The Lions Thump The Packers, Take Sole Possession Of The NFC North
This team is good. They aren’t just Detroit Lions good. They’re actually good. It’s crazy how quickly time flies in the NFL. That Seattle loss feels like a distant memory at this point. These last two games by the Detroit Lions have been about as professional and as efficient as any I’ve seen by a Detroit team in recent memory.
People love to use the word "grit" all the time. It's a very popular buzzword, and it makes sense. Grit makes the world go round in football terms. But saying you are gritty and actually being tough are two different things. This Lions team is tough. The offensive line was giving the Packers fits all game, and in the first half, Jordan Love never seemed comfortable in the pocket. This pass rush, which struggled so mightily in the first two weeks of the season, looks like a completely different unit. Maybe the opponents have just gotten worse, or maybe you have to give Aaron Glenn a lot of credit. These guys are playing with purpose.
I don't know of a single Lions fan who doesn't love going to Lambeau Field and winning, but there was something different about this one. They didn't just squeak by in a knockdown drag-out heavyweight fight. This was a beatdown. This game was not as close as the final score indicated. Detroit was in control of this thing after the Jared Goff interception. Green Bay was also gifted a touchdown at one point because the officials don't know how clocks work.
We're just under a quarter of the way through the season, and this is exactly where Lions fans wanted their ball club would be. They are in the driver's seat in the NFC North. The way this team has gone about their business the last two weeks feels different. They don't seem rattled like other Lions teams have in the past. They came into tonight hungry. I would give them credit for taking the crowd out of the game, but it was 50% Lions fans, so I would argue they actually got the crowd into the game with their effort tonight. That was some virtuoso shit. Dan Campbell deserves a lot of credit. Let's keep it rolling. Winning is fun.