By Roy J. Akers- www.skyviewsports.net
The Detroit Lions victory showed Dan Campbell style ‘Grit’ early and again late as he turned on the ground game sprinkled with Jameson Williams in the game 1 victory over the LA Rams. Detroit has beaten LA three straight times since trading Matthew Stafford including last years home playoff victory. Stafford was sharp in the loss as was his favorite target Cooper Kupp. This was not lost on Campbell. “I give that team a lot of credit,” Dan Campbell said of the Rams. “I thought Stafford played lights-out, took hit after hit, kept getting up and making unbelievable throws. They fought and they fought. But we’re hard to break, so we did what we had to do.”
One Up
Jahmyr Gibbs is the splash and David Montgomery is the Grinder
Dan Campbell said in the Lions locker room after the victory over the Rams that he knew David Montgomery would be the difference for Detroit in OT. When the team won the coin toss, they had no intention of kicking a field goal and it was a TD or bust. There was no chance of letting the Rams potent offense step on the field. Montgomery was the Lions battering ram on the drive and scored a game winning TD from one yard out, capping the Lions 26-20 OT win. Montgomery had 17 rushes for 91 yards and the TD. Gibbs had 11 rushes for 40 yards and four catches for 34 yards and a TD.
Two Up: Jameson Williams is ready to roll
Jameson Williams was a disappointment in his first two NFL seasons. The Lions knew when they drafted him 9th overall in 2022 he would need time to recover from a serious knee injury during his rookie season. When he came in late, he underwhelmed the team and some said he did not put in the work. Last year, he placed non NFL gambling bets in the Lions practice facility during the offseason and he was suspended along with several others, giving him a lengthy suspension. When he did come back, once again, he underwhelmed in the games he played with the occasional flash and the team gave him another chance. This year, he came to offseason and training workouts as a man who took challenges from the coaching staff to get it together. In game one against the Rams, his five catches for 121 yards and a TD are the beginning according to Williams. “This is just Game 1,” Williams said, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “Like I said, I put in a lot of work. I expected to have a big game. Me personally, I expect to have a big game, I guess, it’s just big to the world just cause it’s my first one. But I plan to have a lot more. I don’t plan on this being my best game of my career. I plan on this just being a start of me being me. The Lions need a number two receiver and if St. Brown and Williams are both clicking in the same game, this might be an incredible year for Detroit.
Three Up: Lions Defensive Line
The Detroit Lions defensive line is not on the level as the Steelers Steel Curtain or the Rams Fearsome Foursome of years past, but they are getting better and harassed LA all day. The Lions only had two sacks on Sunday night, but they slowed Stafford down for much of the game and only allowed 83 rushing yards as the front line of the Lions defense. Detroit should get better as the season progresses.
Jared Goff- One Down
The Lions QB was off in game one and his ability to spread things around was not up to the Detroit standard. Goff threw for nearly 4600 yards for Detroit last year but it was his ability to spread the ball around to multiple receivers that was the most impressive. His connections to Jameson Williams (5-121-1TD) were impressive. Sam LaPorta and Jahmyr Gibbs each caught three balls. Amon-Ra St. Brown caught three for 13 yards and the teams number one receiver was really not a factor in the offense. “There were certainly things that were below our standards,” Goff said bluntly. “Good enough for a win, not good enough for our standards.”
Rookie Praise
Terrion Arnold started a cornerback for Detroit and had eight tackles. He also was schooled on some of the Rams Cooper Kupp catches. Overall, Arnold played well and this was noticed by one of the leagues best receivers. “I mean, he’s a competitive football player, I think that’s the thing,” Kupp told MLive’s Kory Woods after the game, via Ben Raven. “As a young guy, being able to come up and compete and challenge guys. He’s just going to continue to get better, I know, as the year goes on. You see those guys talking, the safeties, they’re communicating with him and trusting him. I think that’s something that’s going to be cool for him just to grow this year. It’ll be fun to watch him from afar. But it was certainly fun competing against him.”
Look for Detroit to figure out that connection in their week two tilt against Tampa.
Detroit takes on Tampa Bay this week at 1pm on Fox Sports.
Roy J. Akers is a multi-media reporter and covers several sports for www.skyviewsports.net
