Skip to main content
Advertising

TWENTYMAN: Week 10 observations

Mr. do it all: Safety Brian Branch showed again why he's so valuable to this defense with his versatility. Branch led Detroit with seven tackles in their 44-22 win vs. Washington Sunday and recorded 1.5 sacks and a tackle for loss.

Speed kills: Jameson Williams’ speed is so special that the Lions use him a lot to try and take the top off the defense, but that speed also plays in the short and intermediate parts of the field on crossers when defensive backs are tasked with trying to run step for step with Williams horizontally.

Williams finished with six catches for 119 yards and a touchdown on one of those crossers. Williams said after the game they expected a lot of man and match coverage and him running away from defensive backs on those crossers was a big part of the game plan coming in.

Stepping in: It was a really nice job by veteran left guard Kayode Awosika stepping in for the injured Christian Mahogany. The offensive line didn't skip a beat. Quarterback Jared Goff wasn't sacked in the contest and was hit just five times. Awosika and the rest of the o-line also did a great job opening holes for a 200-plus-yard rushing performance.

Rare company: Jahmyr Gibbs had 15 rushes for 142 yards (9.5 avg.) and two touchdowns and added three receptions for 30 yards (10.0 avg.) and a touchdown to total 172 scrimmage yards and three touchdowns. The three touchdowns give Gibbs 10 total on the year. Only him, Calvin Johnson (2011), Billy Sims (1980) and Leon Hart (1951) have produced at least 10 touchdowns through the first nine games of a season in franchise history.

Unselfish player: Jack Campbell is one of Detroit's unquestioned leaders on defense as the MIKE linebacker and green dot signal caller. Campbell doesn't mind jumping in on special teams and producing there too. Campbell had five tackles (three solo) and a quarterback hit and added four total special teams tackles, which tied the franchise single-game record for special teams tackles.

Kickoff rule: After Detroit's third touchdown of the game and two-point conversion run by David Montgomery, Washington defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct that put the subsequent kickoff at the 50-yard line. When the ball is kicked out of bounds, the receiving team gets it 25 yards from the kickoff spot so in this case, it was the 25-yard line. The same thing happened later in the first half after another unsportsmanlike following Jake Bates' 22-yard field goal. Washington came into Sunday third in the NFL in average starting position after a kickoff at the 32.2-yard line. Detroit opted to play the numbers and take the seven yards of field position.

View photos from the Detroit Lions at Washington Commanders Week 10 game at Northwest Stadium on Sunday, November 9 in Landover.

Road warrior: Goff completed 25-of-33 passes (75.8 percent) for 320 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions for a 135.9 passer rating against Washington. Playing on the road in tough environments just doesn't seem to faze him. Goff extended his NFL record by topping a 70.0 percent completion percentage for the eighth straight road game.

Presidential visit: Donald Trump was in attendance for Sunday's game, marking the first time a sitting president has attended an NFL regular-season game since Jimmy Carter in 1978. Trump read the Oath of Enlistment to on-field service members from a suite during halftime.

Related Content

Advertising