The Lions were far less than perfect Sunday, but nonetheless more impressive than the previous week.
Because, unlike their destruction of Jacksonville, the Lions still found a way to beat the playoff-bound Vikings. And handily.
It was another step up in a process during which the Lions have emerged.
It’s an ideal situation. The Lions are not only moving closer to authentic playoff contention this season after a 1-6 start, their future is looking bright.
And a major reason why is head coach Dan Campbell.
Give him credit. He has learned from his game management mistakes. Yet, it’s not as if he has totally gone into a shell, either.
The fake punt call Sunday was brilliant. How about putting massive tackle Penei Sewell in motion like a slot back and having Jared Goff deliver the ball perfectly?
Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is getting much credit for the Lions’ surge. That’s justified, but don’t forget who hired him. It’s not like Johnson was a big name.
The Lions were clearly better prepared than the Vikings. Their play design was much better offensively. They kept their heads in the game, unlike the Vikings who lost focus, particularly on a red-zone fumble by star back Dalvin Cook. Sure, Kirk Cousins and Justin Jefferson often burned the Lions’ depleted secondary. But it wasn’t coupled with a running attack. Cook had 23 yards on 15 attempts. The Lions controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.
This is the second season Campbell has survived a first-half storm. In 2021, they were awful in the first half, before winning three games. This season, the Lions are decidedly better than they were at 1-6.
This was not a fluky victory.
Goff has displayed similar resiliency to his head coach. If there’s been a weakness, it’s been his deep throws, yet he couldn’t have tossed a better one than on his touchdown strike to D.J. Chark. Goff spread the ball to 11 different receivers, and continued to be exceptionally sharp on intermediate routes while avoiding turnovers.
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Obviously, there is going to be a tendency to get ahead of the curve while projecting the Lions’ progress.
However, they have clearly advanced. With a lot of early draft picks in 2023, a clearing of salary cap space, a budding young nucleus and a slew of wins, there is more than just a speck of light at the end of the tunnel.
It’s, in fact, getting brighter and brighter by the week.
Encouraged? You should be.
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