Morton was most certainly still involved in the game plan this week<\/a>. Campbell deserves credit for calling a good game, but unless we hear about Morton getting phased out of the coaching staff entirely, he should still garner some credit as well.<\/p>\nThat being said, the grass certainly looks greener without Morton at the helm calling plays. If I have to question whether the offensive coordinator is coordinating the offense, then I have to give Morton a negative for today\u2019s game.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s rare that a team\u2019s best pass rusher is a safety, but Branch is something special. The star safety was a menace around the line of scrimmage. Not only did he rack up a total of seven tackles (falling just short of tackling machine Jack Campbell for the team lead), but he also recorded two sacks of Marcus Mariota, including this impressive rush:<\/p>\n
The Lions have had to weather the multi-week injury to Kerby Joseph, but having another elite safety in Branch helps provide some relief and stability.<\/p>\n
Additionally, a tip of the hat to Thomas Harper for playing well in relief\u2014the Lions were lacking a trustworthy backup safety entering the season, but Harper has stepped up when called upon.<\/p>\n
Winner: Kalif Raymond, WR<\/p>\n
The Lions have had almost zero production from their depth receivers in 2025, with neither Raymond nor Isaac TeSlaa standing out besides a sparse few plays. While Raymond\u2019s output on Sunday was not earthshattering (49 yards on four receptions), it was by far his biggest offensive contribution of the season and a firm reminder that he can be a contributor beyond special teams.<\/p>\n
Raymond is still one of the faster players on the team, and he is worthy of more than a few gimmicky plays per game. He will never be the target hog he was for the Lions in 2021, but he can still provide a spark now and then.<\/p>\n
When two receivers have season-best days, the quarterback typically deserves some credit. When two receivers have season-best days and neither of those players were Amon-Ra St. Brown or Sam LaPorta, the quarterback deserves a heap of praise.<\/p>\n
Goff was under constant pressure against the Vikings last week, and the Lions\u2019 offense suffered as a result. It was a complete 180 against Washington on Sunday. Goff threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns in a rout of the Commanders\u2019 defense. Washington brought limited pressure throughout the game, and Goff capitalized on it. He had time to find his usual targets like St. Brown (58 yards and one touchdown) and LaPorta (53 yards), but the breakout of Williams and Raymond shows how comfortable Goff was on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Winners: Penei Sewell and Kayode Awosika, OL<\/p>\n
The offensive line, in particular, looked much improved against Washington, but I want to highlight two players.<\/p>\n
Sewell has been a stalwart tackle since day one, but this game showcased how truly special he is. Not only was Sewell dominant in run blocking (his usual bread and butter), his pass protection gave Goff an easy, stress-free day from the pocket (just one pressure allowed per PFF\u2019s live-game stats). A great game from Sewell is not uncommon, but he also did this while banged up. He had already suffered a shoulder injury last week that forced him to miss Wednesday\u2019s practice. While he entered today\u2019s game without an injury designation, he had an injury scare when defensive tackle Johnny Newton rolled up on his leg. Such a play would cause a common man like me to question my career choice, but Sewell only missed a handful of snaps. He returned and looked largely unbothered throughout the game. The man is simply a machine.<\/p>\n
Speaking of injuries, Awosika stepped up in a big way. The run game in particular was humming (225 rushing yards on 32 carries), largely due to some stout blocking from Awosika and the interior. When Christian Mahogany was placed on Injured Reserve, there were questions about what the Lions would do to replace him. Trystan Colon was an option, as was a potential deadline trade. Instead, the Lions went with a player they felt comfortable with, and Awosika delivered.<\/p>\n
It is difficult to single out a loser when the Lions played such a complete game, but McNeill left me somewhat disappointed. In the run game, he got washed out on a few occasions, including the Chris Rodriguez touchdown run in the second quarter. The Commanders\u2019 rushing totals were subpar (27 carries for 97 yards and the touchdown), but aside from one run stuff, McNeill was largely unnoticed. As a pass rusher, meanwhile, he was not collapsing the pocket like his usual self. Is this a byproduct of playing a scrambling quarterback like Marcus Mariota? Hard to say. Roy Lopez, inversely, stole the spotlight among the defensive tackles, notching a sack (tag-teamed with Branch) and multiple tackles for loss.<\/p>\n
I still think McNeill is one of the Lions\u2019 most important defenders, but he has been fairly quiet since his stellar debut against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.<\/p>\n
Winner: Terrion Arnold, CB<\/p>\n
If this article had been posted at halftime, Arnold would have been first on my list of Winners. Arnold was lights out in coverage against Washington, recording a pass defended and close coverage on a consistent basis. Arnold now has back-to-back outings with excellent coverage reps, a much-needed turnaround after a rough start to his season. While Arnold struggled in run defense against the Vikings last week, he shined in that regard this week. He demonstrated his ability to read and tackle on a Deebo Samuel end-around, saving a sure-fire touchdown.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately for Arnold, it was just a phenomenal half of football. Arnold was ruled out with a concussion before the opening drive of the second half, ending what was a strong performance for the cornerback. His status will be worth monitoring going forward, a shame since his play has turned around of late.<\/p>\n
Losers: Washington Commanders defense<\/p>\n
Normally, I try to keep Winners\/Losers focused solely on the Detroit Lions, but the Commanders\u2019 defense exemplified the loser mentality.<\/p>\n
Late in the second quarter, the Lions were driving on offense\u2014as was the case throughout the entire game. Kinlaw was penalized for offside, giving the Lions a second-and-5 at the Washington 13. Despite the penalty (and the 14-3 scoreboard), Kinlaw was clapping and chirping in Jared Goff\u2019s face. The Lions had the last laugh, as they scored on the very next play, bringing the score to 20-3 with a point after pending.<\/p>\n
That it when things got spicy. On the way back to the huddle, Payne blatantly sucker punched Amon-Ra St. Brown in the face<\/a>. Payne was immediately ejected, and the Lions were awarded free yards on their extra point; as a result, they converted a two-point conversion to bring the score to 22-3. After the conversion, Kinlaw was again sparring on the field, this time contacting an official and drawing a flag (but no ejection). This gave the Lions even more yards, allowing them to pin Washington deep on the ensuing kickoff.<\/p>\nWashington scored a touchdown despite the long field, which would normally help calm down a heated roster. Instead, the discipline continued to spiral for the Commanders. After Detroit kicked a field goal to close out the first half, safety Quan Martin was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct after taunting offensive line Dan Skipper while he was on the ground. As the score ran away from them, the Commanders finally piped down.<\/p>\n
It was a poor outing for the Washington defense in general, but to lose their cool that early into a football game\u2014a football game still within reach\u2014was downright pathetic.<\/p>\n
Fox got paid for barely doing anything today, the working man\u2019s dream.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The best cure for a blowout is to deliver one yourself. The Detroit Lions held no quarter against…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":282877,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[2131,349,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-282876","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-detroit-lions-analysis","9":"tag-nfl","10":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=282876"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282876\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/282877"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=282876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=282876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=282876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}