Notice! That’s what the rest of the NFC North has been put on as Detroit continues to put up yards and points by beating the Jacksonville Jaguars 31-14 today from EverBank Field.
More so though the Lions fought back to .500 to 4-4 after starting 2-4.
With the win, Detroit is giving themselves the opportunity to fight for a playoff spot in what is turning out to be on of the toughest divisions in football. Green Bay sits at 6-3 after a win against Arizona, Chicago had an absolute stomping against Tennessee to go to 7-1 and Minnesota who plays later today is 5-3 and could be 6-3 or 5-4 with the win or loss. But if you want further proof of this division’s toughness, the NFC North is the only division with a team not under .500. All four teams are also in the plus category with points for and foints against.
Detroit though has seemed to work out their early season struggles and the Jaguars were the perfect team to work out any left questions. From the first snap it was clear Detroit was going to be able to move the ball as the Jacksonville defense was simply over matched. The Jaguars had no answer for Calvin Johnson, (whom has received criticism as of late) finishing the game with seven receptions for 129 yards. Jacksonville was also continually hurt by 3rd down conversions as the Lions went 8 for 12 which subsequentially was the second week in a row of a 75% completion rate on 3rd down.
Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford was very smart with the football spreading it amongst his guys for 285 yards and zero interceptions. The Detroit offense also had a two headed monster running back as Mikel Leshoure and free agent pick up and former Wayne State standout Joique Bell combined for 29 carries, 143 Yards and 4 TD’s, 3 of which were Leshoure who really had a breakout game.
Yes the Detroit Lions had 4 rushing Touchdowns in a game.
Suh and company were pretty quiet in the box score but that was not a bad thing. The lowly Jaguar offense didn’t move the ball into Detroit territory until the 2nd half. In fact Jacksonville didn’t see the red zone until half way through the 4th quarter as the Detroit defense held the Jaguars to a bunch of three and outs with Jacksonville also shooting themselves in the foot with a bunch of dropped passes and missed tackles. The Lions’ defense also held Jacksonville to 3.2 a carry on the ground while Jaguars QB Blaine Gabbert off set the Detroit rush with quick passes as indicated by his league low 5.8 yards per completion which to no surprise was 5.8 in this game too.
Gabbert did get two late scores after the Lions started putting nails in the coffin with a Hanson 42 yard field goal for a 24-0 lead. The first Jacksonville scoring play came when Gabbert threw a 5 yard strike to Michael Spurlock for a touchdown. Jacksonville also converted on the two point try to make it 24-8.
Detroit came right back to stop any thought of a comeback or let down with a methodical drive that ended with Bell getting the Lions’ 4th rushing TD of the game.
Jacksonville got a late TD with 50 seconds left but at this point it was way too little and way too late.
Detroit dominated today’s game from the first quarter to the final whistle which was a welcomed sight for Lions fans everywhere after dealing with Detroit’s fourth quarter comebacks on multiple occasions this season.
This win should also not be dismissed because of Jacksonville’s less than stellar record. Any win on the road is a good win as life on the road in the NFL isn’t easy. In addition to this most games in the NFL are decided by a one possession game or less which results in the Lions having two characteristics of a good team.
We have seen this team at it’s best and worst early, most importantly fans should remember that it’s not so much how you start but how you finish. With 8 games left halfway through, the Lions players and coach Schwartz know where they want to go.
