Detroit Lions Week 6 Report Card: Another great defensive effort fuels a win in Tampa

Facing a Buccaneers team that was coming off a bye, while dealing with a plethora of injuries to key players. Week 6 had all the markings of a trap game for the Detroit Lions. And yet, the Lions overcame the issues they were faced with and delivered another solid performance as they won by multiple scores for the fourth straight game.

This wasn’t a particularly pretty win. But the Lions played a near-perfect game in the fourth quarter with the lead to close out another opponent.

The 2023 Lions are proving time and time again that they are for real. In just six weeks they have built a sizable lead on the NFC North, and have thwarted almost every challenge they have faced. The Lions aren’t just good, they are one of the best teams in the entire NFL.

Offense: 3/5 Stars

It was an up-and-down game for the offense. They were able to move the ball somewhat consistently, but they did so with no run game. Detroit mustered just 40 rushing yards on 22 attempts, as David Montgomery exited with a rib injury in the first half. On the flip side, Jared Goff threw for 353 yards and a pair of touchdowns. In the second half, Detroit heavily relied on the short passing game to act as an extension of the futile and injury-thinned run game.

There was also an issue early in the game with a lack of aggression. For instance, after the Will Harris interception early the Lions had the ball in the red zone. It was a 3rd-and-8, and the Lions elected to run the ball. The play yielded no gain and Detroit was forced to take a field goal. Not entirely sure why the play-calling was so conservative early, but it got better as the game progressed.

All in all, it was a solid day overall, headlined by a great day through the air.

Offensive player of the game: WR Amon-Ra St. Brown

A few weeks ago, Montgomery returned from injury and was immediately given an enormous workload. That script got used again, only this time for Amon-Ra St. Brown.

The Lions top wideout ended his day with a whopping 12 catches on 15 targets for 124 yards and a score. On the play in which he scored his touchdown, St. Brown showcased an improved ability to create yards after the catch, as he made a beautiful cutback and found his way to the end zone (shoutout to Craig Reynolds for a spectacular block).