The Detroit Lions (5-2) are riding a three-game winning streak into their Week 9 preparation, as they managed to take down the Minnesota Vikings (6-1) and hand their NFC North rival their first loss of the season.
Of course, the win was quite tinged with heavy emotion, as Jack Campbell - the Lions' captain on defense - went down in the 4th quarter with what is being called a neck injury by Lions PR. He was not moving when he was eventually stretchered and carted off the field, and the Lions announced he'd been transported to a local hospital for evaluation.
It created a very tough scene for players on both teams, with Aidan Hutchinson especially and visibly upset by the injury. It's actually quite surprising that play went on as quickly as it did, but unfortunately, the NFL's decision makers have gotten quite used to these kinds of scenes developing in-game. It doesn't make it right, though, and we hope that Campbell is doing well.
That said, we'll dive into winners and losers from this contest, as the Lions are in great shape to keep rolling into November as winners.
4 winners (and 3 losers) from Lions' Week 8 win over Vikings
Winner: Jahmyr Gibbs and Sione Vaki
The Lions' run game was, overall, stellar against the Vikings. Hitting Minnesota on the ground was an area that I had pointed out Detroit could exploit as they'd just given up 154 rushing yards to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 7. Gibbs and Vaki put them through the ringer in Week 8, with both combining for 218 rushing yards. Gibbs had a nice rushing touchdown, to boot.
Head coach Dan Campbell told reporters after the game that Vaki had "earned a lot of trust today" following his gutsy performance. It was, by far, the best we've seen Vaki run, and he's earned another nod at being the Lions' solution to getting Gibbs some rest as we head into November.
Winner: Jared Goff
Goff was one of the key cogs to getting Gibbs some extra yards on the ground today, with the QB1 often throwing his shoulder out to try and block for Gibbs downfield. This is just one way in which Goff has shown that he's a winning quarterback, but we'll throw in the fact that he threw for one huge touchdown and a solid 176 yards while being relentlessly pressured, sacked four times, and after throwing his first interception of the season.
It should've been two touchdown passes on the day, but, it seems I have zero grasp on what "having control of the ball when hitting the ground" means.
Goff was poised when not being put to the ground by Minnesota, and was honestly a lot more mobile than you would've thought he'd be in this game. He also had a nice quarterback sneak towards the end of the game, showing the trust that he, and the Lions, have in their current offensive line.
Winner: Lions' rookies on defense
In a game where injuries ravaged the Lions' defense, their rookies really stepped up. Namely, we saw some great games from Derrick Moore and Jimmy Rolder, who were both rotated in and out of the contest due to injuries to starters. Rolder, unfortunately, missed the rest of the game after getting hurt in the 4th quarter on the same play as Campbell's injury, but he had a sack and a big tackle for loss prior to that.
Moore had two total tackles on the day, but had some nice pressures, as well. He was a solid addition to the line once Wonnum went down, and it could portend some greater snaps for him over the next few weeks. That'll especially be the case if the Lions lose Wonnum with a concussion for any time.
Winner: Drew Petzing
Petzing entered this game as the lesser-spoken about coordinator, with Brian Flores understandably getting a ton of praise for the way he's run the Vikings' defense this season. Petzing had some things up his sleeve though, and he called a very balanced offense and attack on Flores' defense all game long. Today was another example of the points that the Lions actually scoring not being reflective of how good the offense looked in this game.
Two plays that stuck out: him dialing up a 46-yard pass to Jameson Williams, and his CFL-esque call for Amon-Ra St. Brown which had him lining up far behind the line of scrimmage, taking advantage of some blocks ahead of him, and leaping forward for the first down.
Petzing also relied on the run game when it was working, and didn't shy away from it, in the 4th quarter. It helped to land the Lions a winning touchdown for Williams, and the way they were getting their yards on the ground are what made Petzing's work look good in this one: less pitches to Gibbs and Vaki, and more running between blockers.
Loser: Chuck Clark
Clark was flat footed on a few plays in this one, and once Branch was out, you got the sense that the Vikings really wanted to attack the Lions' weaknesses downfield. He's just not a very athletic or speedy man in coverage compared to that of Keith Abney II, and he just looked like such a sore thumb in what's been a great Lions secondary as of late.
Clark has been a solid veteran on this roster, but you have to hope that Branch's potential concussion isn't as serious as it could be with how violent of a hit he suffered.
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