The Detroit Lions heard all week how good the Cleveland Browns' defense was coming into Sunday's matchup at Ford Field. They showed they've got a pretty good defensive unit too.
Detroit's defense limited the Browns to 10 points, forced three turnovers – interceptions by Kerby Joseph & D.J. Reed and a fumble recovery by Trevor Nowaske – hit Browns quarterback Joe Flacco nine times and sacked him three times.
The Browns scored a touchdown on their opening possession of the game and didn't find the end zone again the rest of the contest. They were held scoreless by Detroit's defense in the second half.
Detroit's offense scored 20 first-half points but struggled to move the ball with any consistency in the second half as Detroit leaned on their defense and a 65-yard Kalif Raymond fourth-quarter punt return touchdown to secure a 34-10 win to improve their record to 3-1 on the season.
Detroit got touchdowns from running back Jahmyr Gibbs (8-yard run) and Amon-St. Brown (2-yard & 8-yard catches). Jake Bates made both his field goal tries from 48 and 58 yards. The 58-yarder tied a career long. The 65-yard punt return touchdown was the third of Raymond's career.
QB comparison: It was a rather modest afternoon by Jared Goff standards against a very good Browns pass defense that came in allowing just 147.0 passing yards per contest. Goff completed 16 of his 27 pass attempts for 168 yards with two touchdowns, one interception and an 86.7 passer rating.
Flacco finished 16-for-34 passing for 184 yards with no touchdowns, two interceptions and a 39.3 rating.
Crucial moment: With the Lions holding on to a slim 10-7 lead with about four and a half minutes left in the first half, Flacco tried to hit wide receiver Jerry Jeudy along the left sideline but Reed dove in front of the pass at the Browns' 39-yard line and intercepted it. Reed got up and returned it 34 yards before being knocked out of bounds at the Cleveland 5-yard line.
The Lions' offense capitalized on Flacco's second interception of the day, turning it into a 2-yard Goff to St. Brown touchdown to push Detroit's lead to 17-7.
Star performance: Aidan Hutchinson was a one-man wrecking crew for the Lions' defense. He recorded a sack for the third straight contest, finishing with two against the Browns. He added four quarterback hits, two tackles for loss, a forced fumble and four tackles. He's now at 32 career sacks, the most any Lions player has produced through the first four seasons of their career.
Key stat: The Lions forced three Cleveland turnovers and turned them into 17 points.
Injury report: Reed suffered a hamstring injury defending a deep pass early in the fourth quarter and was carted off the field. He did not return.
Second-year cornerback Terrion Arnold also did not return to the contest after suffering a shoulder injury in the third quarter.
Joseph left the game in the second quarter with a knee injury but did come back into the game in the second half.
Up next: at Cincinnati, Sun., Oct. 6, 4:25 p.m. (FOX)
