Since around this time last year, the Detroit Lions’ journey has been an inspiring NFL story. On Thanksgiving Day in 2022, they went head-to-head with the Buffalo Bills, putting up a formidable fight before succumbing to a 28-25 defeat. This was one of the mere two losses they suffered in their last 10 games of the previous season, despite their long-standing struggles.
The Lions have only lost twice in the first 10 games of this season and are set to play their annual Thanksgiving Day game on Thursday. Their consistent wins are proving them to be more than just a charming tale.
The Detroit Lions, under Dan Campbell, are solidly in the Super Bowl discussion.
Of course, they declared their intention in the first week by entering Arrowhead Stadium and defeating the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs on the opening night. This weekend, they demonstrated remarkable resilience by finally subduing the Chicago Bears, achieving an 8-2 record for the first time since 1962.
Jared Goff arguably had his poorest performance as a Lion, tossing three interceptions that left Detroit on the brink of a disheartening loss. The Lions were trailing by 12 with only three minutes left, however, Goff and his offense didn’t buckle under the pressure. Despite the high-stakes situation and zero margin for error, Detroit and their quarterback came through.
Jameson Williams received a 32-yard touchdown pass from Goff. The Lions defense then promptly reclaimed the ball during Chicago’s subsequent drive. Trailing at 26-21, Goff needed slightly more than two minutes to traverse 73 yards in 11 plays, securing the game with David Montgomery’s one-yard touchdown run, which left just 29 seconds on the clock. Goff further extended the lead with a two-point pass to Sam LaPorta and a safety resulting from Aidan Hutchinson’s strip sack. Despite appearing to be on the verge of losing, the Lions triumphed with a 31-26 victory.
Goff will be hailed for his role in reversing the game’s course in the later stages. Typically, it’s the quarterback who receives the bulk of both the praise and the criticism in relation to victories and defeats. That being said, I’m not trying to undermine Goff’s performance; he’s been outstanding and a key factor in the Lions’ journey towards their first division title since 1993. However, he’s not the sole contributor.
Amon-Ra St. Brown has subtly emerged as one of the NFL’s most productive receivers, and his importance to the Lions is evident. In all of Detroit’s 10 games this season, he has been targeted at least seven times – the most in the NFL. Additionally, the running back pair of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs alternately dominate opposing defenses.
Both Montgomery and Gibbs surpassed 95 scrimmage yards; Montgomery netted the decisive score against his former team while Gibbs scored a rushing touchdown in his fourth consecutive game. The last rookie from the Lions to accomplish such a feat was none other than Barry Sanders in 1989 – quite a prestigious benchmark.
In the past, I’ve had to heavily promote the Lions during previous Thanksgiving Day broadcasts on Sky Sports. Over the years, they’ve had some disastrous performances in front of their home crowd and haven’t claimed a victory on Thanksgiving Day since 2016.
For Campbell and his team, all that is merely irrelevant history. When your track record is as poor as that of the Lions, you’re eager to leave it behind. It’s a fresh start in Detroit, and they’re expected to secure a home victory against the Green Bay Packers this Thursday.
Who knows what heights this team can reach next? Perhaps even the top? It certainly seems possible. There’s a sense of something extraordinary unfolding in Motor City and all should simply fasten their seatbelts and relish the journey!
Who’s Hot?
Brock Purdy… Don’t ask me how they get there, but the NFL has a perfect score for its passer rating system and it is the wonderfully-random 158.3. Brock Purdy got to that mark during the San Francisco 49ers’ 27-14 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday night. The second-season quarterback, who didn’t really enter our public consciousness until early December last year, completed 21 of 25 passes for 333 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. The last 49ers quarterbacks to post perfect passer ratings in a game were Hall of Famers Joe Montana and Steve Young, who both achieved the feat in 1989. Purdy is quick with his decisions, accurate and he throws a really nice ball. I understand that he is in the right situation and surrounded with talent, but Purdy continues to make a mockery of the entire draft system. How was he picked 262nd overall in 2022? He is already one of the league’s true stars at the quarterback position.
The Houston Texans… This exciting young team is doing very similar things to the Detroit Lions. With three wins in a row and having won four of their last five, the Houston Texans now have our attention. Sunday’s 21-16 win over the Arizona Cardinals was not perfect, but there were many highlights. C.J. Stroud had another big day at quarterback, throwing for 336 yards and two touchdowns. But he also had to overcome some adversity. Having thrown just two interceptions in his first nine NFL starts, Stroud tossed three on Sunday. He will learn from that and I have no doubt he will remain a star of this league for years to come. There are others contributing and that is important. The Texans are becoming a team. Devin Singletary topped 100 yards rushing for the second game in a row, the explosive Tank Dell caught eight for 149 yards and a touchdown and fellow 2023 rookie Will Anderson had a key sack on defense. Add in an interception by 2022 first-round cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. and the future looks bright in Houston. The 6-4 Texans, who have already beaten Jacksonville once this season, will play for the AFC South lead on Sunday when they welcome the 7-3 Jaguars to Texas.
Tommy DeVito… The NFL is just weird. Detroit and Houston are mounting Super Bowl challenges, the last player picked in the 2022 NFL Draft is one of the best quarterbacks in the league and Bill Belichick is fighting to keep his job in New England. And now Tommy DeVito – who still lives with his mum – turns in one of the best displays of the weekend as the New York Giants completed the season sweep of the Washington Commanders with a 31-19 victory. The undrafted local rookie was sacked nine times behind a dangerously-bad offensive line on Sunday, but he will never forget his second NFL start. DeVito hit on 18 of 26 passes for 246 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions for a rating of 137.7 (the highest rating for an undrafted rookie in the NFL Draft era). The Illinois product showed great courage, turning a difficult day into something quite special, adding yet another footnote to what is becoming a very strange NFL season.
Who’s Not?
The Los Angeles Chargers… This spot has been reserved for the Chargers’ defense on quite a few occasions this season as that side of the ball has collapsed dramatically at key times in 2023. And it was the case again on Sunday as the Chargers conceded a 24-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Love to Romeo Doubs with 2:33 remaining in what turned out to be a 23-20 loss to the Green Bay Packers. It was LA’s fifth one-scored defeat of the season, dropping Brandon Staley’s underachieving team to 4-6. The coach was salty with the media after the game as his defense came under further scrutiny. I think questions need to be asked of the coach and his defense but, on this occasion, there is enough blame to go around. Keenan Allen dropped a sure-fire touchdown and Austin Ekeler lost a vital fumble. There is a saying across all sports that good teams find a way to win even when not playing well. The Chargers have been doing the exact opposite for some time now – they seem to find a way to lose games at the end and it leaves a talented team with some major question marks heading into the stretch run.
Pittsburgh’s passing game… The Steelers put on a great Watch Party event in Dublin, Ireland, this weekend with more than 500 fans in attendance at Croke Park. But their team couldn’t put on a show, falling 13-10 to a Cleveland Browns team led by rookie quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who has been thrown into the fray following Deshaun Watson’s season-ending shoulder injury. I know it was against the league’s number one defense and number one pass defense, but these are the games Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett has to be winning. When they take to the air, these Steelers look lost. Pickett threw for 106 yards and no touchdowns. George Pickens was his leading receiver with four for 38 yards and the Steelers had a net passing yards total of 77. That is the primary reason this team lost to a Cleveland side who scored just three points in the second half. Pickett needs a strong finish like the one he produced in 2022 to make Steelers fans believe he is the long-term answer at quarterback. Otherwise, I’m not sure he has a long-term future in Steeltown.
Zach Wilson… It might be the end of the road for Zach Wilson and somebody else could be under center by the time we air the New York Jets’ Black Friday game against the Miami Dolphins later this week. Wilson was benched during Sunday’s 32-6 loss to the Buffalo Bills. Let’s find one small grain of positivity – the Jets did find the end zone and score a touchdown, but it was after 40 consecutive drives of futility. Wilson completed just seven passes for 81 yards, one score and one interception. His rating of 57.9 marked the second time this year he was held under 60 points. Wilson ranks last in the NFL with a completion percentage of 59.2 and 30th with quarterback rating of 73.8. There is a body of work there now and the Jets know their future doesn’t feature Wilson. They might as well see if they get a bump by inserting Tim Boyle into the lineup and then plan for Aaron Rodgers to lead the way in 2024.
The Fast Five
- Seeing Joe Burrow, the quarterback of the Cincinnati Bengals, sidelined for the season was deeply disheartening. The superstar, nicknamed Joe Cool, led the Bengals to the Super Bowl in the 2021 season and nearly repeated the feat in 2022, despite a wrist injury. His absence will undoubtedly leave a void in the NFL. The Bengals, currently with a 5-5 record, are now facing a challenging future without their influential leader, making their path to the playoffs significantly more difficult.
- It was also heartbreaking to witness our own Efe Obada being carted off the field during Washington’s defeat to the New York Giants. The Commanders’ defensive lineman endured a severe leg injury, however, I am confident he possesses the capability to return to the field and make significant contributions to an NFL team in 2024. Efe’s journey hasn’t just been filled with minor setbacks, but rather significant challenges. He has overcome numerous hurdles to become a star in the NFL and I believe in his resilience. He still has more astonishing chapters of his life story to unfold.
- Despite the Bengals losing Burrow mid-game, the Baltimore Ravens displayed a sterling performance during Thursday’s 34-20 victory, elevating their season record to 8-3. The unfortunate downside was the season-ending knee injury of tight end Mark Andrews. However, the team still boasts impressive talent and could have been potentially at 9-1 or even 10-0. Lamar Jackson had an error-free game, the Ravens rushed over 150 yards, and Odell Beckham Jr. is hitting his stride, surpassing 100 yards receiving. Baltimore will be a formidable opponent come January.
- The Miami Dolphins advanced to a 7-3 record, defeating the Las Vegas Raiders 20-13 in Week 10. Notable performances came from Tua Tagovailoa, who threw over 300 yards, and Tyreek Hill, who caught 10 passes for 146 yards and a touchdown. However, the emerging storyline in Miami is the defense’s formidable form. After restricting Kansas City to only two offensive touchdowns in Frankfurt, the Dolphins kept the Raiders to a single touchdown. The Dolphins’ defense recorded two sacks and three interceptions, with Jalen Ramsey’s two impressive diving catches being particularly noteworthy. The continued development of this defense unit will position Miami as a more balanced and threatening contender in the AFC playoffs.
- The Denver Broncos, despite relying heavily on field goals (with Will Lutz scoring five on Sunday night), are on a winning streak, with four consecutive victories for the first time since 2016. Russell Wilson managed to throw the decisive pass to Courtland Sutton at the end of the game, surpassing his total touchdown passes for the 2022 season (19 in 2023 compared to 16 in 2022). Together with Head Coach Sean Payton, they seem to be finding their stride. With a balanced 5-5 record, Denver remains a strong contender in the AFC playoff race.
Finish That Sentence
In keeping with the tradition of this column, I had requested you to initiate your NFL-related sentences for this week, which I would then complete with a chosen few. So, let’s dive right in!
From Jack Palmer-White (@jackpalmerwhite)… Ron Rivera is… likely playing out the slate as head coach of the Washington Commanders. Sunday’s loss to the struggling New York Giants, was a new low. Washington have now lost twice to the Giants this season and that must be tough for new owner, Josh Harris, to take. Washington have not really kicked on in recent years. They have moments of success but cannot sustain a credible challenge. Sam Howell could be the answer at quarterback but that still needs to play out for a year or two. I think the new ownership group will want a new leader in charge come 2024 and that’s a shame because Ron Rivera is a good coach and an even better man.
From Ger Mullins (@75megager)… After a massively successful inaugural Steelers watch party, the NFL will take notice and award Ireland a regular season game in… 2027! I think the NFL did definitely take note and the event was indeed a huge success. And it was not just that one event. I spent an evening with Irish fans in Dublin on the Saturday night and their passion for the NFL is just as fierce as supporters in the UK and Germany. There is no doubt teams like the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Jacksonville Jaguars would like to play a regular season game in Ireland in the future. There just may need to be a bit of patience until the NFL ratifies an expansion of games played overseas. Spain or Brazil will be next in 2024, whichever of those two doesn’t host next year will get a game in 2025 and then I would look at Paris and also Mexico City will come back online. But Dublin should definitely be in the mix, so I think it happens in the next four years. Sign me up. I’ll be there!
From HTJ (@htj86)… Brandon Staley’s post-match press conference was… disappointing but not surprising. There are occasions where head coaches, particularly those under great stress, turn on the media and blame them for asking difficult questions. That’s kind of the media’s job. And given how the Chargers continually blow close games and have defensive meltdowns at the worst possible time, it’s understandable why these kinds of questions are being asked. What Coach Staley has to remember is that players and coaches don’t go out into the street to talk to fans to explain what’s going on with the team. The way players and coaches speak with the people who pay hard-earned money to watch and support them is through the media. If a coach or a player turns on the media, they are turning on their own fan base. And that rarely ends well. I don’t think enough players and coaches realise that fact.
Final Thought
My favourite week of the year has finally arrived. This Thursday evening, we’ll be celebrating with the traditional Thanksgiving Day triple-header of games from our Sky Sports NFL studio. For the first time in NFL history, there will be a Black Friday game, and we’ll be covering it from Manchester – the Dolphins and the Jets in New York. Afterwards, we will head back to London for our regular Sunday show. I look forward to enjoying these games with Jason Bell, Phoebe Schecter, and Jeff Reinebold. This week serves as a reminder of the abundance of live games we now have access to in the UK. In just Week 12, Sky Sports will broadcast eight live games from Thursday to Monday – half of all games played that week. It’s a big leap from the days when we only had an hour-long highlight reel a week after the games. I hope you can join us on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday as we navigate the unpredictable road to Super Bowl 58 in Las Vegas.
