Points for the unlikely win over the Texans

by Junna Base November 11, 2024

Houston – Richard Silva assesses the Detroit Lions’ performance in their 26-23 win over the Houston Texans on Sunday.

quarterback

The two hallmarks of Jared Goff’s performance in 2024 were efficiency and ball security. It wasn’t all his fault – the offensive line had one of its worst performances of the season – but those two strengths became weaknesses against Houston’s aggressive defense. Goff completed 50% of his passes and finished the game with five interceptions. In doing so, he set a career high and more than doubled his total of four passes early in the game. Some of the INTs can be explained away — the first one was overturned, for example — but others, like a Jameson Williams misfire in the third quarter, were on him. Goff made the necessary plays late, but it’s a performance he wants to forget. Grade: D-

Running backs

Detroit had a strategy this season: get the draining David Montgomery going early to set the tone before the speedy Jahmyr Gibbs follows him for a change. For one reason or another, that wasn’t the case this time. Montgomery had just two carries in the first quarter and four in the first half, for a total of six yards in the first two frames. It was a struggle through the first three quarters for both of Detroit’s running backs, who combined for 2.7 yards per carry heading into the final 15 minutes. But in the fourth, Gibbs finally made a few big runs, accumulating 40 yards on seven attempts. Montgomery also reached the end zone for the eighth time this season. Grade: C+

Wide receivers/tight ends

The good news for tight end Sam LaPorta is that he had his most productive game of the season, catching three balls for 66 yards and a touchdown. The bad news for him is that he suffered a shoulder injury in the third quarter that sidelined him for the rest of the game. Other standout pass catchers include receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams, who rushed for 60 and 53 yards, respectively. St. Brown intercepted a TD to get within three points late, and Williams showed excellent handle strength while catching a pass through contact two plays before St. Brown’s score. Grade: B+

Offensive line

Things were unusually bad for Detroit’s offense, especially at the beginning. Goff was never fired, but don’t be fooled. The Texans had four quarterback hits in the first half, one of which led directly to Goff’s second interception. Right tackle Penei Sewell took a direct hit from defensive end Denico Autry – a stunner – who collided with Goff as he threw the ball, forcing the missed throw. The unit faltered a bit as the game wore on, allowing only a single QB hit in the second half, but Goff can’t take hits like that week in and week out. Knowing the track record of this O-line, he won’t know. Grade: C-

Defensive line

Reinforcements are expected to arrive next week in the form of three-time Pro Bowler Za’Darius Smith, but lineman Alim McNeill once again brought some heat to the Lions after getting seven pressures against the Packers. McNeill was active in both phases of the game, registering a sack in the third quarter to thwart one of Houston’s drives. Earlier, he threw a running play into the air to limit the damage after cornerback Terrion Arnold missed a 41-yard pass interference call. As a group, Detroit’s defensive front was excellent against the run, holding Joe Mixon, who entered the day as one of only three RBs averaging more than 100 yards per game, to 1.8 yards per carry on 25 attempts. This is incredible. Grade: A

Linebackers

There haven’t been a lot of great plays from Detroit’s linebacking corps, a unit without fellow contributors Malcolm Rodriguez and Jalen Reeves-Maybin, but Jack Campbell continues to be a solid presence alongside Alex Anzalone. The two starting linebackers combined for 12 tackles and recorded one pass deflection each. Anzalone was late entering the game when he interfered with a throw intended for receiver Xavier Hutchinson, but the pass likely never would have reached its destination because Arnold knocked Hutchinson to the ground. Grade: B+

Secondary

Arnold’s aforementioned 41-yard penalty was painful, and he probably should have been whistled for another when he hit Hutchinson early. But two players shined in the secondary – cornerback Carlton Davis III, who earned the first multi-interception game of his career, and safety Brian Branch – and they greatly improved the unit. Branch was everywhere, finishing the game with ten tackles and recording a key pass deflection while making an impressive on-ball attack. Both of Davis’s insights were important, but the second was the big one as he took advantage of CJ Stroud’s late recognition of a wide-open Tank Dell and made a play on the ball. Grade: B+

Special teams

Jake Bates is just cold-blooded. The rookie kicker not only hit the game-winning 52-yarder as time expired, but also connected on a 58-yarder five minutes earlier to tie the game at 23 apiece. Bates, a Tomball native, also did it in his home state, increasing his perfect number of field goals to 14. The 25-year-old thought his football career was over less than two years ago. Instead, he’s making sharp moves against a team that once signed and injured him. Grade: A+

Coaching

In the end, the courageous head coach Dan Campbell always talks about made an unlikely comeback. But there were certainly some questionable coaching decisions throughout. The Lions showed a lack of aggressiveness on offense at the end of the first half, and they showed it again in the third quarter when the team opted to run the ball on third-and-7 before putting it near the midfield struck. Grade: B-

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