Unsung Hero of the Week: Sam Martin is back!

Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers didn’t go how most expected it to. It was a game of inches, more so than most football games. Darius Slay made the play of the game, chasing down D.J. Moore 90 yards and preventing points, as Graham Gano missed a field goal three plays later that would’ve likely led to a Panthers win.

That led to Slay being a prime candidate for this week’s award, but our lovely Jeremy Reisman took that play and ran with it for the Play of the Week award. But hey, you have to put unsung in unsung hero of the week, and that leads us to this week’s winner.

Unsung hero of the week: Sam Martin

Last week, the award was given to the kicking unit and specifically not the punting unit, as Sam Martin has had a very up and down game. Sunday, however, he came up big, pinning the Panthers inside their 10-yard line three times. He really couldn’t have chosen a better week to do so, as every yard counted in the Lions’ win over the Panthers. For that, he’s our award winner for this week.

How the Lions defense performs in any given week is anyone’s guess. With games coming up against the Chicago Bears, who took a 26-0 lead over the Lions in their last matchup, and the LA Rams, who just came off a win in which they posted 54 points, the defense is unlikely to be able to contain the opposition. That means Martin will need to be stellar for the Lions to have a shot, and he needs to look like his former self in flipping the field.

Hopefully Martin steps up to the challenge beginning with Thanksgiving Day and the outcome is better than it was the last time the Lions played the Bears. If it is, watch out for Martin to be a repeat award winner here.