Coaching Staff- 4.5/5 Stars
As mentioned, the coaching staff knew they would have to pull out all the stops to compete with the Rams on Sunday. The aggressiveness Dan Campbell has brought is amazing, as he had his special teams attempt an onside kick and two fake punts–that all three were successful is icing on the cake that kept the game competitive.
This coaching staff knows how small the margin for error is, so they should continue to do whatever it takes to give their players the best chance possible to succeed.
I thought Anthony Lynn called another good game, and he managed to get Jared Goff to throw downfield more often–which was a welcome revelation.
And we have to appreciate the work Aaron Glenn and defensive backs coach Aubrey Pleasant are doing with this secondary. Their starters at corner include a 2018 fifth-round pick, and two undrafted free-agent rookies. And all of them are playing pretty darn well. As this rebuild continues, my confidence in the future of this secondary is rising by the week.
The only thing I didn’t like was going for it on fourth-and-one from the Rams 18-yard line. Taking the points there would have given the Lions the lead at that point in the game. Although it’s understandable why Campbell went for it, he over-extended himself.
Final Thoughts
Coming into this week, expectations were low for the Detroit Lions, and fans were dreading watching their former gunslinger tear up this defense. While Stafford did have a great game, this turned into the most entertaining game the Lions have played start to finish this season.
Now here’s the challenge. For the past five or six weeks Detroit has bounced between good and bad performances. Next week they face an Eagles team that got beat pretty badly by the Raiders in Week 7. The Lions have an opportunity to build upon the work they did in Los Angeles going into the Week 9 bye.
Back to Sunday’s game. The Lions deserves props for hanging in there with a Super Bowl contender, and there are reasons for optimism moving forward.
Lions Final Week 7 Grade: 4/5 Stars
Matthew Stafford stages fourth quarter comeback to keep Lions winless
In the Lions' most anticipated game of a painful season, Matthew Stafford led his new squad to a trademark late comeback to keep his old team winless.