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Had I not gone with the offensive line and the defensive line for this series in the last two weeks, I easily could have selected one of those position groups to be featured this week. The Detroit Lions were dominant in the trenches on Sunday against the Chicago Bears, as evidenced by the fact that LaAdrian Waddle got a +4.5 grade (the highest of all offensive players) on Pro Football Focus.
Since we have already featured the lines, the Lions' linebackers are the teammates of the week this time around. Specifically, Stephen Tulloch and DeAndre Levy deserve special recognition for what they did against the Bears. Tulloch got +6.3 grade (!) from PFF for his performance, while Levy got a +1.7. (Ashlee Palmer received a -1.4 grade, but he was only on the field for 37 percent of the Lions' defensive snaps; Tulloch and Levy were on the field for every single one.)
Here's a look at the stat lines from Sunday for Tulloch and Levy:
Stephen Tulloch: 7 tackles (7 solo), 1 TFL
DeAndre Levy: 6 tackles (5 solo), 1 pass defense, 1 INT
Levy, by the way, is now tied for first with Tennessee Titans cornerback Alterraun Verner for the most interceptions in the NFL. Each player has 5 picks already in 2013. Coming into this season, Levy had only 5 career interceptions. He's become quite the playmaker for the Lions defense.