With Week 9 in the books, we're officially midway through the 2026 NFL regular season, and the Detroit Lions (6-2) once again find themselves in a hyper competitive NFC North division.
Even though much of personnel remains the same, the Lions' offense is under new leadership now led by offensive coordinator Drew Petzing. Petzing took over after the Lions fired Morton just one season into his tenure. Notably, it was Week 9's 24-27 loss to the Minnesota Vikings that cost Morton his play-calling duties.
Despite a low-scoring stretch from the offense in recent weeks, Petzing's role as the play-caller remains secure and one reason why is that the offensive playmakers are playing at an incredibly high level.
How do those playmakers compare to the first eight games a season ago under Morton?
QB Jared Goff
2025: 1,915 pass yards, 17 pass TD, 3 INTs, 73.8% completion, 115.2 passer rating
2026: 2,134 pass yards, 15 pass TD, 2 INTs, 67.8% completion, 106.4 passer rating
Quarterback Jared Goff is turning in another MVP caliber season under Petzing. The big difference this year is that Goff has a much improved offensive line, although ironically Goff has been sacked more to this point in 2026 (19) than in 2025 (18).
It took Goff until his seventh game this season to throw his first interception, and did follow it up with another one in Week 8 against the Miami Dolphins. This latest stretch of games hasn't been Goff's best, as he's only thrown for one touchdown the past two weeks, including his first zero in the column since 2024.
Still, Goff has the Lions on a four game winning streak, which matches last season's longest streak, as well as a better overall record. These past two games doesn't do Goff's season justice. He's been better than ever under Petzing.
RB Jahmyr Gibbs
2025: 113 attempts, 551 rush yards, 6 rush TD, 29 rec, 197 rec yards, 1 rec TD
2026: 177 attempts, 847 rush yards, 9 rush TD, 34 rec, 285 rec yards, 2 rec TD
The player whose seen the biggest jump under Petzing has been running back Jahmyr Gibbs. Of course, that was probably going to happen regardless of who the OC would've been. The Lions traded RB David Montgomery in the offseason, and in the process acquiring their unintentional starting center in Juice Scruggs.
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Gibbs has been electric in 2026, leading the league in rushing attempts through nine weeks despite already having a Bye week. He also leads in first downs (55), touches (211), yards from scrimmage (1,132), and rushing/receiving TDs (11). His rushing yards per game (105.9) is 37 yards higher than it was at this point last season. Gibbs has, however, matched his 2025 season total in fumbles already after having none through eight games in 2025.
That's a minor blemish in Gibbs' phenomenal season. It feels like every game this season he's breaking a new record, and it's why he's one of the leading candidates for Offensive Player of the Year.
WR Amon-Ra St. Brown
2025: 74 targets, 59 rec, 635 yards, 7 rec TD
2026: 86 targets, 61 rec, 657 yards, 5 rec TD
While Gibbs has been enjoying life under Petzing, wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown's life remains mostly the same.
He's seeing more targets, but has been catching them at a lesser rate (70.9%). Worth remembering, St. Brown's catch percentage tumbled in the second half dropping from 79.7% in the first eight games to 59.2% in the final nine. St. Brown still managed to secure a Second-Team All-Pro, but that second half likely cost him First-Team honors.
This season, St. Brown got off to a hot start, catching five TD passes in the first three games. He hasn't seen the endzone since, despite Goff and Petzing's best efforts. It's the longest streak without a St. Brown TD since the final five games of the 2022 season. St. Brown also had a stretch of seven straight games without a receiving TD earlier in 2022.
He's still making an impact, though, as evidenced by his 153 yard effort against the Green Bay Packers, and his fun 10-yard first down play on 3rd and 8 against the Vikings, where he lined up roughly 15 yards behind the line of scrimmage.
WR Jameson Williams
2025: 36 targets, 21 rec, 355 yards, 3 rec TD
2026: 46 targets, 28 rec, 468 yards, 5 rec TD
WR Jameson Williams was going to be one of Petzing's biggest tests. Williams was underutilized under Morton, but played at an All-Pro level once head coach Dan Campbell took over play-calling duties. Petzing needed to maintain that momentum into 2026.
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Williams has definitely seen an uptick across the board under Petzing through eight games. He did start off slow with 127 yards and zero TDs through three games. But much like how St. Brown's numbers dropped after three games, Williams' numbers soared. His yards per game increased from 42.33 to 68.2, while averaging a TD per game. 68.2 yards per game would be a career high for Williams, and he's three TDs away from a career high in that category as well.
Williams has shown a lot of promised over the course of this past year, and it appears he's finally putting it all together under Petzing, which means at least a Pro Bowl nod this season is looking highly realistic.
TE Sam LaPorta
2025: 49 targets, 40 rec, 489 yards, 3 rec TD (9 games)
2026: 49 targets, 35 rec, 399 yards, 3 rec TD
Going to do something a little different with tight end Sam LaPorta. In 2025, LaPorta only played nine games before missing the remainder of the season with a back injury. It'd be a little silly to leave a single game out of the comparison, here.
LaPorta's three TD total is identical between the two seasons, and has been targeted the exact same amount of times, too. On a per game basis, LaPorta is getting more looks, but has had slightly less success catching the ball, while averaging 1.9 yards fewer per target.
This is a contract year for LaPorta, and he hasn't been shy saying how he feels about the negotiation process. On the field, it's clear that hasn't impacted his game much, nor how much the Lions rely on him. He's currently on track for his second best season as a pro, which should help him receive a big payday this offseason.
So far, the returns on the Petzing hire are looking good. Everyone is getting involved on the offense, and when one is having a down game, another carries the load. These past three games against strong defenses may feel underwhelming, but there's plenty to be encouraged about heading into the second half of the season.
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