There are no style points in the NFL, and a Detroit Lions win over the Green Bay Packers has enough inherent beauty that I’m not going to complain too much that Detroit probably should have blown them out.
After all, there were plenty of things the Detroit Lions did very well on Sunday that earned them that win. Say what you want about officiating or controversial fourth down decisions, but the Lions led for the majority of that game, and made the final, critical plays to push them over the top.
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So let’s talk about the most impressive accomplishments from the Lions’ 20-17 victory over the Packers. Today’s Question of the Day is:
My answer: The easiest answer would be to talk about Detroit’s pass defense, which limited Jordan Love’s ability to push the ball downfield. While I thought the linebackers struggled in coverage over the middle, Detroit’s secondary played their best game of the season. According to PFF, all of the defensive backs combined were just responsible for nine catches of 19 targets for only 82 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT, and two pass breakups.
And Love’s overall efficiency was among his worst performances of the year. Going into the game, here’s what Love averaged through six weeks:
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42.9 dropback success rate
And here’s how he performed against the Lions:
35.4% dropback success rate
Credit to the Lions’ defensive backs, and the smart strategy to rotate them and keep them fresh.
But I also want to talk about the flip side of the ball. Detroit’s passing offense was spectacular against what was one of the best passing defenses through six weeks of the season. Going into the game, the Packers were allowing:
And here’s what Jared Goff and company did to that defense:
They absolutely blew them out of the water in a way Green Bay had not yet experienced this year. It wasn’t perfect, and the Lions were certainly slowed down in the second half, but that was still a damn impressive game from Goff and company. That should give Lions fans confidence that the offense should be able to move the ball relatively well even against some elite defenses. And what do you know? An elite defense is coming to town again this week.
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What (or who) was most impressive in the Lions’ win over the Packers on Sunday? Share your thoughts below.
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