Detroit — Here’s what I learned bouncing around the Detroit Lions’ locker room following the team’s 52-21 win over the Chicago Bears.
Injury updates
Let’s start with the injuries. There’s some good news on that front, and more that remains unknown following the contest.
Let’s start with the positive: Brian Branch is OK. The Lions safety collided with linebacker Jack Campbell while chasing down running back Kyle Monangai. Branch was lifted off the ground and hit the turf hard on the way down. Slow to get up, he was tended to by trainers for a couple of minutes before hobbling off the field.
Turns out it was just a nasty cramp.
He wasn’t the only Detroit defensive back who was dehydrated by the afternoon. Cornerback DJ Reed was cramping bad at his locker, sending a member of the training staff to find him some pickle juice.
As for Campbell, he clutched at his injured right ankle after the collision with Branch. The third-year linebacker stayed in the game, just like he did after initially suffering the injury against the Packers in Week 1.
Walking gingerly through the locker room after the game, Campbell was dismissive about the discomfort he was in, staying true to his play-through-it mentality even after the final whistle.
The only Lions player who left the game and was officially ruled out was tight end Shane Zylstra. He was in a walking boot after the game.
Meanwhile, defensive end Marcus Davenport exited twice with different issues but returned both times. Davenport suffered an ankle injury in the first half, requiring a trip to the locker room to stabilize the joint. He returned after the break and recorded a sack, only to suffer a shoulder injury on that play.
Davenport returned again, but it remained unclear after the game if there was a long-term concern with the shoulder. He had a massive ice pack on the injury and presumably underwent base-level imaging after the contest.
Coach Dan Campbell said the team would know tomorrow. Davenport said it was important to finish the game because he wasn’t playing for himself. He also had no sense of the extent of the damage.
“I wouldn't really like to say anything about that because I don't know,” Davenport said. “Right now, I'm OK.”
Next man up
Whether it was because Davenport was hurt or it was part of the original game plan, Al-Quadian Muhammad had a larger role in the second half, and he was disruptive with those opportunities. He finished with four tackles and his first sack of the season.
“I already know what's going to happen, I've just been waiting for the opportunity,” Muhammad said. “I'm in the building early, I'm making sure I'm staying on top of my stuff, and I'm putting that work in each and every day. Only good things come when you do that.”
A 17-game starter in 2021, Muhammad logged 800 defensive snaps and 6.0 sacks that season. However, he was more effective for the Lions last season, on a snap-to-snap basis. Playing 255 snaps and rushing the passer just 190 times, he generated an impressive 26 pressures, not far off the rate of former teammate Za’Darius Smith.
Muhammad looks to be picking up where he left off and is unquestionably playing some of his best ball nine years into his career.
“I've just matured as a player,” Muhammad said. “You learn more each year. You learn, mature, grow and continue to get better.”
Breakout outing
First-round pick Tyleik Williams doesn’t play a position that stuffs the stat sheet. However, some fans expressed disappointment with his lack of impact in the season-opener.
Of course, that’s ignoring the fact that the Lions held the Packers to 3.1 yards per carry. But I digress.
Williams didn’t stuff the stat sheet against the Bears, either. He did stuff a fourth-down run, shooting his gap and grabbing the legs of quarterback Caleb Williams to force a turnover on downs.
“I had his leg and I was just trying to hold him, make sure he didn't get the first,” Williams said about the play where teammate Derrick Barnes was officially credited with the tackle. “It was a good play call, I just had to get in the gap.
I asked Williams if there’s a better feeling as a defensive tackle than stopping a fourth-down
“I don't know, it's up there, for sure,” he said. “It's one of the best feelings knowing you had an impact to stop them. One yard should be easy to get. When you stonewall a grown man, it's a great feeling.”
Williams also batted down two passes at the line of scrimmage, something he had a knack for doing at Ohio State. It’s all the more impressive when you consider no Lions defender had multiple bat downs in 2024. Not in one game, but the full season.
“You try to recognize when you're not getting home with your rush, and you try to affect the quarterback any way you can,” Williams said. “I'm just trying to get in the way of his throws. He was throwing a low ball, and I was able to tip a couple of them.”
Room to be better
Detroit’s offense is going to get much of the praise after dropping 52 points. Nonetheless, the defense was also better, particularly at generating pressure on the quarterback.
Multiple players praised coordinator Kelvin Sheppard’s plan and pinned some of the lingering breakdowns on execution.
Jack Campbell shouldered the blame for one, a crossing pattern to receiver Rome Odunze on third-and-9 in the first quarter that went for a 20-yard touchdown.
“It was just a miscommunication,” Campbell said. “We have to clean it up. That's all me. I have to get the call in sooner, and I have to do a bunch of other things. It's just something we've got to clean up, and it starts with me.”
Campbell noted that, overall, he was pleased with the way the Lions handled the Bears’ desire to push the pace and the booming noise of the Ford Field crowd, which can make it difficult for the defense to rely its calls.
“It was definitely a challenge going up against Ben (Johnson) and this offense,” Campbell said. “I think we did a good job handling the tempo, especially how loud it is at home. I thought we did a good job communicating, for the most part. We've got a few things to clean up.
“That game was pivotal for our defense to grow,” Campbell said. “In a lot of different situations, that offense knew a lot of the things we're probably going to run, just because Ben's been with us for so long. I think we learned a lot about ourselves in this one.”
Vengeful attitude
The Lions spent the week downplaying the matchup against Johnson. Still, a couple of players spoke more candidly on the topic after the win.
“We knew coming into this game that this is personal,” Branch said. “Really, all these games (are) personal. But this one was just, we felt like we’d been betrayed by the staff to the players. And we love Ben, we still love Ben. He’s a great coach, he’s a great mastermind, but yeah, it was time to get after him.”
Amon-Ra St. Brown, who blossomed into an All-Pro under Johnson’s guidance, was a little more diplomatic.
“I think a lot (of us), especially the offense, we were fired up,” St. Brown said. “Ben, what he did for us, I mean we’ll never take that for granted. He was a big part of what we did here. But just him being over there, we wanted to show that we can still, us as players, we can still make it happen. We’ve got a great group of guys, a great group of coaches. So, we wanted to go out there and put on a little show.”
David Montgomery also had some vengeance on the brain, but directed more at the Bears than Johnson. Montgomery, who always gives maximum effort, still manages to find that extra gear against his former employer.
“I always got a little bit of extra juice, just because it's the former team, the former teammates,” Montgomery said. “I think the win itself is important, whether it's Chicago or anybody else.”
Montgomery averaged 5.2 yards on his 11 carries, scoring a short-yardage touchdown to punctuate his performance. It was part of an overall rebound for Detroit's ground game after a lethargic showing in Green Bay.
“It felt good, being able to go out, capitalize and step up to the challenge,” Montgomery said. “Coach Campbell challenged us this week in practice. We were able to step up, meet that and handle our business.”
Back at it
After a lengthy rehab dating back to last year, second-year defensive tackle Mekhi Wingo made his season debut against the Bears.
“It just felt good to be back,” Wingo said. “It was a really long rehab, recovery process. There were minor setbacks throughout it, and it just felt good to be able to trust my knee, go out there and be with the team again.”
Wingo said he got a little emotional before the game. Still, he never worried about his knee after having his meniscus surgically repaired late last year.
Coach Campbell noted how impressively Wingo has regained his form since returning to practice in late August. Even the player has been amazed by how quickly his body has responded.
"I would say I was even a little surprised by how well the knee was handling things the first two weeks back," Wingo said. "It felt good, I felt fresh, the legs were fresh, obviously."
Wingo finished with a tackle and had at least one QB pressure, flushing Williams from the pocket in the first half.
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