The Lions roared back to life on offense, with a hand from Dan Campbell.
A week after co-captains Penei Sewell and Amon-Ra St. Brown aired some frustration about the Lions' offense, Detroit piled up season-highs in rushing yards and total yards in a 44-22 rout of the Commanders, as Campbell took over play-calling from offensive coordinator John Morton.
Campbell hinted at a change in the operation when he said Friday that the Lions' adjustment on offense "could be with the way the game is called. It could be maybe the rhythm of how you call it. It could be what you go to. It could be who you’re trying to get involved."
On Sunday, Campbell was notably wearing glasses on the sideline for the first time this season as he consulted his offensive play sheet. The Lions scored touchdowns on their first three drives and never punted. Campbell confirmed afterward that he was indeed the one calling plays.
The Lions, who entered the game ranked 25th in the NFL in third down conversion rate, finished with 546 yards of offense, including 226 rushing. They went 5-for-10 on third down after going 5-for-17 in last week's loss to the Vikings.
Sewell called the Vikings game "one of our worst performances" on the offensive line in his tenure with the Lions.
"I feel like we haven’t been in a flow all year," Amon-Ra St. Brown said three days before Sunday's game. "... I just feel like that flow has been missing, whatever you want to call flow: rhythm, execution, just everything as a whole. If we get that back — I should say when we get that back — I think we’ll be just fine."
On Sunday, the Lions got it back.