DETROIT – The injury-depleted Detroit Lions hobbled into week five without some of their best players. However, their grit and next-man-up mentality still allowed them to boat race the winless Carolina Panthers 42-24, extending their winning streak to three.
With the victory on Sunday (Oct. 8), the Lions improved to 4-1 on the season, thanks partly to their hungry defense, as they were on the prowl all afternoon.
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Defense
The Lions roamed Ford Field looking for fresh meat to devour, and it was just their luck as they found friendly tourist rookie quarterback Bryce Young to feed them turnovers.
Detroit acquired two interceptions on the day, with one by cornerback Jerry Jacobs that went for 11 yards.
“AG (Aaron Glenn) made a great call as we baited them into something,” said Lions head coach Dan Campbell. “We baited them into a look. It was something that we had been giving a couple of times before, and Jerry did a good job of making it look exactly like it was causing him (Young) to adjust the throw. So it was a great call by Glenn and a great play by Jerry.”
The interception was Jacobs’ third of the season, but it wasn’t the loudest pick as defensive end Aidan Hutchinson.
At the 7:30 mark in the first quarter, Hutchinson shed a block before jumping a tight end screen for an Odell Beckham Jr.-like one-handed interception and return for six yards rocked the stadium.
The former Michigan Wolverines standout now has four interceptions in his first two seasons, which is the second most in franchise history for a defensive lineman, trailing Larry Hand, who acquired five.
The Michigan man is also the fourth player in National Football League history to achieve at least 10 sacks and four interceptions through two seasons.
Hutchinson has the most interceptions by a defensive lineman through his first two NFL seasons, and he is currently on a three-game sack streak, which tied Ndamukong Suh for third most through two seasons.
“They came out and set the tone for today really never let up off of the gas,” Campbell said. “Talk about complimentary football; we were talking about getting a knockout and or a strip fumble, and we got it. We’ve been talking about our D-line coming up with one, and Hutch got one. To come away with three takeaways and to come up with 21 points offensively, that’s complimentary football.”
Offense
The offense took advantage of every opportunity that the defensive side of the ball gave them, especially running back David Montgomery.
Montgomery picked off where he left off in week five. He finished the Lions opening three-play 81-yard drive with a 42-yard dash for six.
He finished the day carrying the ball 19 times for 109 yards and a touchdown, becoming the first player in franchise history to rush for 100 yards and a touchdown in consecutive games since Kevin Jones did it in 2004.
Jared Goff
Quarterback Jared Goff had another consistent day as he completed 20-28 passes for 236 yards, three passing touchdowns, and one rushing touchdown to seal the victory.
He became the first quarterback in franchise history to throw for three scores while rushing for one in a game since 2012.
Goff, who was without his top target in wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs, still connected with playmakers like tight end Sam LaPorta.
LaPorta was second in receptions as Josh Reynolds caught four for 76 yards and a touchdown while he caught three for 47 yards and two touchdowns.
The rookie joins tight end Walter White to achieve 265 and three scores within their first five career games.
One of the touchdowns had some trickery as the Lions ran a flea flicker to hit the rookie down the sideline for a wide-open touchdown.
“He called it (flea flicker) off of a turnover, and I kind of looked at him as we ran it against Green Bay, and I can’t remember who we ran it against last year or two years ago, and it’s the same, and we hit it to Sam, and he was wide open and it works,” Goff said.
The Lions will have an extra few hours to get healthy as their week six matchup in Tampa Bay against the Buccaneers has been pushed back to 4:25 p.m. EST.
