The Detroit Lions are 6-3 on the year, a position that would make most teams blue and silver with envy. After an NFC Championship Game appearance in 2024 and a 15-2 record last year, though, the Lions are not most teams, and it was apparent on Sunday that Dan Campbell isn't satisfied with merely being among the best teams in the league.
The Lions crushed the Jayden Daniels-less Commanders 44-22 yesterday, avenging last season's shocking playoff loss. Just about every Lion got in on the offensive explosion, from Jahmyr Gibbs and his 142 yards rushing to Jared Goff hitting seven different receivers for 340 yards and three touchdowns through the air.
The win was reminiscent of what the Lions did last year when they led the league in points scored — rip off big chunks with Gibbs outside the tackles, move the chains with David Montgomery, and pepper throws all over the field to Amon-Ra St. Brown over the middle and Jameson Williams deep.
A quick look at the stats shows that Detroit isn't far from where they were a year ago. Yesterday's bonanza put them second behind the Colts in points per game, but recent results have been cause for concern. Before the win over the Commanders, the Lions had put up just 17 points in a loss to the Chiefs, 24 in a win over the Bucs and 24 in a home loss to the Vikings. In both of those losses, the run game was subpar, a rarity given the backfield and offensive line talent Detroit possesses.
Yesterday's win was the Lions' 13th in a row following a loss, a stat that speaks to Campbell's ability to fix deficiencies before they get out of hand. He's been one of the league's foremost proponents of being aggressive on fourth down, so it's no surprise that he's also been so proactive in stopping the bleeding when his team underperforms. How did he do that yesterday? By taking over play-calling duties from first-year offensive coordinator John Morton.
Without Ben Johnson to rely on, Dan Campbell decided to take matters into his own hands
The Lions have a roster that's largely the same as last year, albeit much healthier. The big difference between this year's team and last year's is in the coaching room, where Morton and Kelvin Sheppard have replaced the since-departed Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn, each of whom took head coaching jobs in the offseason.
Johnson was the hottest name on the coaching carousel for the innovative offense and play-calling panache he displayed with the Lions, and though Campbell gave him a going-away 52-21 beating in Week 2, Bears fans have to be thrilled with the culture change their new coach has quickly engineered.
Whereas last year the Bears kept finding ways to lose games under Matt Eberflus, this year they seem to steal a win in dramatic fashion each week. Chicago has much less talent on defense than the Lions do, but they have a matching 6-3 record thanks to what Johnson has done with Caleb Williams and the offense. Last year the Bears ranked 28th in the league with 18.2 points per game. After yesterday's win over the Giants, they're all the way up to seventh with 26.6, their highest total since 2013.
Dan Campbell is the Lions' best chance to replicate Ben Johnson's offense
Top to bottom, the Lions might have the most offensive talent in the league. The O-line is elite, and the skill positions are a superior blend of speed and power. There's no excuse for the Lions continually laying an egg against good defenses. Week 1's flat loss to the Packers wasn't necessarily cause to panic, especially after the Lions averaged over 40 points per game the next four weeks. Three of those opponents — the Bears, Ravens and Bengals — have defenses at or near the bottom of the league, though. The other is the Browns, but despite a 34-10 win, it was an opportunistic defense that led the way in that one, as the offense was held to 277 total yards.
Campbell's use of Jameson Williams was the most eye-opening part of yesterday's win, as he used the speedster for more than just fly routes en route to six catches, 119 yards and a touchdown, easily his best game since last season.
For as high-flying as Johnson's offense often was, it was a balance between the ground attack and the passing game that set the tone when it was at its best. That's what Campbell got back to yesterday, as Detroit's ball-carriers took 33 carries for 226 yards, while Goff threw 33 passes. Equal harmony, easy win.
It looks like Campbell will continue calling the plays going forward, and he'll quickly face tougher tests than he did on Sunday. The Lions travel to Philadelphia to take on the defending champion Eagles next Sunday night, then two weeks later get a rematch with the Packers. If he can continue pulling off his Ben Johnson impression, then the Lions will have a lot to say about who comes out of the NFC.