The Detroit Lions put the Chicago Bears to bed with a 52-21 demolishing in Week 2 at home. In the Lions' first Ford Field game of the year, fans made sure to make former OC Ben Johnson feel right at home: with boos and with profane chants. Detroit took care of the rest, letting Johnson know they're "good" with not having his services this season.
There was plenty to get out of this performance by the Lions, so let's dive into the winners and losers from a game highlighted by the teams' defense and an offense finally able to back it up.
Winner: Amon-Ra St. Brown
We now know the answer to the question "is the Lions' offense just that bad, or is the Packers' defense just that good?" that was asked after Amon-Ra St. Brown was held to just 45 yards on four receptions against Green Bay in Week 1. The answer is that (unfortunately) the Packers' defense is simply that great.
St. Brown had a career-high 82 receiving yards in just the first quarter for the Lions, and finished up the game with a career-high three touchdowns on 115 receiving yards. He was, by far, the Lions' best weapon on offense during the contest, and clearly the receiver that Jared Goff trusted most with the ball in his hands. A big game was sorely needed from a leader like St. Brown, and he delivered.
Winner: Jared Goff
How about a bounceback game from Goff? The signal caller had a five touchdown shellacking of the Bears' defense, throwing for 334 total yards and finishing up with a QBR of 156.0. He was a lot more trusting in this Lions pocket, running a ton of play action with St. Brown with plenty of time to throw on those plays.
It was night and day from his Packers performance, and he looked more like the borderline MVP he was in 2024 in this game.
Winner: Aidan Hutchinson
First sack of the 2025 season for Hutchinson was also his first since Week 5 of the 2024 season - that's why the Lions crowd, if you watched the game, roared to life when it happened. It's been a long time coming for Hutchinson, who was supplying some key pressures on Caleb Williams throughout the contest and finally reaped the reward of them with that sack.
He was also helped out with three more sacks courtesy Al-Quadin Mohammad, Marcus Davenport, and Brian Branch. While the pass rush took some time to heat up in this one, they quickly had the Bears on their heels. Hopefully, it keeps up against a solid Ravens O-line in Week 3.
Winner: Kelvin Sheppard
Sheppard basically cut a promo when telling reporters that his players would be prepared to bounce back from their poor Week 1 performance against the Packers.
READ MORE: Lions fans pile on Ben Johnson after his Bears collapse in ugly loss
“I’m looking forward to seeing our players respond to a loss. I could care less...who’s over there. We are coming off of a loss, ladies and gentlemen," said Sheppard in a media availability prior to Week 2.
His defense was obviously prepared. With two turnovers forced, four sacks, an excellent game from Branch, and five passes defended, Detroit woke up and remembered they were one of the top defensive units back in 2024 prior to injuries ravaging their starting lineup. Sheppard played a huge part in that motivation to wake up, and he deserves some recognition.
Winner(s): Lions offensive line
The Lions' offensive line can still use some work and reps to gain comfortability, but it was clear that the team held up a ton better when they didn't have to block Micah Parsons and Co. Their pass protection was excellent, allowing Goff to go off the way he did in the game, and their run blocking got a bit better with time throughout the contest. That's the final piece of the puzzle to get Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery going.
The young IOL held up, and veteran tackles Penei Sewell and Taylor Decker firmly rebounded from an abnormally poor performance.
Loser: Marcus Davenport
Davenport had one sack on the day, which is good. The bad? He hurt himself twice in the contest: once, suffering a seeming lower leg injury, and a second time on that sack where he landed awkwardly on his shoulder. For all the talk of how durable Davenport had worked towards becoming in the offseason, we caught a glimpse of the Davenport of old in Week 2: someone who just couldn't stay on the field.