The Lions needed someone to rush with speed opposite Aidan Hutchinson. Al-Quadin Muhammad just needed another shot. His up-and-down season hit a new high Thursday night when Muhammad notched one, two, three sacks in the Lions' massive win over the Cowboys.
"A lot of it is opportunity," Muhammad said after Detroit's 44-30 victory that breathed new life into the season. "I’ve been on different teams, different schemes, and the great thing about this team is, if you’re doing what you’re supposed to do, you will get the opportunity. It’s just taking advantage of it."
All week, Detroit's pass rush was under a microscope. Indeed, that was the only way to locate it the past two games. Against the top passing attack in the NFL, it felt like the Lions' season hinged on their ability to win up front. The players knew it, the coaches knew it. As Muhammad would say on the field after the best performance of his career, "We knew how important this game was, and we knew we had to rush up front to get this dub."
An unease settled over Ford Field when the first sack of the night came from former Lions speed rusher James Houston, who beat none other than Penei Sewell around the right edge to kill Detroit's opening drive. There was exactly what the Lions have been missing, courtesy of a player they cut last season. Early in the second quarter, Muhammad returned the favor against the team that cut him last season when he raced past the Cowboys backup left tackle and planted Dak Prescott into the turf to kill Dallas' longest drive of the game.
As a unit, not counting their extra snaps in overtime against the Giants, the Lions' defensive ends had produced one half-sack in the team's prior four games. Muhammad, the nine-year journeyman, had cooled off and then all but vanished after a hot start to the season. In the Lions' loss to the Packers last week, he played his fewest pass-rushing snaps of the year since Week 1. Defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard teased changes in personnel ahead of the Cowboys game. It appears that one of them was re-elevating Muhammad into a prominent role.
The Lions led comfortably for most of the second half, even as the Cowboys scored 21 points. When Dallas took the field trailing by 10 with about seven minutes to go, Muhammad shed the block of left tackle Terence Steele and chased down Prescott for his second sack of the night. Hutchinson was there, too, after crashing through the interior, but it was Muhammad who finished the job.
"Shoutout to the other guys in our room, said Muhammad. "It’s not just me out there rushing alone, it’s a collective effort. And when I did get some opportunities to go one-on-one, I won my one-on-ones."
Sheppard also said that the defense would tweak its scheme. The Lions dialed up some aggressive blitzes early in the game, including one that ended within inches of a safety and a sack all the same for Jack Campbell. It was the first in five games for Detroit's linebackers, who were a key part of the pass rush when it was productive earlier this season.
"We were trying to generate some pressures early, and then we were able to get home with those four-man rushes in the second half," said Alex Anzalone.
Hutchinson was shut out for the second straight week in the sack column, but was more disruptive as a pass-rusher than he was on Thanksgiving. To Hutchinson, the entire defense felt "more seamless" against Dallas, the rush and coverage working in concert, and "I also believe that the (coaches) kind of took the reins off the D-line this week in an effort to create more," he said.
"It’s just getting off the ball. Even when it might be a run, just having more of a pass mentality. Because where teams get us a lot is that block it up, (play-action pass), eight-man protection and then he’s sitting back there and he’s hitting us," said Hutchinson. "Getting faster on those transitions has really been an emphasis, and I think we did that today."
Hutchinson described it as more of a "mentality" than an adjustment in scheme. Either way, "I think it aided us, and I think we’re going to continue to do that."
For the Lions, the night ended fittingly. With the Cowboys hunting a late touchdown to make things interesting, Muhammad beat Steele in another one-on-one for his third sack of the game and Detroit's fifth, more than the defense had in the last four games combined. And on the next snap, DJ Reed flushed away a frustrating night personally with an interception and the Lions' third takeaway, more than the defense had in the last five games combined.
"We know exactly what’s at stake," said Muhammad. "Our coach challenged every guy in the room to not be Superman, but to do your job."
One of these teams was walking away from this game with legitimate playoff hopes. The other would have its hopes all but dashed. The Lions are alive at 8-5, largely because their pass rush came back to life. Muhammad led the way in the biggest win of the year, and now leads the Lions with nine sacks, one-half more than Hutchinson.
"He’s capitalizing on his opportunities," said Anzalone, "and he’s showing up when he’s called upon."