Sprint Game Ball Of The Week: Lions Defensive Line

This post is sponsored by Sprint.

In the first edition of this post for the Redskins game, I handed out a Sprint Game Ball to Calvin Johnson for not only his big game, but also for playing through a painful injury. The second edition of this post rewards the Detroit Lions defensive line for their stellar play against the Redskins. The entire D-line was a force to be reckoned with last Sunday, and they deserve the recognition for sure.

All you need to do is look at the stat sheet for why I gave the Lions D-line a Sprint Game Ball. Kyle Vanden Bosch had five tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble; Cliff Avril had four tackles and two sacks; and Ndamukong Suh had four tackles, two sacks and a fumble recovery for a touchdown. Corey Williams didn't have a sack against Washington, unlike the rest of his fellow starters on the D-line, but he was double-teamed all game long. Despite that, he played very well against the run and helped open things up for the rest of the D-line, which obviously happened based on looking at the stats.

Coming into the season, everybody thought the Lions defensive line had the potential to be great. Well, the season is only halfway through and I think it's safe to say it is one of the top units on the team. In the league in general, the Lions D-line has to be pretty high up there. You have a talented veteran in Vanden Bosch, a speedy rusher in Avril and two dominating forces in the middle in Suh and Williams. Not only that, but you also have guys like Turk McBride and Sammie Hill coming off the bench to provide solid depth. To say the least, this defensive line is extremely talented, and it shows on Sundays, especially last Sunday against Washington.