The Lions outplayed the Commanders in Sunday's 36-27 victory at Ford Field. They also out-coached them, starting with first-year offensive coordinator Ben Johnson against Washington's veteran defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio.
"I thought Ben called a hell of a game," said Dan Campbell. "I thought he called a hell of a game and gave us the best opportunity to move the football, be efficient and find a way to score points.”
If that's not enough, take it straight from Commanders starting safety Darrick Forrest who told reporters that the Lions' success on offense, particularly in the first half, was due to "scheme."
“I felt like they knew exactly what we were in," he said. "It was great offensive play-calling.”
The Lions finished with 425 yards of offense and seven yards per play. That included 191 rushing yards and eight yards per carry, which included a pair of 50-plus-yard runs -- one by D'Andre Swift, the other by wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. And the Lions did all of that behind an offensive line missing its three interior starters, including All-Pro center Frank Ragnow and Pro Bowl guard Jonah Jackson.
Audacy Sports NFL insider and former longtime offensive lineman Brian Baldinger called it a 'coaching clinic' by Johnson in a film breakdown on Twitter.
"It’s a new day in Motown," Baldinger said, highlighting the play of Detroit's offensive line on Swift's 50-yard run in the first quarter and St. Brown's. "It doesn’t matter that there’s a new right guard, a new center, a new left guard. It doesn’t matter. Watch the second level of this Washington defense get blocked by Logan Stenberg and Dan Skipper, the two new guards, watch them pick them off. Watch (Penei) Sewell and (T.J.) Hockenson, handling that end, and out the back door swiftly goes D’Andre Swift. That’s his second 50-pus-yard run in two weeks."
Baldinger also highlighted the blocking on St. Brown's 58-yard end-around in the third quarter, noting that "it doesn’t matter who’s carrying the ball, it’s all by design."
"Part of the genius of this play is they know Washington is in man coverage," he said. "(Cornerback) William Jackson is working with Quintez Cephus, so when Amon-Ra St. Brown runs right by him, he doesn’t even know it. Now he’s off to the races. The third 50-plus-yard run of the season in two weeks by the Lions. Nobody else has that, not even close."
St. Brown, who's been torching the NFL since Johnson took over Detroit's passing game midway through the last season, called the 36-year-old offensive coordinator "one of the best coaches I’ve been around" after another explosive game on Sunday.
"He has that young mind, he’s open to new ideas, he puts all of us in the right position to make plays. He knows our strengths, he knows our weaknesses, he knows what the quarterback likes, he knows everything," said St. Brown. "He’s one of the best coaches I’ve been around. I love Coach Johnson.
"Like you said, once he kind of took over halfway through (last) season, that’s when I started getting more targets and things started taking off for me. I love Coach, I love what he’s doing for us as an offense. He’s putting us in the right position to make plays and we’re going out there and executing."
Baldinger also had high praise for Detroit's defense, particularly rookies Aidan Hutchinson and Malcolm Rodriguez. The Lions held Washington to 88 rushing yards and finished with five sacks of Carson Wentz. Even Commanders head coach Ron Rivera credited Aaron Glenn's defense for "getting off the ball and getting vertical" against the run and executing some stunts up front that "we were a little late picking up."
Baldinger nicknamed Rodriguez and Hutchinson 'Starsky and Hutch' for the way they wreaked havoc on the Commanders' offensive line from start to finish. Hutchinson finished with three sacks, a franchise single-game rookie record, and Rodriguez made a team-high eight tackles and forced Wentz into an intentional grounding penalty in the first half.
"This is fun to watch," said Baldinger. "This is a new day in Detroit."
We'll see if the Lions can sustain their momentum in Week 3 in Minnesota. For now, color Baldinger -- and Rivera -- impressed.
"That’s a very gritty football team over there," Rivera said. "I think what Coach Campbell is doing over there is really solid.”
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