CINCINNATI – Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell preaches every week the impact takeaways have on winning football games in the NFL. It's why the first set of drills after stretching every practice during the season are takeaway drills for the defense and ball protection drills for the offense.
Detroit came into Sunday ranked in the top 10 in the league in takeaways and added three more in Sunday's 37-24 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
"When you really start getting good at them, you start hunting for them," Campbell said after the game about Detroit's eight takeaways in five games. "Our guys are hunting for them. They become contagious and this is the first time since I've been here, I feel like we're getting them in bunches early in the year. I feel like there's blood in the water. Our guys are starting to feel it, and they want to be the next guy who gets the punch out or the strip or the interception."
Detroit got interceptions from cornerback Amik Robertson, safety Kerby Joseph and linebacker Alex Anzalone against Bengals quarterback Jake Browning. Robertson's interception set the offense up at the Cincinnati 17-yard line and Anzalone's at the Bengals' 28-yard line, which the offense converted into 14 points — the difference in the contest.
"The game is about the ball, man," Robertson said. "You can't score touchdowns without the ball, and you can't get turnovers without the ball. We have to keep on chasing those."
Detroit also recorded a safety on a sack by linebacker Derrick Barnes in the fourth quarter, which is essentially the same thing as a turnover to give them four sudden changes of possession from their defense.
"There's a pride about it and I think we have football guys," Campbell said. "I think we have ball guys. They are hunting for them and when you make a conscious effort to go after them or when the balls in the air, 'That's my ball. I'm going to go get it.' Then good things happen."
20 FOR JOSEPH
Joseph joined some elite company Sunday afternoon with his interception in the second quarter. It was Joseph's third interception of the season and the 20th of his career.
He joined Hall of Famer Ed Reed as the only safeties since 2000 to record 20 interceptions through the first four seasons of a player's career.
Joseph is just the sixth player since 2000 with at least 20 interceptions in his first four seasons, joining J.C. Jackson (25), Richard Sherman (24), Marcus Peters (22), Ed Reed (22) and Rashean Mathis (20).
WILDCAT TOUCHDOWN
It seemed fitting in the first football game David Montgomery has played in his hometown of Cincinnati since he was an All-State quarterback for Mount Healthy High School, he threw a touchdown pass.
Montgomery put the Lions up 14-0 early in the second quarter with a 3-yard touchdown pass out of the Wildcat formation to tight end Brock Wright. It was Montgomery's second career touchdown pass after tossing a touchdown to Sam LaPorta in a win over Tennessee last year. He is the first Lions running back to throw for multiple touchdowns passes in the Super Bowl Era.
He added an 8-yard touchdown run later in the game and finished with 71 scrimmage yards.
MANU DEBUT
Campbell called second-year left tackle Giovanni Manu's NFL regular season debut Sunday an up-and-down performance when asked after the game without seeing the tape.
Manu was starting in place of veteran left tackle Taylor Decker, who missed the game with a shoulder injury. Manu did some good things in the run game but certainly wants a couple plays back in pass pro, particularly a strip sack he gave up to Cincinnati's Trey Hendrickson that resulted in Detroit's only turnover of the game.
"I thought he fought his tail off," Lions quarterback Jared Goff said of Manu. "It's hard, man. It's his first game. Everybody's first game there are going to be mistakes made. That's what I tried to tell him, 'Dude, you're not going to be perfect, you're going to make mistakes. It's OK. Just as long as the next one is better.' I thought he fought hard."
Campbell said after the game they'd know later in the week if Decker can make it back for next week's matchup in Kansas City against the Chiefs on Sunday Night Football.
