The Detroit Lions beat the Arizona Cardinals 20-13 in an amazing game. The defense improved, and the Lions got back to running the ball. Yesterday saw a lot of winners as well as some losers. Here are a few of the biggest winners and losers from yesterday.
Winners
Run Defense
Once again, the Lions run defense was excellent. James Conner was held to only 17 yards on eight carries. The Lions have given up only 85 yards on 37 carries to RB1s through the first three weeks. Teams are forced to become one-dimensional as a result of stopping the run the way they have. If they can maintain this level of play, they may have one of the best-run defenses in the NFL.
Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery
David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs had a fantastic day, accumulating over 100 yards and a touchdown each. This offense’s strength is the run game, so it was encouraging to see the Lions rely on it this week. With both having over 200 yards gained so far this season, it will be intriguing to see whether both of the two backs can surpass 1000 yards. Maintaining their current ability to run the ball can relieve a lot of load on Goff and increase the offense’s point total.
Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph
An interception was made by a Lions safety for the third straight week. Kerby Joseph grabbed his second interception of the year, demonstrating the effectiveness of the Lions’ safeties. Branch was all over the field, making plays in both the run and pass games, and now has the most pass deflections in the NFL with seven. The Lions appear to have one of the top safety tandems in the NFL, which will significantly enhance the team’s secondary performance.
Losers
Injuries
The Lions won, but they also lost a number of players to injuries. Marcus Davenport is a significant one since he will miss the entire season due to an elbow injury. Frank Ragnow is another significant one, who is week to week with a pec injury. Derrick Barnes, Terrion Arnold, Sam LaPorta, Alim McNeill, and Brian Branch round out the list. It will be fascinating to see who can play against Seattle the following week, but the Lions will have plenty of time to recover since they have a bye week following their next game.
Jameson Williams
Jameson Williams had a great start to the season, gaining over 90 yards in each of the first two games, but he struggled in the third week against Arizona. Williams was a non-factor in the Lions’ attack totaling just two yards. Although the Lions ran the ball a lot, he was only targeted three times. Even if he might not be the same player as in the first two games each week, this is not what is expected of him. Anticipate a strong comeback from him in Week 4 against Seattle in primetime.
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