Detroit Lions: Dominant O-line key to success in first win

For the first time in nearly half a decade, the Detroit Lions had a running back rush for 100 yards in a game, thanks to a dominant performance up front.

For Detroit Lions fans, there are not a lot of dominant regular season wins to reminisce about. But if there is one regular season Lions fans are going to tell their grandchildren about, it was the performance put on last night.

For those of you who have been living under a rock this weekend, the Detroit Lions dominated the New England Patriots (yes, that’s not a typo) 26-10 on Sunday Night Football. It doesn’t even feel real to type that sentence.

There were many factors that contributed to last night’s liberating victory. The defense was able to shut down future hall-of-fame quarterback Tom Brady on many key first downs, making one of the best quarterbacks in the league look mediocre.

Quarterback Matthew Stafford finally recovered from his slow start and looked very poised in the pocket, throwing for 262 yards and two touchdowns and a win where he made very few mistakes.

While Stafford’s numbers weren’t necessarily great in this game, they didn’t need to be because Stafford finally got help from the offensive players around him. The wide receiving corp looked like one of the best in the league, as the triumphant trio of Golden Tate, Marvin Jones Jr., and Kenny Golladay combined for 191 yards and 2 touchdowns in the win.

Probably the most satisfying thing that happened last night was the success of the running game, The statistic that Lions fans have been sick of hearing in primetime is finally not true, as, for the first time in 4 and a half years, a running back rushed for 100 yards in a game.

Rookie tailback Kerryon Johnson was thrilling to watch, with his elusiveness in space and size to run over linebackers made him almost impossible to tackle. Just watch these highlights from last night, and tell me you’re not excited to watch this guy run for years to come.

Johnson wasn’t the only reason why the Lions running game finally looked competent. The offensive line came to play last night, helping the Lions rush for 159 total yards and only allowing Stafford to be sacked once.

Rookie left guard Frank Ragnow, who I’ve previously written about on this site, finally lived up to his potential and looked like the dominant offensive lineman we drafted him to be.  A lot of Johnson’s big runs were to the left side with Ragnow as a lead blocker, lifting our offense to an elite level.

Ragnow wasn’t the only lineman that dominated up front. According to Pro Football Focus, every starting linemen currently has an average or above average rating, including guard T.J. Lang and tackle Rick Wagner being ranked in the top five in their respective positions.

That dominance up front allowed the Lions offense to reach a new dimension, as establishing a running game finally allowed the offense to reach its full potential.

And the best part about this new offensive line is they finally look excited to suit up in the Honolulu blue. This block by Frank Ragnow perfectly summarizes the night the Lions offensive line had, as they used relentless effort and a proper level of toughness to dominate up front.

Don’t take this win for granted, Lions fans. This was an amazing all-around team win, and we finally saw this offense reach its full potential thanks to a dominant performance by the big men up front. With this team finally buying into Matt Patricia’s methods, this could be the start for something beautiful, hopefully for years to come.

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