more 🡒]