Big players make big plays, which lead to big wins. Sunday was about as big as it gets for the Lions, staring at an 0-2 start after two games at home. And then their biggest players stepped up, a rookie defensive end, a second-year wide receiver, a third-year running back. They made the biggest plays that sent the Lions to the biggest win of Dan Campbell’s tenure.
The Lions needed this game, 36-27 over the Commanders. They did. Campbell has built up tons of trust in a tight-knit locker room. Nothing erodes it like losing. After a painfully familiar defeat in the season opener, the Lions couldn't let another one get away. They couldn’t hit the road for three of their next four games without a win. The players needed this game to believe in where they are going.
“It feels good to win,” said Campbell, “because there’s a lot of hard work that’s put into it. And the best thing about it is, our guys trust in the system. They believe in the plan and they execute the plan.”
The plan on defense was to get after Carson Wentz. Like last week against Jalen Hurts, the Lions didn't hold back. Only this week, they finished. Aidan Hutchinson finished. The No. 2 pick terrorized Washington's offensive line from the opening snap, and then brutalized Wentz. He notched his first career sack to snuff out the Commanders' opening drive. He notched his second to force another punt a few series later. And he notched his third -- a Lions single-game rookie record -- to cap the best half of football this team has played under defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn.
"Give them credit," said Commanders' head coach Ron Rivera: "They were getting off the ball and getting vertical, getting into the crease. That's their aggressive nature. That's how they do things."
Meanwhile, Detroit's offense was moving. And credit to the offensive line, which did not look like a unit missing all three of its interior starters. The Lions shut down Washington's defensive front and found explosive plays across the field. The Commanders rarely found D'Andre Swift and Amon-Ra St. Brown before it was too late.
St. Brown turned a busted coverage into a 49-yard gain to set up the Lions' first score. Swift turned the corner for a 50-yard run on their next drive, and said he was only caught a few yards shy of the end zone because he was playing on a balky ankle. You certainly couldn't tell. St. Brown made a leaping catch in the back of the end zone for the Lions' first touchdown, after Jared Goff bought just time enough time on third down to find his favorite receiver.
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Stars win games in the NFL. The Lions officially have two of them on offense in Swift and St. Brown, both of whom are still rising. St. Brown just matched an NFL record set by Antonio Brown and Michael Thomas, two of the best receivers of the last decade, by making at least eight catches for the eighth straight game. Swift just became the first Lion with 50-yard runs in back-to-back games since Barry Sanders.
When they touch the ball, special things happen. Like late in the third quarter after Washington had pulled within seven and the Lions started their next drive with an end-around for St. Brown and "all I hear from the defense," he said with a smile, "is, 'Oh, sh*t.'" St. Brown dashed down Detroit's sideline for a 58-yard gain to put a charge back into the crowd at Ford Field and turn the tides of the game.
"And then Swift," said St. Brown, "doing the things he does."
Swift does things that others simply can't. He was lying on his stomach with the ball in his hands after making a third-down catch three plays later, 20 yards shy of the end zone. Before any converging defenders could touch him down, Swift leapt to his feet and thought to himself, right there in that moment, "Score." Center Evan Brown thought to himself, "Is he really about to do this?"
Swift made one man miss with a jab step, then another, then danced around a third who lunged haplessly at his ankles and strode into the end zone. It turned a stalled drive into a touchdown and restored the Lions' 14-point lead.
"He's amazing," said left tackle Taylor Decker. "I see him make plays every day in practice, but it doesn't make it any less impressive when he does it again. And again, and again. He's just a playmaker. We know if we can get the ball in his hands in space and get him to the second level, he can make everybody miss and take it 60 yards or to take it to the house. And we know if a linebacker or a safety has him in coverage, good luck. We want to get the ball to him as many times as we can. The guy's awesome."
Washington wouldn't go away, pulling back within eight early in the fourth quarter. On the ensuing drive, Goff found his favorite receiver again, this time near the pylon for St. Brown's second touchdown of the game. St. Brown said he heard his number called in the huddle and decided, "I gotta go win and make a play." That's what playmakers do.
"Similar to Swift," Decker said. "We need a big catch, you make the play. We got an end-around designed for you, you make a huge play. He just does it every day and deserves all the credit that he gets. When we need a play, we know we have guys that will make that play. And that's huge. That's the NFL. You gotta make the big plays in the big moments."
This was a team win for the Lions, who also got big plays from the Harris brothers on defense -- Charles with a strip-sack for a safety, Will with a second-half interception -- and stout work from three backups on the offensive line. And Goff had one of his best games for Detroit, four touchdowns to no picks. But the Lions were winners because their best players stood up, a 23-year-old and two 22-year-olds, willing the team to victory one game-changing play at a time.
"Good for us," said Campbell. "We needed this."