5 big winners (and one big loser) for Detroit Lions from Week 17 win vs. 49ers

It was deemed a "meaningless game" by many, but Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell immediately made it clear what the team's approach would be in Week 17 against the San Francisco 49ers. Beyond any revenge factor in play from last year's NFC Championship Game loss, the Lions were not going to be anything other than all in to win.

And they got it done, outscoring San Francisco 27-13 in the second half to get their 14th win of the season and go undefeated (8-0) on the road. Perhaps most importantly, with all the marbles in play for Week 18 against the Minnesota Vikings, no one was added to what has been a long list of injured players.

Without further ado, here are our biggest winners and and one big loser from the Lions' Week 17 win over the 49ers.

5 winners (and one big loser) from Lions win over the 49ers

Winner: Jameson Williams

Williams didn't quite get to 1,000 receiving yards for the season on Monday night (five catches for 77 yards), but he had a touchdown on a hook-and-ladder along with a rushing touchdown.

Williams' growth as a more complete receiver this season was also shown on Monday night, as was noted by Troy Aikman on the broadcast.

Loser: Defense

Let's get the one loser out of the way.

This could be broken down to finer points, but let's go broad here and talk about the Lions' defense. Safety Kerby Joseph had two interceptions on Monday night, and thank goodness he did. Both of them followed unsmart penalties from safety mate Brian Branch, and kept the 49ers offense from getting more going in the second half.

But allowing 475 yards of offense and 34 points, with zero sacks for most of the game (against an offensive line that was filled with backups) will not cut it going forward. Finishing with two sacks makes things look a little better, and while allowing 4.2 yards per carry on the ground isn't awful the 49ers also abandoned the run in the second half.

The pass defense also left a lot to be desired. George Kittle (eight catches for 112 yards) and Ricky Pearsall (eight catches for 141 yards and a touchdown) could simply not be covered. All levels of pass coverage failed regularly on Monday night. 49ers kicker Jake Moody missing two field goals and an extra point bailed the Lions out from a points allowed standpoint.

Winner: Jared Goff

Goff was fantastic again on Monday night, going 26 of 34 for 303 yards and three touchdowns along with a 132.4 passer rating. Since throwing five interceptions in Week 10 against the Houston Texans, he leads the league in passing yards, passing touchdowns, passer rating, EPA per drop back and EPA on all drop backs.

Winner: Jahmyr Gibbs

Gibbs had another nice outing as the Lions' lead back on Monday night, with 163 yards from scrimmage (18 carries for 117 yards and a touchdown; four catches for 46 yards) as he made some big plays to spark the offense.

The Lions did not rest guys, but as was the case in Week 16 they did take some opportunities to give Gibbs a breather with an eye on having him as fresh as possible going forward. That's the smart approach, and one they've made clear with David Montgomery out.

Winner: Kerby Joseph

It felt like Joseph was due for an interception, with his last one coming back in Week 11 against the Jacksonville Jaguars as the Lions have generally struggled to generate takeaways over that stretch.

With the Lions unable to get stops against the 49ers' offense, and after a defensive pass interference penalty by Brian Branch, Joseph came up with a well-timed play.

Halfway through the fourth quarter, after Branch picked up a stupid unnecessary roughness penalty, Joseph nabbed his second interception of the game. He now leads the league with nine on the season.

Winner: Jake Bates

Bates had his first extra point attempt blocked by the 49ers, and he missed his last extra point attempt of the night. But he made field goals of 57 and 42 yards in-between, and before the 42-yarder he had the viral moment of the night when he was seen on the sideline in a weird-looking stretching position. As Awful Announcing said, it "launched a thousand memes."

ESPN sideline reporter Lisa Salters offered an explanation. Apparently Bates was laying on a "softball"(which is not visible) to work out a little issue with his left hip. Joe Buck and Troy Aikman were amused.

After the game, Bates called it "normal stretching" (As in, he's done it before? On the field during a game like that?) while long snapper Hogan Hatten echoed the sentiment that ESPN cameras did the Lions' kicker no favors.

Setting the franchise record for points in a season and inadvertently authoring the biggest viral moment of the night (maybe of the NFL season?) puts Bates firmly in the winner's column from the Lions' Week 17 win.