Lions Week 7 Report Card: Detroit throws everything at the Rams, but falls short

The Detroit Lions fell short again on Sunday, but the Week 7 report card against the Rams

This was a game many Detroit Lions fans have been dreading, the first game against Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams. Everyone was expecting a blowout, in fact, the Rams were favored by 16.5 points.

While the final score was 28-19, the Lions were 12 yards away from taking a late lead before an untimely interception.

Detroit threw everything they had at the Rams, and it nearly worked. But like many games before, it just wasn’t enough to get Dan Campbell his first win a Lions’ head coach.

Offense- 3/5 Stars

The Lions posted their second-highest yardage total of the season on Sunday (415), behind only Week 1 against the 49ers. Their 137 rushing yards was a season-high. The streak of not scoring 20 points extended to six straight games though.

The duo of Jamaal Williams and D’Andre Swift was on full display in this game. The Detroit backs combined for 201 total yards, accounting for 48.4% of the Lions’ offense against the Rams.

T.J. Hockenson had a solid game too, racking up six catches for 48 yards. Kalif Raymond had an incredible day. He also grabbed six passes, for 115 yards. He had a few great grabs, and his speed was on full display when he got the ball in his hands.

Best offensive player: RB D’Andre Swift

Swift was absolutely electric in this game, as the Rams struggled to contain him all day. Whether he was jumping a defender in open space or running through someone, Swift found ways to maximize yardage every time he touched the ball.

He as solid on the ground (13 carries for 48 yards), but Swift set a new career-high with 96 receiving yards on eight catches. He opened the scoring on Sunday with this long catch-and-run.

https://twitter.com/Lions/status/1452367214594564097?s=20

This is exactly what the Lions need from Swift every game, and he delivered against the Rams.

Worst offensive player(s): Offensive line 

The Lions offensive line did a good job in run blocking for most of the game Sunday. There were a few short-yardage situations they couldn’t get enough of a push, but overall had a strong game in that department.

But ared Goff was under siege all day. If he held the ball longer than two seconds, he had to roll out to avoid pressure. It was insane how quick the Rams, even with the quality of defensive line they have, were getting to him.

Anthony Lynn did a good job of calling plays that allowed Goff to get the ball out fast, but that didn’t stop the Rams from disrupting him. And when Goff is under pressure it leads to throws like this:

https://twitter.com/RamsNFL/status/1452408255100055556?s=20

I’ve been very hard on Goff all year, and the miscues he had Sunday made him an easy target again. But I decided to give him a pass due to overall improvement.