INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Detroit Free Press sports writer Dave Birkett grades the Detroit Lions in their 28-19 loss to the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium on Sunday:
Quarterback
Goff was not spectacular, but coming off his worst game of the season, he gave the Lions a chance to win. He finished 22 of 36 passing for 268 yards and made a couple of pinpoint throws, including one deep ball to Kalif Raymond. But he missed a pass to T.J. Hockenson early and threw low and behind D’Andre Swift on a third-and-7 incompletion in the third quarter, though Swift said that miscommunication was his fault. Goff threw two interceptions Sunday, though neither was entirely his fault. One came on a play when he took a big hit from Aaron Donald, and the other bounced off Swift’s hands. Goff was probably too aggressive on the first pick, when Hockenson was blanketed by Jalen Ramsey. But on an emotional day facing his old team, he held up well. Grade: C-plus
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Running backs
As Dan Campbell intimated, the Lions can’t do enough to get the ball in Swift’s hands. Swift topped 100 scrimmage yards for the fourth time this season. He caught eight passes for a career-high 96 yards and gave the Lions an early jolt offensively when he turned a short screen pass into a 63-yard touchdown. Swift showed great body control on that catch-and-run to keep his balance on a pass that was slightly off the mark. He also ran over Rams safety Nick Scott on a third-and-17 draw play to put the Lions in makeable field goal range. Jamaal Williams (12 carries, 57 yards) averaged 4.8 yards per carry and ran well between the tackles. The Lions did fail on two short-yardage rushing plays in the second half, and Swift had one drop. Grade: A-minus
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Receivers/tight ends
Kalif Raymond made two nice catches during the Lions’ two-minute drive late in the first half. Raymond laid out for a 20-yard grab against David Long, then reached high to make a 14-yard catch in traffic on the next play. He was part of a cadre of receivers blocking downfield on Swift’s long touchdown catch-and-run, along with Amon-Ra St. Brown and Geronimo Allison. He also had a drop on the Lions’ second series. Both Hockenson and young tight end Brock Wright struggled to make pulling blocks on runs that went for short or no gains. Wright did have a key block on a 12-yard Williams run late in the first quarter. Outside of Raymond (six catches, 115 yards), KhaDarel Hodge was the only Lions receiver to catch a pass. Grade: C
Offensive line
Goff took just two sacks Sunday, but he seemed to be under constant pressure early, when the Lions could not hold the ball long enough to get their play-action passing game on track. Donald and A’Shawn Robinson blew up the Lions’ play of the second half with a good rush, and Donald beat Halapoulivaati Vaitai with a lightning-quick inside move to force the game-clinching interception. Jonah Jackson was out front on Swift’s long touchdown, and he and Penei Sewell made key blocks on a third-and-1 conversion. Sewell and Vaitai drew holding penalties and both struggled to block Donald when the Lions were stopped on third- and fourth-and-1 on back-to-back plays in the second half. Grade: C-minus
Defensive line
Julian Okwara is starting to come alive as a pass rusher. He had a sack on a third-and-10 play in the third quarter, looping from his left defensive end spot up the middle to take down Matthew Stafford. Okwara also had a good rush on a pass Stafford threw just long to Darrell Henderson, and he showed good recognition on fourth-and-1 boot pass, when he had his hand in just the right place to deflect pass to Tyler Higbee. John Penisini got pancaked on Henderson’s 10-yard run in second-quarter quarter, and Trey Flowers and Okwara jumped offsides on third-and-9 to extend a drive in the third quarter, but the Lions did a good job against the run with their front seven, holding the Rams to 47 yards rushing. Grade: B-minus
Linebackers
I thought Alex Anzalone played one of his best games of the season. He made seven tackles, had good coverage on a second quarter incompletion to Cooper Kupp and seemed to have the Lions in the right defensive plays, though he did jump offsides on third-and-5 in the second quarter to give the Rams a first down. Jalen Reeves-Maybin (eight tackles) got the majority of the play time in his snap share with Derrick Barnes and had blanket coverage on incompletion to Henderson in end zone midway through second quarter. Barnes allowed a catch and run 14-yard gain to Kupp on a short curl late in the third quarter that helped the Rams get out of the shadow of their own end zone on their go-ahead touchdown drive. Grade: B-minus
Defensive backs
The Lions had coverage breakdowns on the Rams’ first two pass plays Sunday, with one of Amani Oruwariye and Reeves-Maybin leaving Higbee open on a crossing route on L.A.’s first play from scrimmage, and at several other crucial times during the game. The biggest came on the final play of the third quarter, when Daryl Worley, playing as an injury replacement for A.J. Parker, got beat for a 59-yard gain. Campbell said the front was late with its pass rush on the play, but Worley was beat by several yards. Parker made a nice breakup on a pass to Higbee in the second quarter, then got beat by Kupp for 27 yards on the next play. Jerry Jacobs drew a tough-luck pass interference penalty against Van Jefferson and gave up a touchdown on the same drive. Tracy Walker had eight tackles and made a huge hit on Henderson to break up a pass down the seam, but he missed a tackle on Robert Woods on a third-and-7 crossing route that went for 22 yards. And Will Harris disrupted Henderson’s route on a third-and-4 incompletion that forced the Rams to settle for a field goal. Grade: D-plus
Special teams
The Lions executed three trick plays to perfection on special teams, with Campbell springing several of the calls on players during the game. Austin Seibert got a perfect hop on his onside kick after the Lions’ first touchdown, and a swarm of Lions were around the ball, including Walker. Jack Fox threw a 17-yard pass to gunner Bobby Price on a fake punt to extend the Lions’ second possession, and C.J. Moore ran for 28 yards on a second fake punt, when he got good blocking on the edge. Seibert has been steady all season. He was 4 for 4 on field goals Sunday and did a good job placing kickoffs at the goal line. And while Fox’ only punt went 36 yards, the thought in the press box was that it hit the camera wire, impacting its distance. Grade: A
Coaching
Give Campbell and his staff credit for having the guts to dial up three trick plays. Yes, the Lions needed all three to keep the game close against a superior team, but the timing and execution of when Campbell called them seemed to give his players a big lift. I do think Campbell erred in his clock management late in the first half, when he took too long to call a timeout, and the Lions seemed to have a handful of minor issues getting in the right play, including one time they burned a timeout early in the third quarter. Campbell has been ultra aggressive on fourth downs this season, but he was right to take the points when he passed on a fourth-and-3 conversion attempt before Seibert’s 47-yard first-half field goal. I thought the Lions should have kicked a field goal on their failed fourth-and-1 play in the fourth quarter, and Campbell said the hurry-up decision was his fault and poorly conceived. It’s of little solace at 0-7, but the Lions did play well against one of the NFL’s best teams, a week after they had their biggest stinker of the year. Grade: B
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.