The Detroit Lions entered their Week 13 road contest seeking to play their best football in the month of December.
Facing a team that members of the coaching staff have special ties to made the game against the New Orleans Saints more meaningful.
Supporters again flocked to the Superdome to hopefully witness one of the best road teams pursue its ninth victory of the season.
Even though the first offensive snap saw the Lions called for a false-start penalty and the exchange between Jared Goff and Frank Ragnow not being crisp, Dan Campbell’s team started the game quickly, getting out to an early three-touchdown lead.
A hot start did not keep the Saints from battling all four quarters. Detroit’s defense struggled to limit the effectiveness of Taysom Hill, Alvin Kamara and Chris Olave in a hotly-contested road contest.
Here are several takeaways from the Lions’ 33-28 victory against the Saints.
Campbell and his football team found themselves leading, 21-0, before the halfway point of the first quarter.
Detroit, which has counted on its rookies all season, again turned to several first-year players to make significant contributions in a game that surely will quiet critics for the time being.
Jahmyr Gibbs, Sam LaPorta and Brian Branch all made impactful plays before supporters could get comfortable in their seats.
In fact, Campbell, Detroit’s third-year head coach, identified and emphasized turnovers as being the single biggest issue that impacted his team the last two weeks.
On the Saints’ first possession, Derek Carr had his pass intended for tight end Juwan Johnson intercepted by Brian Branch.
LaPorta, who has set rookie tight end records nearly every week, recorded his sixth touchdown of the season, and extended Detroit’s lead to 14-0.
Then, on the ensuing possession, Goff found Amon-Ra St. Brown for a 25-yard touchdown strike. It put St. Brown over 1,000 total yards receiving for the second straight season.
Additionally, it gave Detroit 21 points in a first quarter for the first time since the 2011 campaign.
With the Lions leading by six early in the fourth quarter, Tracy Walker was able to secure a fumble recovery to give Detroit prime field position. It was the defense’s second takeaway of the game.
