The Detroit Lions were able to pull off a great victory at home and advance in the NFL Playoffs. Here are three takeaways from the win.
In what was arguably the best game of the Wild Card Weekend, the Detroit Lions were able to pick up their first win in the playoffs in decades over the Los Angeles Rams. While snapping the playoff drought was a big deal, there were some extra storylines in the matchup because of Matthew Stafford coming back to Detroit.
It was certainly a fun and emotional night in Detroit, and the Lions were able to squeak out a win and continue their very strong season. With that being said, here are three key takeaways from the win against the Rams.
St-Brown is a star
With a lot of great receivers in the NFL, it is easy to forget or overlook some of the more talented ones when speaking about the top players at the position. One of the players who has been great this season, but maybe flying under the radar a bit is Amon-Ra St. Brown.
In the win against the Rams, St. Brown had another great performance, as he totaled 110 receiving yards and seven receptions. St. Brown continues to be the top target for Jared Goff, and in his first playoff game, he played well. As the playoffs go on, St. Brown will continue to be a player to talk about.
Stafford shined but didn’t finish
In his return to Detroit, Stafford knew it wasn’t going to be playing against a crowd that desperately wanted to see their team win a playoff game. Especially against their former quarterback.
While emotions were likely challenging to deal with, Stafford was able to play a really good game despite battling some big hits and injuries. In the loss, Stafford totaled 367 passing yards and two passing touchdowns.
While the stats were great, credit has to go to the red zone defense of Detroit, as they may have bent a bit, but they did not break. The Rams and Stafford were forced into kicking three field goals, with the longest being just 29 yards.
Even though it was a big game for Stafford in his return, he and the offense struggled to close the deal against a stingy Lions defense.
Jared Goff is good enough for Detroit
With the storyline of the deal sending Stafford to Los Angeles for Jared Goff was a big one, Goff certainly played this game with a chip on his shoulder. The Rams deemed him not good enough to win them a Super Bowl, but in the Wild Card Weekend, he was good enough for Detroit as his coach Dan Campbell said.
In the win, Goff was really solid, as he totaled 277 passing yards, one passing touchdown, and was an efficient 22-for-27 throwing the football. The win for Goff has to feel good against his former team who traded him for Stafford. While Stafford might have thrown for more yards, Goff had a very good game in his own right and came out with the win.
