Tag: Detroit Lions vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

Dan Campbell explains why he won’t ever pull starters before the fourth quarter

Lions head coach Dan Campbell explains why he won’t ever pull starters before the fourth quarter, even in blowouts like Week 11 vs. Jaguars

During the Detroit Lions runaway 52-6 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, head coach Dan Campbell kept his key starters in the game into the fourth quarter. The outcome had long been decided, but Jared Goff, Penei Sewell, Brian Branch, Alim McNeill and other prominent starters were still out there running wild and free over the hapless Jaguars.

Campbell took some criticism for that decision. In a game where the already injury-ravaged Lions defense lost starting LB and captain Alex Anzalone to a broken forearm, there was consternation that leaving the important players in was too much of an injury risk.

When asked about that in his weekly appearance on 97.1 The Ticket on Tuesday, Campbell pushed back hard at that notion. He explained his rationale for leaving starters in, even with the lopsided margin.

“Well you want to win the game. That’s number one,” Campbell told hosts Jim Costa and Jon Jansen. “What you don’t want to do is you get in one of those and you’re up, and then you decide you’re gonna let off the gas and, ‘Let’s get the starters out,’ and then they mount a comeback.”

The coach noted that it’s important to him to make sure the momentum doesn’t end. The Lions were playing excellent football and Campbell wanted to keep that sharpness and positivity going.

“You want to make sure you end on a good note,” Campbell explained. “You’re playing good, efficient football, the guys feel good about it, you’re in a rhythm, I think it bleeds into the next week and I think that’s important, so we did that.”

And then Campbell bluntly rejected the idea of pulling players before the fourth quarter out of fear of injury.

“If you’re able to pull them out in the early fourth, great, and we were able to do that,” Campbell explained. “But if you’re asking me to pull somebody out in the third quarter, or pull somebody out in the second quarter before Anzalone gets hurt, I’m never gonna do that.”

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Alex Anzalone thanks fans for the support after the Lions LB broke his forearm

Alex Anzalone thanks fans for the support after the Lions LB broke his forearm in Detroit’s Week 11 win over Jacksonville

About the only thing that went wrong for the Detroit Lions in Sunday’s 52-6 evisceration of the visiting Jacksonville Jaguars was the injury bug biting the Lions defense once again. Starting linebacker and defensive captain Alex Anzalone left the game in the first half with what turned out to be a broken forearm.

The follically blessed linebacker is expected to miss 6-to-8 weeks, according to head coach Dan Campbell after the game. Anzalone received loads of social media “get well soon” comments, and No. 34 graciously addressed them in a post of his own,

Lions blowout win over Jaguars ends in Scorigami

It’s the Lions’ second Scorigami win this season.

The Lions easily disposed of the Jacksonville Jaguars by a score of 52-6. Not only was that the worst loss in Jaguars’ franchise history — not to mention potentially the last game for Doug Pederson as head coach — but we got ourselves a Scorigami.

As a quick reminder, a Scorigami is a final score in the NFL that had never happened before. So the Lions can now say they have won the first game to ever end with the final score of 52-6. It’s the second time the Lions dropped 52 on an opponent this season. The first was their 52-14 Week 8 win over the Tennessee Titans.

It’s the 1,088th unique final score in NFL history. This also marks the third time the Lions have been in a Scorigami under head coach Dan Campbell. The Lions are 2-1 in those games. The other win also came this season when they defeated the Dallas Cowboys 47-9 back on October 13.

Lions post best offensive performance in franchise history in 52-6 win over Jaguars

A franchise day for the Lions on offense in their 52-6 blowout of the Jaguars.

Sunday was a field day for the Detroit Lions. They cruised to a 52-6 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars to move to 9-1 on the year. In the process, they set a franchise record with 645 yards of offense. Their previous record was 623.

Jared Goff finished 24-of-29 for 412 yards and four touchdowns. He finished with a perfect passer rating of 158.3. Backup quarterback Hendon Hooker added 37 yards on 3-of-4 passing. Detroit also rushed for 196 yards and three touchdowns. David Montgomery (15 rushes, 75 yards, two touchdowns) and Jahmyr Gibbs (11 rushes, 69 yards, one touchdown) combined for 144 yards and three touchdowns.

Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams both broke the century mark Sunday. St. Brown caught 11 passes for 161 yards and two touchdowns, while Williams caught four passes for 124 yards and a touchdown. Gibbs also had a 54-yard reception. A friendly reminder that tight end Sam LaPorta did not play in this game due to injury.

The kicking game deserves some love as well. Jake Bates nailed all seven of his extra point attempts and made his long field-goal attempt, contributing ten points.

Overall, an extremely fun day for the Lions. By the way, the Jaguars had just 170 yards of offense.

Lions blow away the Jaguars and also some franchise records in the process

Lions blow away the Jaguars and also some franchise records in the process

Last week’s Detroit Lions game went down to the wire, full of drama and suspense. The Lions won in Week 10 in Houston 26-23 on the last play of the game after trailing the Texans almost all night.

There was no such drama with Sunday’s Week 11 matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Ford Field. Detroit was in complete control of the visitors from Duval almost from the opening kickoff. The Lions rolled to a 52-6 home win in a game that wasn’t close after the opening possessions.

The Lions scored every time they touched the ball in the first half, going 4-for-4 on touchdown drives. All four gained at least 64 yards, with the Lions outgaining the Jaguars 306-104 at the half.

Halftime was but a delay in the ongoing onslaught. Detroit’s starting offense scored touchdowns on all three possessions it played in the second half, rolling the lead to 49-6 before head coach Dan Campbell inserted the reserves early in the fourth quarter.

Jared Goff completed 24 of his 29 pass attempts, netting 412 yards and four TDs. Three of his five incompletions were intentional throwaways en route to a perfect 158.3 passer rating. Just for good measure, Goff outrushed Jagaurs starting RB Travis Etienne, 21 to 17, while the Lions starters were still playing.

Detroit’s defense also came to play, suffocating a banged-up Jaguars offense missing QB Trevor Lawrence. The Jaguars went 3-and-out four times in their first eight possessions, with Kerby Joseph ending another with an interception off Mac Jones. Jacksonville gained just 170 net yards.

In the end, the Lions set a new franchise record for most yards gained in a game with 644. They also picked up a team-best 38 first downs. Both are in the top 10 single-game performances in NFL history.

Lions set record for consecutive games with rushing touchdowns

Lions set record for consecutive games with rushing touchdowns

It’s nice having David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs. The Lions are almost a virtual lock to score a touchdown on the ground between those two. In fact, they just set an NFL record Sunday because of them, specifically Monty.

Montgomery’s first-quarter touchdown run marked the 24th consecutive game, including the playoffs, in which the Lions have scored a rushing touchdown. That is the longest streak in NFL history. The streak dates back to Week 6 of last season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

They are also now at 21 straight regular-season games with a rushing touchdown. That’s tied with the 1974-76 Miami Dolphins for the 3rd-longest streak in the NFL history.

Jameson Williams hits ‘Beast Mode’ celebration after third-quarter touchdown

Jamison Williams hits ‘Beast Mode’ celebration after third-quarter touchdown

Marshawn Lynch, is that you? No, it’s Jameson Williams channeling his inner Beast Mode.

Jamo broke free for a 64-yard catch-and-run early in the third quarter to give the Lions a 35-6 lead over the Jaguars. As Williams enters the end zone, he dove backwards in a similar fashion to the former Seahawks running back after his big touchdown run in the 2010 NFC Wild Card playoff against the New Orleans Saints — the season the Seahawks won the NFC West with a 7-9 record.

Williams and Amon-Ra St. Brown have both reached 100 receiving yards as the Lions are in complete control against Jacksonville, on their way to 9-1 with a trip to Indianapolis coming next week before hosting the Bears on Thanksgiving.

Alex Anzalone heads to locker room, seems to say ‘It’s broke’ regarding his wrist

Alex Anzalone heads to locker room, seems to say ‘It’s broke’ regarding his wrist

The Lions have been cruising so far against the Jacksonville Jaguars, holding a 28-3 lead. But they may have just one of their top defenders for the time being. Linebacker Alex Anzalone just went to the locker room holding his left arm. He was also seen seemingly saying that his wrist is broke.

Anzalone has been ruled questionable to return. Anzalone has been one of the leaders of the Detroit defense and had registered five tackles with one tackle for a loss in the first half.

David Montgomery hits Pee Wee Herman dance following touchdown run

David Montgomery hits Pee Wee Herman dance following touchdown run

After spotting the Jaguars three points via a 59-yard field goal, the Lions marched down the field, going 70 yards in nine plays and taking 4:37 off the clock. It culminated with a two-yard touchdown run for David Montgomery. That’s his 9th rushing touchdown of the season and third in the last four games.

The running back channeled his inner child by doing the Pee Wee Herman dance in celebration. Montgomery must be a kid at heart. First, he and Jahmyr Gibbs become known as Sonic and Knuckles and now he pays tribute to the late great Paul Reubens, the man who played the iconic character.

Detroit is hoping to make Ford Field their own playhouse this week as a 14-point favorite. They were up 7-3 following Montgomery’s touchdown.

Lions vs. Jaguars: Last-minute thoughts and final score prediction

Lions vs. Jaguars: Last-minute thoughts and final score prediction for the Week 11 matchup in Ford Field

This Sunday’s morning coffee brings back reflections of the last time the Lions played the Jaguars. That meeting in December of 2022 was the first time Dan Campbell’s Lions played like a great team.

Those Lions blew out a Jaguars team that would go on to win a playoff game. Detroit has never looked back. Adding significantly more talent on both sides of the ball and growing the impressive young core has made the Lions a viable Super Bowl contender. At 8-1, the Lions welcome back a Jaguars team that is a rotting shell of the sprightly crew that was on the business end of the 40-14 beatdown two years ago.

Why I think the Lions will win

Barring another fluky five-turnover performance from Jared Goff, the Lions passing offense should be able to hit big plays against the Jaguars. Goff’s five INT anomaly in Week 10 matches the entire season volume from Jacksonville’s defense in 10 games; they’re not a team that creates takeaways or stresses the ball well in either run or pass defense. And they don’t have anyone who can effectively mark Amon-Ra St. Brown working the intermediate part of the field.

If the Jaguars shift to compensate, then they don’t have any answer for Jameson Williams over the top. Or Jahmyr Gibbs out of the backfield on a quick swing pass. Or Brock Wright leaking out the back side on a delayed TE release. Or David Montgomery on a sprint draw play behind Frank Ragnow and Kevin Zeitler, with Penei Sewell having already cleared out the linebacker.

In short, the Lions offensive diversity presents overwhelming issues for a Jaguars defense that got torched for 35 points by the Bears (!!) not too long ago.

Flip the side to Jacksonville’s offense. Trevor Lawrence might not be worth his astronomical salary, but Lawrence is at least a quality starting QB who has some real ability. He’s out, replaced by panicky, immobile, slow-to-throw Mac Jones. That’s a very poor fit with a replacement left tackle in Walker Little trying to fill in for injured starter Cam Robinson. Just for good measure, top RB Tank Bigsby is also out with an injury.

Even if they all played, the Lions defense still matches up well with a slow-paced offense that tries a little too hard to generate big plays. They might hit a couple, even with Jones at the helm. But asking this Jacksonville offense to keep pace with Detroit on the scoreboard is not a conducive path to victory for the visitors.

The Lions do the little things so much better, so much more frequently than the Jaguars. Things like third down offense and defense, red zone offense and defense, ball security, first-down rushing offense and defense. The 14-point spread in the odds reflects the relative confidence in the ability of each team to play to its capacity.

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What worries me about the Jaguars

I’ll be honest on this one. Not much concerns me about the Jaguars, not if the Lions take them seriously and play even a B-minus game or higher. There just isn’t enough breadth of impact talent on the Jaguars roster to compete with the Lions — if Detroit is focused and plays hard for four quarters.

That’s not to say the Jaguars are bereft of talent or ability. Their defensive front can cause some problems. Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker are an athletic pass-rush combo that can impact the quarterback. Walker (7 sacks) and Hines-Allen (5.5) can each defeat good blocking and take advantage of missteps by the offensive line. Roy Robertson-Harris is the type of nationally underappreciated interior presence who can make a name for himself, too. He’s better than most Lions fans will expect him to be.

The Jaguars linebackers might be the fastest combo in the league. It doesn’t mean they tackle all that well (notably Ventrell Miller) or cover well (notably Devin Lloyd), but they do create some issues with their overall speed and ability to be where the offense doesn’t want them to be. With Sam LaPorta out, it makes life for the Jacksonville LBs a lot easier.

I’d be remiss to not mention Jaguars rookie wideout Brian Thomas. He’s been consistently outstanding, a legit No. 1 target and playmaker already. His size, speed and confident panache make Thomas a major potential problem. The Jaguars have a pair of quality pass-catching tight ends in Brenston Strange and Evan Engram, too. If they get anything from the likes of Christian Kirk or Gabe Davis, even Mac Jones can make some hay against a very good Lions secondary.

Final score prediction

The Lions have the better unit in every phase of this matchup against the Jaguars. As long as Detroit doesn’t get cute playing with its food, this shouldn’t be a stressful Sunday for Lions fans.

Lions 36, Jaguars 13