The Detroit Lions briefly trailed early against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, but quickly pulled ahead and never looked back in a 47-9 blowout road victory in Week 6.
For the Lions, the win was significant because it avenged last season's close, controversial loss in Dallas. Coming into the game, the Lions claimed they weren't looking for revenge, but their actions said otherwise.
From start to finish, the Lions were the hungrier team, beating Dallas to the punch on offense and looking incredibly tough. On defense, Detroit didn't relent at all, snagging three interceptions and bullying Dak Prescott. The Cowboys didn't score a touchdown and only collected 251 total yards.
Two of Detroit's picks came from Brian Branch, who enjoyed his best day as Lion. After the game, Branch was asked about the message the Lions sent with the commanding performance. He left no doubt as to where the team stands.
"It's revenge season. That's really the message. Every team that we lost to last year, we want to (get them back). It's a revenge tour."
Branch was also a fan of Dan Campbell trying to get into the end zone as creatively as possible, throwing at offensive linemen in the second half. What marks does Branch give Campbell for his trolling abilities?
"(He's a) 10 (out of 10). I really wanted him to wait until later in the season to pull that out, because now everybody knows we got it, but shoot, I still don't think they will be able to stop it."
A focused team that is hungry for payback and able to run all manner of plays in order to get it? That's very dangerous, indeed.
Jared Goff explains Detroit Lions' use of trick plays during Week 6 blowout
The Lions' offense was able to dictate the pace against Dallas, and the fact that they used another trick plays may have opened some eyes around the league. To the naked eye, the Lions weren't fooling around against Dallas.
When Goff hit Sam LaPorta for a 52-yard touchdown off a double reverse flea flicker, it was a sign that the Lions were prepared to do whatever necessary to score. Afterward, though, Goff explained that trick plays aren't designed to demoralize a defense, but remain a key part of the playbook.
"That's not why we do them at all. It's just whatever their defense presented this week presented the opportunity to run some of those plays and they were in. That doesn't mean they're all going to get called. I think Ben (Johnson) had a pretty good rhythm going and knew that we were moving the ball pretty good, so when that's happening, typically they do get called a little bit more. We typically have a lot in every week. They just don't always get called."
The more the Lions start to use trick plays, the better their offense might be operating. Detroit is a hungry team out for revenge now, clicking on all cylinders.