By Roy J. Akers www.skyviewsports.net
The Lions vs. Dallas on Thursday Night Football was a defacto playoff game for both teams. Dallas had a 25 percent chance of making the playoffs and only five percent with a loss to Detroit. The Lions, only a half game better, have a 55 percent chance of making the playoffs and 25 percent with a loss. So, it’s the old adage of, “Just Win Baby.
Let’s go to the kickoff…
One Up- Jack Campbell
Jack Campbell is like a fine wine. He just keeps getting better and better. Ok as a rookie, pretty good in 2024. The 2025 version of Campbell has been spectacular. 12 total tackles including six solo, a PD, a TFL, and a sack. He is always around the football and he will be a Pro Bowl player in 2026.
Two Up- Al-Quadin Muhammad
Muhammad did a great job and provide a productive distraction to Aiden Hutchinson, who clearly cannot get to the quarterback consistently in 2025. Three sacks and three tackles were his production. The Lions need someone to get to the quarterback and the Lions got there five times against the Cowboys after getting there four times in four games.
| Splits | TOT | SOLO | AST | SACK | FF | FR | YDS | INT | YDS | AVG | TD | LNG | PD | STF | STFYDS | KB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This Game | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Three Up Jameson Williams
The perpetually immature Williams is trending toward being a No. 1 receiver over the last month. Williams was seriously underused under the Lions playcaller John Morton. Under Dan Campbell, he has turned Williams into a pass catcher and not just a gadget player who uses his 4.2 speed once a game to go deep and disappear. Williams is not just a blocker, but running real routes. Seven catches for 96 yards and seven more on a jet sweep gave Williams a quality game . Throwing the football on the grown and spinning it taunting defenders is not a good move. Williams has the talent, the contract and game to remain in Detroit for a long time.
One Down
The craziest stat of the first half. The Lions run the football only five times, and it never felt like it. Gibbs ran three times for 18 yards with a long run of 19 yards. Gibbs was active in the passing game and it was easy to lose track of Gibbs only touching the game three times. David Montgomery ran twice for 37 yards with a 35 yard TD run. Both running backs scored. Jameson Williams ran a jet sweep for7 ad his play seemed like it could go for more. No complaining. When you lead 20-9 after 30-minutes, who cares how you do it.
The Lions picked up the pace in the second half and Monty ran six times for 60 yards. Gibbs ran 12 times for 43 yards, and three TD’s.
Two Down
DJ Reed covering Cee Dee Lamb was a mismatch. By early in the third quarter, Reed had two PI penalties and a hold. His play was brutal. For the game. Lamb caught 6 passes for 121 yards. Reed must have been thankful when Lamb went to the locker room for treatment midway through the third quarter. Lamb was ruled out of the game with a concussion. If not, Reed would have been ruled Texas Toast.
Three Down- Lions O Line
It’s not fair. The Lions offensive line has been great for most of the Dan Campbell run. Then Ragnow retired due to consistent foot problems. Being a multiple time all-pro, it is not fair. He tried to come back but an injury will prevent that in 2025. Penei Sewell has been a mostly spectacular player although he was beat for a clean Cowboys sack Thursday. The two guards, they are learning and drew multiple flags for holding and other infractions and allowed eight Jared Goff hits. Detroit must hope that Tate Ratledge improves with more experience. Right now, Goff is getting passes tipped and is throwing the ball away frequently.
Roy J. Akers covers the NFL and the Detroit Lions for www.skyviewsports.net. Subscribe to www.skyviewsports.net
