What a start: Amon-Ra St. Brown recorded seven receptions for 70 yards and two touchdowns Sunday giving him six receiving touchdowns through Detroit's first four games. That leads the NFL after Week 4. St. Brown is the NFL's first wide receiver to produce at least 25 receptions, 300 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns through the first four games of any season since Randy Moss in 2007.
What a moment: There isn't a nicer player I've ever been around in my 17 years covering the Lions than veteran wide receiver Kalif Raymond. He's easy to root for. His 65-yard punt return touchdown was a huge moment in Sunday's game that helped Detroit break that game open. After scoring, he ran up the stands and gave the ball to his wife.
"We've always kind of wanted to have a moment to ourselves and as soon as I was out, I was like, 'Where's my wife? Where is she?'" Raymond said after the game. "But all I see is her, and she's got a bun in the oven right now so to see them too, I was in one place at that time. I just texted her like, 'Hey, all three of us were there for that moment.'"
Key protectors: How good is Detroit's offensive front playing right now? They have not allowed a sack in three straight games, which is the first time since sacks became an official statistic in 1982 that Detroit's gone three straight games without allowing a sack. Give QB Jared Goff some credit for this statistic too. He's decisive with the football and moves well in the pocket to avoid the rush and keep his eyes downfield. It's been a great development the last three weeks between both the line and the quarterback.
Hands team: So much for the notion cornerbacks don't have good hands. Lions veteran cornerback D.J. Reed challenged that narrative with a terrific diving interception off Browns quarterback Joe Flacco that he returned 34 yards to the Cleveland 5-yard line to set up a Lions touchdown. Unfortunately, Reed left the game in the second half with a hamstring injury and did not return.
Just off: Goff targeted wide receiver Jameson Williams eight times in the game, a number of those big shots down the field, but the two only connected on two for 40 yards. Williams had two drops, including one in the fourth quarter on a third-down play that would have given the Lions a first down. Goff's lone interception on the afternoon was a ball he under-threw to Williams, but don't expect him to shy away from taking shots to Williams.
"I've got no reservations with him at all," Goff said. "He's as good as they get in our league, he can score from anywhere and going to keep believing in him no matter what."
Veteran QB: The Lions were able to get a 58-yard field goal by Jake Bates with just eight seconds left in the first half to give them a 20-7 halftime lead. It was flawless execution to set it up by Goff to move the Lions 44 yards in six plays in just 47 seconds while also conserving a timeout in case they would need it. Later in the game, Goff's last touchdown pass to St. Brown was a play he changed at the line of scrimmage after seeing the look the Browns' defense was in. Those are the things that should make fans appreciate having a veteran quarterback like Goff who's seen it all in this league.
Domination: Fourth-year edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson registered four tackles (three solo), four quarterback hits, 2.0 sacks, two tackles for loss and one forced fumble. He's reached 32.5 career sacks which passes Ezekiel Ansah (32.0) for the most sacks a Lions player has logged through the first four seasons of a player's career. Hutchinson is the first Lions player to accumulate five quarterback hits, 4.0 sacks and two forced fumbles over any three-game span.
Offense rolling: Detroit's offense has some things to clean up, particularly some of the pre-snap penalties and holding calls that put them behind the sticks, but they scored 27 points Sunday against a really good Browns defense. The Lions have totaled 137 points scored through the first four games of the season, the second-most they've ever accumulated through the first four games of any season. They have a point differential of plus-49 through four games for the first time since 2011.
