Detroit Lions Week 14 report card: Passing game leads Lions to another win

The Detroit Lions kept the wins coming on Sunday by rolling over the Vikings, and here’s our report card from the performance.

Another week, another win for the Detroit Lions. With revenge in the air, they avenged their Week 3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings with a 34-23 win. The win keeps the Lions in the playoff hunt, while also preventing the Vikings from clinching the NFC North for another week.

It’s getting increasingly hard to not believe in this Lions team. They’ve become one of the more entertaining squads in the league. Their high-flying creative offense has been as much fun as it hass been successful. With another 30-plus point effort, the Lions’ offense is establishing itself as one of the best the franchise has ever seen.

Entertaining may actually be underselling this clash of division rivals. It was one of the most anticipated Lions games in years, and there were plenty of explosive plays to give the fans something to cheer about.

Detroit Lions Week 14 Report Card

Grading The Lions Offense

Rush offense: 2/5 stars 

The box score stats look fairly decent, but the Lions’ rushing total was inflated by a 42-yard run on a fake punt. Jamaal Williams and D’Andre Swift both struggled to get traction on the ground. The bright spot was Justin Jackson, who had a beautiful cutback on a 15-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

Aside from that though there really wasn’t much production on the ground. The rushing attack got a little better in the second half, but it was not a strong performance.

Pass offense: 5/5 stars

On the flip side, it was another dominant performance for the Lions’ passing attack. This week’s dominance didn’t even require Amon-Ra St. Brown to be otherworldly. Detroit had four different receivers tally at least 40 receiving yards, and nine different receivers had a reception. It was a very balanced attack the Vikings simply could not stop.

The offensive line also held up really well for the most part. The tackles continued their dominance, and Jonah Jackson and Frank Ragnow held down the interior. The Vikings struggled to generate pressure throughout the game and didn’t manage a single sack. It was another clinic by the elite offensive line of the Lions.

Best offensive player: QB Jared Goff

Another week where Goff was incredibly poised and in command of the offense. He made every tight window throw he needed to, he was evading pressure in the pocket well and he was as confident as he’s ever been in a Lions uniform.

That confidence is part of the reason we saw the deep ball showcased more this week.

From every angle, this was another incredible performance from Goff. His strong play led Detroit to another 30-plus point performance, and he was the driving force behind another win.

Worst offensive player: RG Logan Stenberg

With Evan Brown and Kayode Awosika out this week, Stenberg drew back into the starting lineup at right guard. As is to be expected when a backup to a backup to a backup guard is on the field, the Vikings’ defensive line had its way with him.

The run game struggled to get going and a big part of that was the lack of a push from the interior line. Stenberg has just never been able to find his footing as an NFL lineman.

Grading The Lions Defense

Run defense: 5/5 stars 

The Vikings only managed 22 yards on the ground, with Dalvin Cook running for 23 on 15 attempts. There’s no other way to slice it, this was an absolutely dominant performance from the Lions front. All of the defensive linemen, the linebackers, and even the defensive backs on a few occasions were shooting into the backfield to wrap up the Vikings’ backs.

The Lions had several tackles for loss on Sunday, which helped slow the Vikings’ offense down enough to come away with the win.

Pass defense: 2/5 stars

While the run defense was spectacular, the pass defense was not so sharp. Kirk Cousins threw all over the Lions for over 400 yards. The saving grace for the Lions was they were able to hold the Vikings out of the end zone a few times, limiting the points allowed. That effort was aided by Detroit’s pass-rush generating four sacks in the game. It was a bend-don’t-break style that did enough to escape with a win.

The evolution of the Lions’ defense has been quite the sight over the past six weeks. They have gone from historically bad to average. While that may not seem like a glowing endorsement, the offense is good enough to afford the defense to have performances like this and still win comfortably.

Best defensive player: DE Aidan Hutchinson 

It was a complete game for Hutchinson, as he impacted the game consistently from start to finish. He had a few big plays in the run game, including a huge tackle for loss. As a pass rusher, Hutchinson was able to generate a healthy amount of pressure and he secured his seventh sack of the season as well.

Hutchinson has been the best defensive lineman on the roster from the moment he was drafted. In fact, he’s arguably been the best defender period. There’s a sense of security with having such a consistent presence on the defense who you know will be productive week in and week out.

Worst defensive player: CB Amani Oruwariye 

With Jeff Okudah heavily limited in this game after dealing with an illness, Oruwariye moved back into the defensive rotation. Unfortunately he was often matched up against Justin Jefferson, who Oruwariye has struggled mightily with in the past. Unsurprisingly that trend continued, as Jefferson demolished the Lions’ secondary to the tune of 223 yards. On one play in particular, Oruwariye seemed to be in slow motion while Jefferson undressed him with a great route and made a catch in front of him.

Oruwariye has struggled to get on the field this season due to poor play. He did nothing on Sunday to suggest he should be getting more snaps going forward.

Grading Everything Else

Coaching Staff: 5/5 stars

If noting else, Dan Campbell’s staff is incredibly bold. Moments into the third quarter, Detroit led 14-7 but faced a fourth down deep in their own territory. Conventional logic would suggest a punt, but Dan Campbell and Dave Fipp instead chose to dial up a fake to extend the drive and C.J. Moore busted loose for 42 yards. Detroit ended up scoring a momentum-taking touchdown after the fake.

On the Lions’ final drive of the game they faced a 3rd-and-7, and first down would have essentially ended the game. Ben Johnson dug deep into his bag of tricks and called perhaps the best play of the season.

Right tackle Penei Sewell not only lined up out to the left, he went in motion.

The coaching staff pulled out all the stops to secure the win on Sunday.

Play of the game: Jameson Williams’s 41-yard touchdown catch

The electrifying rookie was due to receive a bigger workload as he works his way back from a torn ACL. Williams has the ability to threaten defenses vertically like few receivers in the league. The Vikings’ secondary never got that memo.

As far as first career catches go, that’s a pretty special one. Not bad for a “welcome to the NFL” moment for the 12th overall pick in April’s draft.

Final thoughts:

Now sitting at 6-7, combined with the Giants losing, Detroit is just a game and a half out of a wildcard spot. Considering the remaining schedules for the Lions, Giants, Commanders, and Seahawks, Detroit has a very good shot to make the playoffs if they can get to nine wins.

The Lions’ shot at the playoffs has rapidly changed from fantasy to plausible. Can Detroit rattle off a few more wins and change their odds from plausible to probable? Story to be continued.