Congrats to the Detroit Lions on the first win of the 2022 season. The Lions surged out to a huge early lead and then withstood both a nice Washington Commanders comeback and a case of the jitters to secure a 36-27 win.
With the victory, the Lions climb to 1-1. Washington is also 1-1 after losing in Ford Field.
It was something of a tale of two halves.
The first half, my goodness. It might have been the most fun, dominant 30 minutes of Lions football we’ve witnessed in a long time. Just look at the box score from halftime:
The defense smothered the Commanders with pressure and sound execution. Three sacks in the half from rookie Aidan Hutchinson keyed a dominating defense, which outscored the Commanders itself with a safety by Charles Harris. The offense missed some opportunities but posted four scoring drives and scored a touchdown in each quarter, extending the string to 13 straight quarters with a touchdown–the longest streak in the league.
Detroit did extend that streak to 15, but it was a lot less comfortable in the second half. Washington made some nice offensive adjustments, getting nifty Curtis Samuel isolated in space more and dedicating more protection help for QB Carson Wentz.
The Lions responded uneasily. A great touchdown throw from Jared Goff to Amon-Ra St. Brown gave some breathing room. Washington oddly went for two after a TD closed the score to eight, and then they missed an extra point on the next touchdown to provide the odd final margin.
Jared Goff threw four TDs, two to St. Brown. It wasn’t a great day for Goff despite the four scoring throws. He missed a couple of opportunities in going 20-of-34, but Goff avoided giving the ball away and responded with a couple of clutch drives late.
It’s a sweet victory for the Lions and head coach Dan Campbell built around an aggressive defensive style and a dynamic offense. Detroit has now scored 35 points or more in three straight games.