Lions get their mojo back behind healthy OL, young players

Carmen Vitali

NFC North Reporter

Less than a week after the Detroit Lions seemed to be in dire straits, losing two of their last three games and succumbing in the rematch with the Chicago Bears, Detroit seems to be back on track.

They are now 10-4 after a 42-17 win over the Denver Broncos at home. So much for Sean Payton embarrassing former mentee Dan Campbell, right?

It’s no coincidence that as center Frank Ragnow returned to the lineup (after missing just one game), quarterback Jared Goff completed 24 of his 34 passing attempts for 278 yards and five touchdowns, tying a career-high in touchdown passes. The O-line gave Goff more attempts with over 2.5 seconds to throw than under, according to Next Gen Stats, but he was effective regardless. Three of his five touchdowns came with less than 2.5 seconds to throw. Goff also became just the third Detroit Lions quarterback to have three or more games with four or more touchdown passes.

Against the league’s worst rushing defense, David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs combined for 185 rushing yards. Gibbs also scored his first NFL receiving touchdown. Gibbs finished with 108 total yards from scrimmage and two total touchdowns. It certainly helped sell all the play action the Lions ended up running offensively.

Detroit’s young players came through in a big way Saturday. Second-round pick Sam LaPorta had the second multi-touchdown game of his short NFL career, catching five of his six targets for 56 yards and three touchdowns. He’s just the third NFL rookie tight end to have multiple games with more than one touchdown, joining Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. LaPorta is the only rookie tight end in NFL history to record at least 70 receptions, 700 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. 

Those nine touchdown receptions set a new Lions single-season tight end record, too. And in case that wasn’t enough, he also passed Roy Williams for the most receiving touchdowns by…

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Publish date : 2023-12-17 05:13:53

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