Detroit Lions Week 18 report card: A changing of the guard in the NFC North

They didn’t make the playoffs, but the Detroit Lions were able to end the season on a high note with a 20-16 win over the Green Bay Packers. Here is our report card for the season finale.

Knowing they were eliminated from the playoffs before kickoff, the Detroit Lions had nothing to play for. That was the narrative all week long, and the fear of having them on Sunday Night Football. Maybe Green Bay Packers would cruise to a victory over a team lacking motivation. But not these Lion. Not a team led by Dan Campbell.

"We don’t want (the Packers) to go, that’s our motivation,”"

That’s what Campbell said after the first quarter to NBC’s Melissa Stark Sunday night. It’s a sentiment that rang throughout the city of Detroit. If the Lions couldn’t make the postseason, they weren’t going to let the Packers do so without putting up a fight.

Which is exactly what happened. The Lions stuck around all game, keeping things close. Then in the fourth quarter, the team found another level to close the game out. The win pushed Detroit’s record to 9-8, the first winning season for the franchise since 2017, and they eliminated the Packers from the playoffs. Aside from actually making the postseason, this was about as good an end to the year as anyone could have hoped for.

Detroit Lions Week 18 report card: Closing out the season on a high note

Rushing offense: 3/5 stars 

It was a slow burn to get the run game going Sunday night. Early on the Packers shut down pretty much every rushing attempt by the Lions. Through the first 20 or so minutes of play, the ground game was a non-option.

Eventually, the Lions broke through. In the fourth quarter, it became the driving force of the Lions’ offense. Highlighted by a 13-play drive that featured 40 yards and a touchdown on the ground which proved to be the game-winner. While it was a struggle early, the run game was good when it needed to be.

Pass offense: 3/5 stars

Jared Goff wearing gloves became a major talking point in the first half, as he was quite frankly not good through the first 30 minutes. But like the run game, the passing attack started to pick up steam in the second half. When it came down to it, the Lions were able to pass the ball when they needed to the most. Two key fourth-down conversions to DJ Chark pushed the Lions over the top.

The touchdowns through the air weren’t there, but they were close. Kalif Raymond fell just short of the end zone on a big play, and Jameson Williams had a 65-yard touchdown called back on a holding call. The narratives of Goff’s ineffectiveness in the cold won’t go away after Sunday night’s performance, but he was clutch in the second half.

Best offensive player: RB Jamaal Williams

Williams cements himself in the record books as he scored multiple rushing touchdowns on Sunday night to pass Barry Sanders for the most rushing touchdowns in a season in Detroit Lions franchise history. The second touchdown not just being a record breaker, but a game-winner against his old team.

It wasn’t just the touchdowns either, Williams finished the game with 72 yards while averaging 4.5 per carry. His play between the tackles helped the Lions’ offense sustain drives when they needed it in the fourth quarter. Consistently picking up extra yards after contact due to his physicality, which seemed to catch the Packers off guard.

Worst offensive player(s): Lions’ interior offensive line

Part of the reason the Packers were so successful against the run early on was due to the poor play of the Lions’ interior offensive line. Kenny Clark was incredibly disruptive, especially when matched up against Evan Brown.

Guard is a sneaky need for the Lions this offseason, especially considering Halapoulivaati Vaitai didn’t even suit up this season and his contract situation remains murky at best. Sunday night proved one thing. For as good as the Lions’ offensive line is, there’s still a weak link in the chain that needs to be addressed at right guard.

Run defense: 4/5 stars 

Isaiah Buggs and Alim McNeill deserve so much credit for how they helped transform the Lions’ run defense. Early in the game, the Packers used a lot of motion and end-arounds to mess with the Lions’ front. However, when they ran straight up Buggs and McNeill were steady presences in the middle. They both came up with key stops at different points in the game, which helped hold the Packers to field goals.

It wasn’t a flawless game. Aaron Jones was still able to create on the ground, but his efficiency was limited. The game plan to stop the Packers revolved around stopping the run, and the Lions did enough in that department thanks to the big boys in the middle.

Pass defense: 3/5 stars

This is a weird evaluation. On the one hand, the Lions did hold the Packers to under 200 total passing yards, including getting an interception on Green Bay’s final drive. On the other hand, this game proved why cornerback is the team’s biggest need heading into the offseason. There’s a legitimate argument that zero of the Lions’ 2023 starting corners are on the roster right now.

Jerry Jacobs played fine, but was far from good. Mike Hughes got beat a few times before getting injured. And of course, there’s Amani Oruwariye who we will talk about in a moment. Detroit’s roster has taken significant strides over the past 10 weeks, but the cornerback room seems to have been left behind. It wasn’t detrimental in this game, but the secondary absolutely needs to be bolstered.

Best defensive player: DE Aidan Hutchinson 

What a way to end an incredible rookie season. Hutchinson, as the second overall pick, came into the season with incredibly high expectations. He not only met those expectations, but he also managed to exceed them. He tallied a pair of sacks in the season finale to push his total to 9.5 on the year, reclaiming the team lead as well as the rookie lead from teammate James Houston.

Hutchinson has been the defensive MVP this season–a consistent contributor who got better week after week. The arrow pointed up all year long, and you can assume there will be some major expectations for his sophomore campaign.

Worst defensive player: CB Amani Oruwariye 

In what was probably his last game as a Lion, Oruwariye unfortunately showed more of the fall from grace we’ve seen this season. He entered the game after Hughes was injured, and it took two plays before the Packers targeted him on a deep ball. It was caught by Christian Watson, despite a defensive pass interference by Oruwariye.

It’s been a struggle of a season, but this scheme was just not suited to his strengths. Oruwariye is not a good man-cover corner and Detroit heavily relies on cover-1, meaning the outside corners have to be able to hold up in man. Hopefully, he can find a home that will better suit his strengths.

Coaching Staff: 5/5 stars

As mentioned earlier, the Lions hypothetically had no reason to show up for this game. But time and time again this coaching staff proves no matter what, they are going to get the players to play with heart and play to win. Not only that, but they are going to try their best to put players in a position to succeed.

Defensively this was seen best with Hutchinson and Kerby Joseph. Hutchinson was given the opportunity to rush against the Packers’ various right tackles instead of left tackle David Bakhtiari, which proved very successful. As for Joseph, he is at his best as the deep middle safety where he can just roam the field and play as a ball hawk. In this game, he had an interception, a dropped interception, and an interception called back due to a holding call while playing as a deep safety. Aaron Glenn knows how to take talented players and put them in a position to succeed.

Offensively the story has been told all year, but Ben Johnson truly is incredible. With the game on the line just before the two-minute warning, he called one of the more whacky plays he has this season. But to his credit, it worked wonderfully and helped the Lions secure the win.

If this was his last game as offensive coordinator in Detroit, it’s been a hell of a season. Hopefully, the Lions are able to retain him another year because this offense was a ton of fun this year. And oh yeah, next year they will have a fully healthy Jameson Williams to play around with all year.

Plays of the game: Kalif Raymond’s 43-yard reception and Kerby Joseph’s interception

After a three-and-out to open the second half, the Lions started driving on their second possession in the third quarter. After the run game got them over midfield, Detroit once again lined up with both Jason Cabinda and Jamaal Williams behind Jared Goff. Only this time instead of a run, Goff faked the give to Williams and rolled out to his left. As soon as he got outside the pocket he opened up his hips and threw an absolute dart to the deep right side to Kalif Raymond.

The play not only set up a touchdown., but served as a turning point for the rest of the game. Detroit’s offense ignited and was able to pick up yards a lot more consistently after the success of this drive, highlighted by this one deep shot.

As for Joseph, at this point in the game, the Lions held a four-point lead. With around 3:30 to go in the game, the Packers faced a third-and-long. It was the biggest play of the game, so Detroit went back to a familiar play call. A variation of Cover-1 with six defenders blitzing. The pressure got home and forced Rodgers to throw deep, a throw that targeted Joseph deep down the field. For the third time this season, Rodgers learned not to test the rookie.

That was the final Packers offensive play of the game, and quite possibly the final play of Aaron Rodgers’s career. If that’s the case, that is as sweet as it gets for the Lions.

Final thoughts:

After a brutal month of October, the mood surrounding the Detroit Lions was very grim. A lot of people mentally checked out, and for good reason. But this team managed to string together the most entertaining 10-week stretch in at least half a decade to not only salvage the season but provide an unbelievable amount of hope and confidence for what the future holds for Detroit. With two high picks in the first round of this year’s draft, there are more young stars on the way to bolster an already strong roster.

A 9-8 record, finishing second in the NFC North, being the only team in the division to have a positive point differential (+26), and finishing 5-1 within the division. The Detroit Lions very well could be the favorite to win the division next season. For now, the Lions head into another offseason without a playoff berth, though it’s hard to imagine that statement will be made again a year from now.