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Detroit Lions vs. Dallas Cowboys grades: The offense gets good grades

ByVanessa

Oct 14, 2024 #Aidan, #Aidan Hutchinson, #Alex, #Alex Anzalone, #Alim, #Alim McNeill, #American, #American Football, #Amon -Ra, #Amon-Ra St. Brown, #Anzalone, #Brown, #Carlton, #Carlton Davis III, #Chauncey, #Chauncey Golston, #Clark, #Dak, #Dak Prescott, #Damone, #Damone Clark, #David, #David Montgomery, #Davis, #Decker, #Detroit, #Detroit Lions, #Dowdle, #Ferguson, #Football, #Frank, #Frank Ragnow, #Gibbs, #Goff, #Golston, #Hesse, #Hutchinson, #III, #Jahmyr, #Jahmyr Gibbs, #Jake, #Jake Ferguson, #Jalen, #Jalen Reeves-Maybin, #Jared, #Jared Goff, #Joshua, #Joshua Paschal, #Jourdan, #Jourdan Lewis, #KaVontae, #KaVontae Turpin, #LaPorta, #Lewis, #Lions, #Martin, #McNeill, #Montgomery, #News, #Overall Positive, #Parker, #Parker Hesse, #Paschal, #Positive, #Prescott, #Ragnow, #Reeves-Maybin, #Results, #Rico, #Rico Dowdle, #Sam, #Sam LaPorta, #Sport, #Sports News, #Sports Scores u0026 Stats, #St., #Statistics, #Taylor, #Taylor Decker, #Total, #Turpin, #u0026, #Zack, #Zack Martin
Detroit Lions vs. Dallas Cowboys grades: The offense gets good grades

ARLINGTON, Texas – Dave Birkett assesses the Detroit Lions' performance following their 47-9 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday at AT&T Stadium.

quarterback

Jared Goff wasn't as accurate early in Sunday's game as he was in wins over the Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks, completing just three of his first seven passes, but that's a small thing on a day when the offense was unstoppable. The Lions scored on all nine possessions with Goff at quarterback (not including a kneeling snap at the end of the second quarter) and Goff finished the game 18 of 25 for 315 yards and three touchdowns. He threw a beautiful touchdown pass to Jameson Williams early in the third quarter, played turnover-free for the second straight game and narrowly missed the ball again with a perfect passer rating (153.8). Grade: A

SHAWN WINDSOR: The Lions appear to be the Super Bowl favorites against the Cowboys, but Aidan Hutchinson's loss is incalculable

Running backs

The Lions had another big rushing day as David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs combined for 143 yards on 24 carries (an average of 6 yards per run). Montgomery, as usual, played the leading role, running for 5 yards on his first carry, breaking a tackle and carrying a second defender into the end zone for his touchdown in the first quarter. Although Montgomery allowed a sack in the first half when he failed to slide quickly enough on defense to stop a Damone Clark rush up the middle, he scored his second touchdown on a 1-yard run just before halftime and finished the game with 80 yards on 12 carries while sitting out most of the second half. Gibbs showed his strength on his first catch of the second half when he put his head down to break a tackle for a 20-yard gain. Both defenders benefited from a dominant performance from the offensive line, but that doesn't take away from the work they put in on an impressive offensive day. Grade: A

Receivers/Tight Ends

Williams dropped the first pass thrown to him late in the first quarter as he eyed the end zone before securing the ball, then made a touch catch on the next play with a slant throw that was slightly behind him was thrown. Williams caught a 37-yard touchdown when he beat Trevon Diggs at the line of scrimmage for a free release downfield. Tim Patrick (three catches, 68 yards) had a third-down pickup on the Lions' first drive and nearly scored his first touchdown of the season, and Amon-Ra St. Brown scored a late touchdown in his heated duel with Jourdan Lewis. At tight end, Parker Hesse had the key block on Montgomery's second touchdown run and Sam LaPorta sold his role perfectly with a reverse flea flicker that went 52 yards for a touchdown. Grade: A

Offensive line

The Lions dominated the line of scrimmage early, closing in on the Cowboys' defenders and creating big holes for Montgomery and Gibbs to run through. Frank Ragnow ran over Mazi Smith on Montgomery's 16-yard touchdown run when no Cowboys defender laid a hand on Montgomery until he was 6 yards behind the line of scrimmage, and the Lions left Goff plenty of time in the pocket. Taylor Decker was hit by Chauncey Golston for a tackle for loss and a sack, and Ragnow was called an ineligible player downfield after a hook-and-lateral play against Penei Sewell that nearly resulted in a touchdown. A year after losing to the Cowboys, whose game-winning 2-point conversion was negated by a penalty due to a referee error, the Lions' offensive line was a deliberate focus of Sunday's plan. Grade: A

CARLOS MONARREZ: The Detroit Lions banish demons with an epic, cathartic victory over the Dallas Cowboys

Defensive line

Aidan Hutchinson suffered a horrific leg injury early in the third quarter when his leg collided with Alim McNeill's as he pulled Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott to the ground in an attempt to sack him. Hutchinson had three tackles and a holding penalty before his injury. Josh Paschal played well opposite Hutchinson at the Lions' big defensive end position. He charged into Prescott's lap multiple times and nearly killed running back Rico Dowdle with a big hit in the second quarter when he was blocked clear off the edge. Alim McNeill had two sacks, the first on a stunt involving Malcolm Rodriguez and the second when he knocked Zack Martin off balance with a bull rush. And the Lions held the Cowboys to 53 yards rushing and 14 yards on eight carries in the first half. Grade: A

Linebackers

Alex Anzalone had a thunderous run stop and pass deflection on the Cowboys' first two offensive snaps, but Dowdle intercepted the deflection for a 16-yard gain. Both he and Jack Campbell had defensive holding penalties on Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson that negated big plays (a Kerby Joseph interception and a Hutchinson sack, respectively), but together the linebacking corps made some of its biggest Plays of the season. Jalen Reeves-Maybin forced a fumble and Trevor Nowaske had a sack in the second half, and Anzalone teamed with Carlton Davis III to put Ferguson in his place and Prescott's first score on a failed 4-and-2 attempt late Effectively taking the first half ended any chance the Cowboys had of winning the game. Grade: A

Defensive backs

Brian Branch is a star. Branch said he and Joseph are the best safety tandem in the NFL, and the way they played Sunday is hard to argue with. Branch had two interceptions, forced a fumble and made six tackles, and Joseph had his fourth interception of the season – all in the end zone to thwart touchdown plays. Davis and Kindle Vildor did receive pass interference penalties following the Hutchinson injury, but the Lions played well overall in the secondary. Davis covered CeeDee Lamb well on a shot into the end zone early in the game, Amik Robertson made a key open-field tackle on Ferguson one play before Branch's first interception, and Vildor, Ennis Rakestraw Jr. and Khalil Dorsey held the cornerback to points , after Davis left in the third quarter with a brain injury. Grade: A

Special teams

Jake Bates hit the two longest field goals of his career, 40 and 48 yards, in the first half on Sunday, making the score 4-4 on the day. Bates still hasn't missed a field goal this season and hit another long extra point on Sunday after an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty from St. Brown. The Lions allowed a 79-yard kick return to KaVontae Turpin to set up a Cowboys field goal late in the first half. Turpin faked a handoff to CJ Goodwin on the return, then ran past Rodriguez and Joseph before Bates made a touchdown-saving tackle. The Lions didn't punt all day. Grade: B

Coaching

Anzalone said Lions coach Dan Campbell told players he planned to “empty the clip” this week, and the Lions did that on Sunday. They dominated the game from start to finish and represented perhaps their best performance since Campbell took over. Ben Johnson was creative and fearless with his playmaking on offense, throwing passes on eligible plays and on another hook-and-ladder, and Aaron Glenn had its defense dialed down to stop Dallas' one-dimensional attack. The Lions appeared to be the best team in the NFL, having fun and showing their resilience by holding the Cowboys to a field goal after Hutchinson's devastating injury. Grade: A

Dave Birkett will be signing copies of his new book, “Detroit Lions: An Illustrated Timeline,” at 24 Seconds Bar & Grill in Berkley on October 21 at 7 p.m. and at Stadium Cards on October 22 from 5:30 to 7 p.m & Comics in Ypsilanti. Order your copy here.

Contact Dave Birkett at [email protected]. Follow him on X and Instagram at @davebirkett.

By Vanessa

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