| The Detroit News
Detroit — Justin Rogers grades the Detroit Lions’ performance in their 30-27 win over the Washington Football Team.
Quarterback
Despite suffering a thumb injury early in the game, Matthew Stafford had one of his most efficient performances of the season. He utilized pump fakes well on two deep touchdown throws early in the game, while managing to work the Lions into field goal range in the closing seconds. Grade: A-
Running backs
Getting the first start of his career, D’Andre Swift left no room to second-guess the decision. From the first drive of the game, where he ran for 32 yards on three carries, to the 46 yards he gained on a series that put the Lions back on top late in the fourth quarter, he was electric most of the day.
Adrian Peterson moved into a background role, but had a nice series of plays during a first-half drive that resulted in a touchdown. Grade: A
Wide receivers/tight ends
Marvin Jones had his best game of the season, catching eight passes for 96 yards. One of those grabs was a 27-yard touchdown, while another, a simple 9-yard slant, was just enough to move the Lions into range for the game winner.
Marvin Hall also added a touchdown and, to the surprise of no one, it came on a deep ball.
The biggest criticisms of the group should be directed at rookie Quintez Cephus, who dropped a slant in the first half and failed to track a well-placed deep ball in the closing seconds that would have given Matt Prater a much, much closer kick to give the Lions the win. Grade: B
Offensive line
Washington’s defensive line is loaded with productive, first-round draft picks, but Detroit’s hogs kept Stafford’s pocket clean much of the day by keeping the pass-rush at bay and limiting Washington to a single sack (although two others were wiped out by roughing the passer penalties).
With the rushing attack, Detroit’s backs also had some daylight, which they took advantage of by gaining 105 yards on 21 carries (5 yards per carry). Grade: B+
Defensive line
The Lions did a decent job up front generating some pressure, while also limiting Washington’s effectiveness on the ground. Everson Griffen, in his second game with the Lions, hit quarterback Alex Smith five times, while tallying his first sack. Romeo Okwara also netted a sack, his team-leading sixth.
On the ground, most of the damage came on a Terry McLaurin end around where Christian Jones failed to set the edge. The opposing trio of backs averaged just 2.5 yards per carry, although they did manage to score three times. Grade: B
Linebackers
Jamie Collins paced the Lions with 13 tackles, while forcing two fumbles. Washington pounced on the first, but the linebacker recovered the second. Reggie Ragland also had a solid game, making six stops, including one behind the line. He also got pressure on Smith, forcing an incompletion with a QB hit. Grade: B
Secondary
In his triumphant return to the starting lineup, Smith threw for a career-high 390 yards. McLaurin paced Washington’s receivers with 95 of those yards, while tight end Logan Thomas also gave Detroit some trouble, including converting a fourth-and-13 in the red zone.
Justin Coleman gave up another fourth-down conversion, failing to wrap up receiver Cam Sims behind the line. And while we can debate the merit of the flags, Desmond Trufant was penalized twice, once on fourth down and a second time on a third-and-long, extending Washington’s game-tying drive in the closing minutes. Grade: D+
Special teams
It was another really good day for Detroit’s special teams, headed by Prater, who made a 53-yard field goal at the end of the first half and a 59-yarder to win the game.
Jack Fox did what he’s done all season, punting with power. He averaged 47.8 yards net on his four boots, pinning Washington inside the 20 three times without a touchback.
The Lions didn’t do much in the return game, and while the coverage units did their job with Fox’s punts, they did let Danny Johnson get loose for a 46-yard kickoff return in the first half. Grade: A-
Coaches
Kudos for finally letting Swift take the lead in the backfield. That decision was long overdue and paid huge dividends against Washington. Additionally, with the offense, coordinator Darrell Bevell found a way to get the deep ball back on track. Stafford’s pump fake creating space for Hall’s 55-yard touchdown grab was part of the plan to attack Washington’s aggressive secondary.
But, once again, the team got too conservative with a lead and almost saw the game get away. How this is still a problem is baffling given how many leads the Lions have blown, particularly the double-digit variety, under Patricia. Grade: C-
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers