Winner: WR Amon-Ra St. Brown
NBC analyst Cris Collinsworth repeatedly said the Lions needed to get St. Brown more involved to get out of their funk offensively, while noting the attention he was drawing from Houston's secondary. A touchdown early in the fourth quarter narrowed Houston's lead to three, then a critical third-down catch on the final drive made Bates' final field goal attempt closer.
St. Brown has caught a touchdown in seven straight games, which is now the Lions' franchise record.
.@Lions WR @amonra_stbrown has established a new franchise record by producing a receiving TD in seven-straight games.#OnePride pic.twitter.com/zTO8gtohQU
— Detroit Lions PR (@LionsPR) November 11, 2024
Winner: Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn
While the Lions' offense worked out its kinks in the first half, the Lions' defense held the Texans to three field goals. It certainly could have been much worse than 23-7, and conservative offensive play-calling set Glenn's unit up to fail on Houston's late first half touchdown drive.
Then the Lions pitched a shutout in the second half, forcing four punts with Davis' two interceptions and a missed 58-yard field goal by Ka'imi Fairbairn. Houston finished the game with 248 yards of offense, and running back Joe Mixon had 46 yards on 25 carries.
Glenn is bolstering his resume as a head coaching candidate with what the Lions' defense is doing without Aidan Hutchinson and some other pieces. At this point, it feels more likely Glenn will leave for a head coaching job after the season than offensive coordinator Ben Johnson will.
Winner: S Brian Branch
After being ejected in Week 9, Branch played with a controlled vengeance on Sunday night. He finished with a team-high 10 tackles, including one for loss. He also had two nice pass breakups, including a big one late in the fourth quarter. He was all over the field, as he often is.
After the game Branch tweeted the following, channeling part of Dan Campbell's introductory press conference from January of 2021.
We're gonna kick you in the teeth, alright? And when you punch us back, we're gonna smile at you. And when you knock us down, we're gonna get up. And on the way up, we're gonna bite the kneecap off, alright? And we're gonna stand up. And then it's gonna take two more shots to…
— ³² (@BRlANBRANCH) November 11, 2024
Branch needed to get back on the proverbial horse and not lose the aggressiveness he plays with after being ejected against the Packers. Mission accomplished.