The Detroit Lions got back to their winning ways Sunday in Arizona to improve to 3-2 on the season. Now they head to their bye week with a chance to rest up and do a deep dive into the first five games of the season.
Detroit has two critical division games against Green Bay and Minnesota at Ford Field coming out of the bye.
Here's a look at five stats through the first five weeks that jump out to me:
1. Number: 0
What it means: Interceptions thrown by quarterback Jared Goff this season.
Twentyman: Goff has 12 touchdown passes vs. zero interceptions on the year, joining Russell Wilson as the only players in league history to start the first five games of a season with at least 12 touchdowns and no picks. Only two other quarterbacks this season with at least 100 pass attempts have not thrown an interception – Houston's C.J. Stroud (6 TDs, 0 INT) and New York's Geno Smith (6 TDs, 0 INT).
Goff completed 19-of-30 passes for 271 yards with three touchdowns and added a rare touchdown run via the quarterback sneak on 4th & goal in Detroit's 45-21 win over Arizona Sunday.
"Goff is just Goff. He's as good as they come," Lions head coach Dan Campbell said after Sunday's win. "I've just been so impressed with the way he's played these five games here. I thought he's just gotten better every year, and here we are five in, and he's even better than last year. He's the real deal."
2. Number: 20
What it means: Detroit's sack total through five games
Twentyman: The Lions currently lead the NFL in this category with Houston (18.0) a couple behind in second place. What's nice about this is the number of players who've been involved. Nine different defenders have at least a half sack through five games.
For the first time in team history, four different players have registered at least 3.0 sacks through the first five games of the season – DJ Wonnum (5.0), Aidan Hutchinson (4.0), Alim McNeill (3.5) and Derrick Barnes (3.0).
3. Number: 3
What it means: Total points scored on the first possession of games
Twentyman: This number is a bit confusing given Detroit averages a league-best 32.8 points per game. It's even more perplexing when we consider the Lions lead the NFL with 31 points on their first possession coming out of halftime.
Only Cleveland, Denver, New Orleans, Philadelphia and the Los Angeles Rams have not scored at all on their first possession through five games. This is too good of an offense with too good a play caller to have these slow starts, so this could be an area of improvement coming out of the bye.
4. Number: 23
What it means: Number of 20-plus-yard completions allowed by Lions' defense
Twentyman: These next two stats are a bit of a look ahead to Detroit's next two opponents: Green Bay and Minnesota. Packers quarterback Jordan Love, who the Lions see in Week 7 coming out the bye, completed 6-of-8 passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield in a 31-7 win over Chicago Week 5. This marked a career-high 258 deep passing yards and two touchdowns for Love, per packers.com.
The 23 completions of 20-plus yards allowed by the Lions' defense are the most in the NFL through five weeks. They were better against Arizona, allowing just three in the best performance by that unit all season. Green Bay has made a living so far this year getting big plays in the pass game so this is something the Lions will have to be aware of heading into Week 7.
5. Number: 32.8
What it means: Detroit's points per game average
Twentyman: Detroit's offense has been putting up points and currently leads the league in points per game average. Following the Packers game Week 7, the Lions host Minnesota and Brian Flores' top-ranked defense. The Vikings are allowing just 12.8 points per game with five total touchdowns (three passing, two rushing) allowed and eight field goals.
Minnesota leads the NFL with a 57.2 blitz rate. To put that number in a little bit of context, Tampa Bay's defense has blitzed the second-most in the NFL this season at 37.6 percent. The Vikings' defense puts a lot of pressure on offenses and keeps them out of the end zone. The No. 1 scoring offense vs. No. 1 scoring defense Week 8 in Detroit should be fun to watch.
