Lions vs Jaguars: What Just Happened?

Earlier in the week, I posited that the Lions needed to win this game to prove that they were for real and their recent elevation wasn’t just a fluke. Instead of simply winning, the Lions went out and dominated the Jaguars in every facet of the game in route to a 40-14 win. This team is for real.

As always, I have thoughts on this game. These are those thoughts:

The matchup of all matchups

Well, that didn’t quite work out the way Mike Clay thought it would.

The Lions defense was absolutely dominant on Sunday. They held the Jaguars to just 179 yards through the air and had Trevor Lawrence completing just 54.8 percent of his passes. Christian Kirk did have a nice, six catch game for 104 yards, but the rest of the Jags receiving corps was pretty quiet on Sunday.

This just isn’t your daddy’s Week 7 Lions team. They’ve come so long since then. There’s still plenty more work to do, but this team is for real.

Goff

Jarred Goff balled out on Sunday. He finished the day with 340 yards and two touchdowns while completing 75.6 percent of his passes. I know Lions fans are unsure of what they want to do about quarterback going forward, but in my opinion, Goff has played well enough to deserve a shot to play out the rest of his contract here instead of taking the out on him this offseason.

That one Sun God catch

St. Brown was making plays all over the field on Sunday. He even finished the game with 114 yards and two touchdowns on 11 catches. But the highlight of the afternoon was this crazy catch that could have been an interception in seemingly 20 different ways. The dude just has his head up all the time and that’s why he’s able to do stuff like this. St. Brown is a show that I can’t wait to watch every week.

Good thing the Lions signed that Houston guy to the 53 man

Rookie James Houston had a big game on Thanksgiving last week when he sacked Josh Allen twice and recovered a fumble. There was some fear that came attached to Houston though. The Lions temporarily brought him up to the main roster for that game. Because of the nature of how they brought him up, he would have to go back to the practice squad where he could be stolen by any team in the league. That fear didn’t last long as the Lions added him to the active roster.

On Sunday, he showed that this was the right move when he picked up another sack—and he nearly added more to his total. There were at least two instances where he got to Trevor Lawrence and laid a hit on him, but it just wasn’t in time. The future is bright for this pass-rush specialist.

Can someone check on that cameraman?

I’m a softy. Because I’m a softy, I immediately felt really bad for this guy and I spent a lot of the game hoping to get some sort of update that he’s ok. If you saw something that I didn’t, let me know @POD_Payton on Twitter. If you’re not sure if it’s my Twitter, I’m the good looking gentleman mounting a red alligator in the header.

Look out! There’s a Chark!

We’ve been waiting to see Chark have himself a day all season. You had to think that this would be the game it would happen right? Chark went off on his former team and had the best game of his time as a Lion. He finished the day with five catches for 98 yards. Here’s hoping that this type of play continues during the rest of the Lions season.

Jamo comin’... to be a decoy

I’m not mad at it at all. Williams just came back after an ACL injury and he really only has one week of real practices since the Lions mostly did walk throughs during the Thanksgiving week. This game felt like it was all about just getting Williams used to being back on the football field during a live game. He did get one target, but it was an otherwise quiet day. Except of course when the Ford Field crowd began a “We Want Jamo” chant in the 4th quarter.

Maybe next week we’ll see a lot more form the 12th overall pick after he’s had two weeks of full on practices and a live game under his belt.

Jamaal Williams is Thanos

A long time ago I called Matt Patricia Thanos because he destroyed everything in the snap of his finger as he sat on his ATV atop his conditioning hill. Williams is Thanos for a different reason. He’s Thanos because he’s inevitable. He will score a rushing touchdown and there’s nothing that any of the Avengers or any defense in the NFL can do to stop him.