Detroit Lions Week 6 player of the game: 5 Game Ball candidates vs. Packers

Monday night was not the Detroit Lions’ best performance. Though they came out swinging against the Green Bay Packers, they seemed to run out of gas in the second half and couldn’t overcome Aaron Rodgers and the offici—Packers.

But the Lions still had some performances worth praising. Detroit put up a hell of a fight against a good team in a tough environment. So let’t take a moment to praise the good, then y’all can go right back to complaining about the bad.

Before we get into our Week 6 Game Ball candidates, here is our Game Ball leaderboard through five weeks.

Note: First place in Game Ball voting is worth three points. Second place is worth two. Third place is worth one.

Matthew Stafford - 6
T.J. Hockenson - 3
Kenny Golladay - 3
Marvin Jones Jr. - 3
Justin Coleman - 2
Jamal Agnew - 2
Tyrell Crosby - 2
Devon Kennard - 1
Taylor Decker - 1
Kerryon Johnson - 1

Here’s a look at this week’s candidates.

Kenny Golladay

Stats: 5 catches, 121 yards

Golladay shot onto the scene, immediately hauling in a 66-yard bomb on the first offensive play of the game. By the end of the first half, he already had eclipsed 100 yards receiving. Golladay is quickly developing into a No. 1 receiver in front of our eyes, and he did it against an impressive Packers secondary, too.

Justin Coleman

Stats: 5 tackles, 3 passes defended, 1 INT

Speaking of impressive secondaries, Justin Coleman continues to be one of the best players on the field when the Lions opponents have the ball. Coleman was credited with three pass breakups against the Packers and had an opportunistic interception, as well.

In the past, Detroit has had serious problems defending slot receivers, but Coleman has been worth every penny Detroit spent on him this offseason.

Matt Prater

Stats: 5-for-5 on field goals, 1-for-1 XPs

Making five field goals in a single game is impressive no matter what the situation. But doing it on a slippery Lambeau Field in cold weather is an entirely different feat. Throw in the fact that Prater nailed two of the five from 50+ yards and you have a perfect day for the Lions kicker.

A’Shawn Robinson

Stats: 7 tackles, 1 forced fumble

Robinson continues his dominance this year as the lone performer in a disappointing defensive line. On Monday, he led the entire team with seven tackles—an impressive performance for a defensive tackle. He also had one of the biggest plays of the game, stripping Aaron Jones just as the Packers were moving into field goal range.

Matthew Stafford

Stats: 18-of-32, 265 yards; 3 rushes, 9 yards

For one half, Stafford was electric. He looked to be exposing the Packers defense as frauds. In the first half, Stafford completed 12 of 16 passes for 219 yards. If T.J. Hockenson holds onto that red zone pass, Stafford is 13 of 16 for 221 yards and a score.

And while Stafford dropped off significantly in the second half, his performance was impressive enough early on to give him Game Ball consideration.

VOTE: