The whole performance Sunday was one big statement, but a single moment in particular was the Detroit Lions letting the rest of the NFL know they aren’t messing around this season.
The Lions went for it on fourth-and-1 on their first possession of the second half. That isn’t too unusual; the Lions love going for it on fourth down. But the sheer force of the play was startling. The Lions ran right up the middle, and the Lions line opened up the type of crease that Jahmyr Gibbs could have walked through for a 15-yard touchdown. It was a dagger, not just for the game, but maybe in the NFC North race. The Packers are a good team. And the Lions made them look overmatched and outclassed.
The Packers defense didn’t cover itself in glory on that Gibbs touchdown, failing to fill any gaps on a run blitz, and as a team they had several errors the entire game. That doesn’t take away from the drubbing the Lions handed out.
The Packers scored late in the fourth quarter to make the score look better, but it was a 24-14 win that was much more dominant than the final score would lead anyone to believe. The Lions were the better team, and it wasn’t close.
They’re checking off boxes during this strong start to the season. You’d think a team with an offense as good as the Lions wouldn’t do so well in a driving rainstorm. There’s another point they proved on Sunday. They can win in just about any way this season.
Jared Goff doesn’t miss, even in the rain. He completed his first 11 passes of the game, before missing on his final one before the half. Goff has played better indoors during his career; the splits are impossible to deny. For Goff to go on the road in wet conditions and barely miss any throws is another step for the Lions this season.
Goff’s biggest pass Sunday came on a fourth down, which the Lions get a lot of practice at. Dan Campbell went for it on Detroit’s first possession, an offsides penalty got Detroit halfway closer to the goal line, and then Goff hit Amon-Ra St. Brown for an impressive touchdown catch in which he got both feet in. Then he did a headstand to celebrate it.
On a day full of statements for the Lions, that set a tone.
The Lions defense has some questions to answer too, since Aidan Hutchinson’s season ending injury. The Lions are already getting active before the deadline, agreeing to a deal that would bring pass rusher Za’Darius Smith to Detroit from Cleveland, Pro Football Talk reported. Maybe there are more moves to come.
But the Lions defense looked pretty good without any reinforcements on Sunday. Late in the first half they made the biggest play of the game, when Jordan Love threw blindly to the middle of the field under coverage and safety Kerby Joseph was there to pick it off. Joseph returned it 27 yards for a 17-3 lead right before the half, and given how the Lions defense had been playing, that lead seemed fairly comfortable.
Then Gibbs scored on that fourth-down run right after the half, slamming the door shut on Green Bay.
The NFC North race isn’t over. The Lions are 7-1, followed by the Minnesota Vikings, who were 5-2 going into their Monday night game, and then the Packers come in at 6-3. There’s plenty of season to go. But the Lions have a huge edge with road wins at Minnesota and Green Bay. That will make them very difficult to catch.
It’s not just about potential tiebreakers either. The Lions don’t look like a team that is going to lose many games.
With road wins over their two biggest threats in the division, the Lions can start to focus on getting the No. 1 seed in the NFC. The thought of the Lions being two home games from a Super Bowl, playing in front of a raucous crowd with an offense that is even better indoors, has to be frightening for the rest of the NFC. The Philadelphia Eagles are playing better lately, the Washington Commanders have been surprisingly good and the Atlanta Falcons have the type of soft schedule that will allow them to collect wins, but no other NFC team looks better than the Lions. There’s no reason Detroit can’t get that No. 1 seed.
The Lions keep passing tests this season. They came in as Super Bowl hopefuls. There’s a long way to go, but they’re starting to look like one of the few legitimate Super Bowl favorites.
