According to both Dan Campbell and Matt LaFleur, Jahmyr Gibbs mistakenly releasing the Detroit Lions’ protection calls ahead of Thursday night’s game is a non-issue.
Last week, Gibbs mistakenly disclosed the code phrases for many Lions dropback protections on social media. Campbell stated in a radio interview this week that he “doesn’t really give a crap,” adding that if that’s why Detroit loses, they’re not a very good football club.
When asked on Tuesday about the significance of employing those codes, LaFleur downplayed it.
“I’m sure our guys aren’t going to sit there and study every code word they have in their offense,” he said.
“I mean, you can get this stuff from the TV copies. I mean, there are certain things you can pick up off the TV copies. That’s why most teams, I would say probably every team in the league, listen to what they’re putting out there as well as what the opponent is putting out there and you try to piece it together. Personally, I think it’s probably a little bit overrated.”
LaFleur noted that, particularly with division rivals, many of those tendencies are already known through scouting and experience.
“I mean, ultimately, you still got to stop whatever it is they’re doing and they’re a good football team,” he said.
“Just like most good football teams are going to have tendencies — I’m sure we have a lot of tendencies too. But you got to stop it — and vice versa. When you get tendencies, usually it’s because you’re doing something pretty well, and so you’re going to keep on doing that probably. But I think all that stuff is pretty overrated. Ultimately, it comes down to the ability to go out there, get 11 men on the same page and go execute.”
The Gibbs flub was more of a sideshow than an advantage for Green Bay this week. Teams routinely change up their calls to avoid rivals picking them up through TV copies. If obtaining those were a game-breaker, then signing released players from the opponents you’re about to face would be much more prevalent and sought-after. Do things like that happen? Sure, but we’re not talking about codes to the nuclear football here.
“It’s not something that we, I would say, over-talk,” LaFleur said when asked if they tell players to be conscious of whether they leak information.
“I think the guys understand that nobody wants their information out there for the whole world to see. So, we try to keep everything in-house here. But I don’t think it’s like the end of the world, either. I don’t think you gain a real competitive advantage off of that, personally.
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Lions Seize Control of NFC North with Thrilling Late Win Over Packers
With a gritty 34-31 victory over the Green Bay Packers at Ford Field on Thursday night, the Detroit Lions solidified their status as NFC North champions for the second time in three seasons.
The Lions have now won 11 straight games, the longest stretch in franchise history, despite trailing 28-24 in the fourth quarter and dealing with a slew of defensive ailments.
The Lions have not lost to Green Bay since November 23, 2023, 378 days ago, and their only loss this season was to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on September 15.
The following are the key takeaways from Thursday night for both teams:
DETROIT LIONS
Promising trend: Detroit’s “Sonic & Knuckles” duo of running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery continued to feast Thursday. Montgomery, aka “Knuckles,” helped the Lions score first with a 3-yard touchdown on the opening drive. Gibbs, nicknamed “Sonic,” gave the Lions a much-needed halftime boost with a 2-yard receiving touchdown from quarterback Jared Goff with 11 seconds left in the second quarter. Gibbs and Montgomery also made history Thursday, becoming the first Lions running back duo to both log at least 12 scrimmage touchdowns in a single season.
Troubling trend: Lions rookie cornerback Terrion Arnold has now been called for pass interference seven times this season, which is the most in the league. On Thursday, he was flagged in the end zone while covering Packers receiver Christian Watson with 5:49 in the second quarter, setting up a Josh Jacobs rushing touchdown on the next play.
Most surprising performance: Lions WR Tim Patrick. Patrick continued to find a role within Detroit’s high-powered offense with six catches for 43 yards against Green Bay. He caught his first receiving touchdown as a Lion off a 3-yard pass from Goff at 5:02 in the third quarter, then caught his second touchdown off a 1-yard toss from Goff with 8:39 remaining in the fourth. They were Patrick’s first NFL touchdowns since 2021, when he played for the Denver Broncos. Patrick, who missed the 2022 and 2023 seasons with knee and Achilles injuries, was signed to Detroit’s practice squad in August before being signed to the active roster on Sept. 24 ahead of Week 4. — Eric Woodyard
Next game: vs. Buffalo Bills (4:25 p.m. ET, Sunday, Dec. 15)
GREEN BAY PACKERS
It sure looks like the Packers are out of the NFC North race, but if Thursday’s loss to the Lions was any indication, they won’t concede anything quite yet.
The Packers (9-4) fell three games behind the Lions (12-1) with four games to play. The Vikings (10-2) are sandwiched in between the two.
The problem for the Packers is they got swept by the Lions, who won earlier this season in convincing fashion at Lambeau Field. This time, however, they took the Lions to the brink in what was a tie game when the Lions took over with 3:38 to play.
The Packers are now 1-3 in the division and still must go to Minnesota in Week 17 before closing with the Bears — the only NFC North team they’ve beaten this season.
Pivotal play: In a game with so many twists and turns, ultimately it came down to whether the Packers’ defense could get one final stop to give them a chance for a last-minute drive or overtime. And it couldn’t. On second-and-17 from the Packers’ 37-yard line, the defense allowed Goff to hit Amon-Ra St. Brown for 16 yards on a crossing route. Even though Packers backup safety Zayne Anderson stopped Montgomery for no gain on third-and-1 at the 21-yard line, Montgomery converted on fourth-and-1 — even as Goff stumbled before he handed it off — to set up the game-winning field goal.
QB breakdown: Jordan Love had a grand total of 31 yards passing in the first half. That changed in a hurry after halftime. He nearly doubled that on his first throw of the second half — a 59-yard completion to wide receiver Christian Watson. That led to a 12-yard touchdown pass to tight end Tucker Kraft that cut the Lions’ lead to 17-14 less than two minutes in the second half. The deep ball to Watson went 42 yards in the air for Love’s fourth completion this season of 40 or more air yards. Only Washington’s Jayden Daniels (with five) has more such completions this season. Love finished the night 12-for-21 for 206 yards and a touchdown pass.
Most surprising performance: How often do an NFL head coach and a fan on the field get into a shouting match before the game? Packers coach Matt LaFleur did. He seemed to lose his cool before the game even started. LaFleur was caught on camera jawing with a Lions fan who was part of the group holding the American flag during the national anthem. Speaking of LaFleur, he fell to 0-for-5 on replay challenges this season after he lost one in the second quarter. He threw the red flag to question the spot of the ball on a 4-yard gain by Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs on a third-and-4 play from his own 17-yard line. — Rob Demovsky
Next game: at Seattle Seahawks (8:20 p.m. ET, Sunday, Dec. 15)
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Nick Wright Predicts Which NFL Player Will Win MVP
After 13 games played, the Detroit Lions are looking like one of the best teams in the NFL, as they have dominated the competition from week to week and seem to be well on their way to winning the NFC North division and clinching a high seed in the conference ahead of the NFL playoffs.
One of the primary reasons for the team’s sustained success this season has been the play of veteran quarterback Jared Goff, who has been able to play consistently well all season long, adding a formidable passing game to one of the elite rushing attacks in the game, with the two-headed monster of running backs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs.
With only one loss on the season up to this point, the Lions could end up with the best record in the league when it is all said and done, especially if the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs start to struggle down the stretch.
If the Lions end up with the division title, the best record in the league and a high seed, Goff might have a legitimate case for NFL MVP, which is what Nick Wright of FOX Sports seems to think via First Things First.
“I think Jared Goff is going to win the MVP. I’m not being smart-. I’m not being sarcastic,” Wright said.
“When he does, we should all give him a round of applause.”
With four games left in the regular season, all against opponents that might give the Lions a run for their money (Buffalo Bills, Chicago Bears, San Francisco 49ers and Minnesota Vikings), anything can happen from here on out that could change the outlook for the MVP race.
It’ll be interesting to see how things pan out for the Lions and whether Goff is a legitimate MVP candidate when the regular season ends.
