Dan Campbell, Brad Holmes Have Built a Lions Team to Challenge 49ers, Eagles in NFC

Lions head coach Dan CampbellAP Photo/Matt Ludtke

After Thursday night’s thorough dismantling of the Green Bay Packers in Lambeau, it’s time to recognize that the Detroit Lions are ready to challenge the best teams in the NFC.

The Lions exited the 2023 offseason as arguably the league’s most hyped team. A big win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1 showed that Detroit was more than just a feel-good story.

But the Lions scraped by in that win, and the Chiefs waited until Week 3 to really get going. It was fair to wonder if the win over the Chiefs was more of a byproduct of Kansas City’s early struggles—especially after Detroit fell to the Seattle Seahawks in overtime the following week.

After handling the Atlanta Falcons with relative ease in Week 3 and then thumping the Packers on the road, however, that Seahawks game looks like an aberration. The Lions are good—very good and in multiple phases—and it shows.

The Lions jumped out to a 27-3 halftime lead against the Packers and never looked back. Green Bay pulled within 10 points in the second half but never drew any closer.

A week after Jordan Love led the Packers on an 18-point fourth-quarter comeback run, he was quieted for most of the night. Love threw for 246 yards and a touchdown, but he also tossed two picks and was sacked five times.

While the Lions racked up more than 400 yards of offense—211 of them on the ground—the Packers mustered just 230. Detroit was 9-of-19 on third and fourth down. Green Bay was just 4-of-12.

Detroit committed eight penalties, but those miscues didn’t stop it from controlling the clock for nearly 38 minutes. If there’s a concern for Lions fans to have, it’s that rookie safety Brian Branch exited with a lower leg injury, though he did briefly return.

Mike Garafolo @MikeGarafolo

#Lions CB Brian Branch has returned to the sideline. Great to see for Detroit.

Make no mistake, this game was more lopsided than the 34-20 final score might indicate.

Right now, the Lions feel like a team with no glaring weaknesses, not unlike the NFC’s 3-0 teams, the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers. Detroit might not have an MVP candidate like Jalen Hurts or a reigning Defensive Player of the Year like Nick Bosa, but the roster is strong from top to bottom.

The Lions have been building this for a while now.

It started when Dan Campbell was hired as head coach in January 2021. He wasted no time in forging the Lions’ identity as a tough, physical football team that would believe in itself first.

“Here’s what I do know. This team is going to take on the identity of this city and this city has been down and it found a way to get up. It’s found a way to overcome adversity, right?” Campbell said in his introductory press conference.

Detroit suffered through a three-win campaign in Campbell’s first season. There’s the adversity. After starting the 2022 season 1-6, the Lions won eight of their final 10 games. That’s where the overcoming started.

Along the way, Campbell convinced his team to buy in. He got an offense largely comprised of castoffs like former Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff and former Packers running back Jamaal Williams and made it one of the most exciting units in the NFL.

Along with offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, Campbell and the Lions have designed some of the league’s most effective rushing concepts. Behind one of the best offensive lines, Detroit can control games on the ground and open up big plays for Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown and the passing attack.

General manager Brad Holmes has put his stamp on the team too. He added Penei Sewell at right tackle in the 2021 draft, snagged pass-rushing star Aidan Hutchinson in 2022 and added several immediate contributors this year.

Free-agent running back David Montgomery made his mark in Thursday’s game, rushing for his second, third and fourth touchdowns of the season after missing Week 3 with a thigh injury.

Detroit Lions @Lions

Welcome back, Monty! @MontgomerDavid #DETvsGB | 📺 @NFLonPrime pic.twitter.com/QaIj2PefYd

Rookies like running back Jahmyr Gibbs, linebacker Jack Campbell, tight end Sam LaPorta and Branch have all become significant contributors.

Even with defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson and pass-rusher James Houston on injured reserve, the Lions defense has improved significantly from where it was a year ago.

After ranking dead-last in yards allowed and 28th in points allowed in 2022, the Lions came into Thursday night ranked 11th and 15th in those categories, respectively. Detroit is aggressive, opportunistic and technically sound on that side of the ball, and the defense gave Green Bay fits in the first half.

Next Gen Stats @NextGenStats

The @Lions defense has pressured Jordan Love on nearly half of his dropbacks, without blitzing on a single play.

Every Packers offensive lineman has allowed at least one pressure so far tonight.

While the Lions defense did allow Green Bay to draw within two scores in the second half, Detroit was able to close it out by relying on its defense and that dangerous rushing attack.

Montgomery’s third touchdown of the night—which came after a Packers penalty on a Riley Patterson field-goal attempt—put the Lions back up by three scores and essentially sealed the game.

Cornerback Jerry Jacobs did seal it when he picked off Love at the goal line with just over four minutes remaining.

When it seemed like the Packers might just make it interesting, Detroit stepped up and slammed the door shut.

What everyone saw on Thursday was a well-coached team with a sound defense, a steady quarterback, playmaking receivers, a budding star tight end, a dominant offensive line and all the confidence needed to make a Super Bowl run.

While the Lions still have a little more to prove that they belong in the same class as the Eagles and 49ers—the two teams that played in last year’s NFC title game—their second huge Thursday night win of September should have Philadelphia and San Francisco on notice.

There’s a very good chance that the Lions see one or both of the NFC favorites in the postseason.

It’s a credit to what Campbell and Holmes have built in just three seasons, and proof that Detroit is prepared to create adversity for the rest of the conference.

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