With All-Pro wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown’s status for Thursday night's game vs. Dallas unclear after suffering an ankle injury last week in the loss to Green Bay, the Lions once again could lean on Jameson Williams to step up and be their No. 1 receiving threat against the Cowboys.
Williams filled in nicely last week after St. Brown left just nine minutes into the Thanksgiving Day contest. Williams finished with seven receptions on 10 targets for 144 yards and a touchdown.
"I just got more opportunities," Williams said of last week's career-high performance. "That was it. I just executed on the opportunities. I should have did it more. We came out with a loss. What I did doesn't even matter because we lost."
The Lions will be looking for more of the same from Williams this week against a Dallas defense that ranks 31st in points allowed (28.5), 29th in total defense (376.2) and 30th against the pass (251.5). Dallas has the league's No. 1 offense and No. 2 scoring offense.
"He's really grown and he continues to grow and get better," Lions head coach Dan Campbell said Tuesday of the confidence he has in Williams to step up and play a big role. "He's fearless. His fundamentals for the speed and quickness he has and the ability for him to drop his weight now and there's really some detail to his route. He's become a hard cover.
"Then you see the run after the catch ability. His confidence is growing. Our confidence is growing. He's doing well. You should have seen him running (Monday). This guy works now. He works in practice every day and love where he's at."
There was one play from last week's contest Williams said he wanted back, and that was the 4th & 3 play in the fourth quarter as the Lions were trying to mount a comeback. Quarterback Jared Goff threw the ball a little behind Williams on a crossing route and it bounced off Williams' hands incomplete.
Immediately after the game, Goff held himself accountable for the ball placement on the throw to Williams, but Williams offered a different perspective talking to reporters this week, saying if the ball hits his hands, no matter the location, he must catch it.
"It's a drop. That's why I really did all that after the play," Williams said. "No matter where the ball is at, as a receiver you got to make plays, and the blame don't go on the quarterback. It goes on us, and that's not even putting it down on my quarterback. I'm not even saying that. I'm saying it's my fault because I dropped the ball.
"He gave me the opportunity. I just got to make the best of the opportunity and move the sticks for us. I move the sticks right there — it could be a whole different game changer for us. It was a big play to me. No matter what happened in the game before that, you just got to look at the play right now, and I just got to make the best of that play and bring that one in for us, man."
Detroit will host the Cowboys in a Week 14 matchup Thursday night that carries significant playoff implications with the Lions (7-5) and Cowboys (6-5-1) holding on to the eighth and ninth spots, respectively, in the NFC playoff picture.
Williams said there's more urgency to stack some wins together with the calendar flipping to December and the stretch run for the playoff hunt upon us.
"We've got more urgency to win these last games," He said. "Win out, do our job and get in the playoffs and do our thing."
ARNOLD TO IR
Second-year cornerback Terrion Arnold was placed on injured reserve Tuesday and is expected to have season-ending shoulder surgery.
After starting 15 games and playing nearly 1,000 snaps last season as a rookie in 2024, Arnold has been in and out of the lineup most of this season due to injury, playing in just 313 snaps.
"It's been frustrating," Campbell said of all the time missed for Arnold this season. "I know it's frustrating for him. It just feels like one of those years. I wouldn't say there's anything out of the norm. He got off to a really good start in camp and then the (injury) bug hit him. It was just one thing to the other. It's just one of those years."
A first-round pick out of Alabama in 2024, Arnold ended up making seven starts this season with one interception.
TE DEPTH
The Lions added tight end Hayden Rucci to the roster, claiming him off waivers from the Miami Dolphins on Monday.
Rucci went undrafted in 2024 out of Wisconsin and has spent the last season-and-a-half on and off the Dolphins roster. He made his NFL debut earlier this season and has since played in four games with a role on offense and special teams.
The Lions are shorthanded at tight end with Sam LaPorta currently on injured reserve and backup Brock Wright currently dealing with a neck injury that may keep him sidelined.
The Lions did get some good news this week regarding their tight end depth as the team opened the practice window for veteran Shane Zylstra, who has been out since Week 2.
EXTRA POINTS
- Campbell on St. Brown's status for Thursday: "He's better. That's the best way to say it. I don't see him practicing today. But he is better. I know this, if he can play, he'll play. That's the best way to say it."
- Dallas wide receiver CeeDee Lamb has drawn 10 pass interference penalties this season, the most in the NFL. Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens is tied for fourth with five.
- Goff is tied with Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott for second in the NFL with 25 touchdown passes. Only Matthew Stafford has more with 32 this season.
