Detroit Lions Week 14 Player of the Game: 5 Game Ball candidates vs. Vikings

The Detroit Lions weren’t very good in their 13th game of the season, to say the least. The offense didn’t score until the final minutes of the game. The defense, while holding the Minnesota Vikings to just 20 points on the day, failed to generate any true big plays in the game.

So we had to dig a little deep to find five Lions players worthy of Game Ball consideration for Sunday’s 20-7 loss. But before we get into that, here’s a look at the Game Ball standings through 13 weeks.

Matthew Stafford - 14
Marvin Jones Jr. - 9
Kenny Golladay - 7
Justin Coleman - 5
Bo Scarbrough - 5
Trey Flowers - 4
T.J. Hockenson - 3
Sam Martin - 3
Matt Prater - 3
Jeff Driskel - 3
Amani Oruwariye - 2
Jamal Agnew - 2
Tyrell Crosby - 2
Devon Kennard - 1
Taylor Decker - 1
Kerryon Johnson - 1
Jarrad Davis - 1

Tracy Walker

Stats: 13 tackles (9 solo), 1 TFL

Walker was one of three different Lions defenders with double-digit tackles on the day, but he led the entire team in solo tackles. Walker was especially lethal in open-field tackles, which isn’t exactly an easy task against a guy like Dalvin Cook.

While it’s never exactly a good sign that Walker, a safety, led the team in tackles, it is nice to know that Detroit has a solid last line of defense.

Kenny Golladay

Stats: 6 catches, 58 yards, 1 TD

It took a while for David Blough to get Kenny Golladay involved in the offense, but when he started targeting the Lions’ No. 1 receiver, it immediately paid off. Golladay pulled in six of his eight targets and turned one of those into Detroit’s only score of the game.

With his performance on Sunday, Golladay not only took sole possession of the NFL lead for receiving touchdowns, but he also eclipsed 1,000 yards for the second season in a row.

Tavon Wilson

Stats: 11 tackles (7 solo), 1 QB hit

Much like Walker, Tavon Wilson was all over the place making tackle after tackle. The one edge up that Wilson had on Walker is that the Lions like using the veteran safety close to the line of scrimmage and occasionally even send him as a blitzer. He was able to tally one quarterback hit along with 11 tackles on the day.

Mike Daniels

Stats: 5 tackles (4 solo), 1 TFL

Using basic statistics, it was an underwhelming day for Daniels. 5 tackles isn’t bad for a nose tackle, but it’s not exactly Player of the Game worthy. However, traditional stats don’t tell the entire story. Daniels was able to force Kirk Cousins out of the pocket often—PFF credited him with three hurries. And considering Daniels was barely playing at all in the previous month, his 53 snaps was a big jump in playing time.

Trey Flowers

Stats: 3 tackles, 1.0 sacks

The Lions didn’t produce many big plays on either side of the ball, so when you’re the guy who tallies the only sack of the day, you’re going to get some recognition. It’s worth noting, however, that Flowers now has six sacks in his past five games, including at least one in each.