FIRST DOWN: SETTING RECORDS
Sunday's 52-6 win over Jacksonville was one of the most dominating victories in franchise history.
Detroit set single-game records in:
- Margin of victory (plus-46)
- Total net yards (644)
- Total first downs (38)
"I really think we pulled on each other today and played some of our best ball," Lions head coach Dan Campbell said after the game.
Detroit is now the third team in the Super Bowl era with three wins of 35-plus points in their first 10 games of a season. They join the 1973 Falcons and 1969 Vikings in that regard. The first-team offense scored touchdowns on all seven possessions they had the ball and racked up 575 yards of total offense before handing it over to the backups early in the fourth quarter.
Through the first 10 games in franchise history, the Lions now rank first points scored (336), first in touchdowns (42), second in point differential (plus-159), second in first downs (228), third in rushing touchdowns (18), third in passing touchdowns (22) and fourth in total net yards (3,947).
"I think we have that ability," Campbell said after the game when asked if they could be one of the best offenses to ever play the game. "I really do. I think we have the ability. To me, we have everything that we need to be potent."
SECOND DOWN: PERFECT PASSER
Lions quarterback Jared Goff threw five interceptions last week in Houston but didn't feel like he played a bad game in Detroit's eventual come-from-behind win over the Texans. There were some fluky bounces of the football that just happen sometimes in this game.
Goff still had a ton of confidence he and Detroit's passing game would get back on track this week.
Goff finished 24-of-29 passing for 412 yards with four touchdowns, no interceptions and a perfect 158.3 passer rating. He's now the only quarterback in NFL history to have multiple games with 400-plus passing yards and a 158.3 passer rating. Just him. That's the list.
He's produced four games this season with a passer rating of 140.0-plus, tied for the most in a season in league history with still seven games to play as he continues his MVP-caliber season.
"Once again he continues to play at a high level," Campbell said of his quarterback. "He was locked in like he's been and just had that feeling, man. Offense collectively, I just felt like we were going to be in a good place.
"I thought Goff was outstanding once again. That's the type of player we have and that's the type of football he's been playing for a while now. He's a stud."
THIRD DOWN: TAKEAWAY STREAK
The offense will get a lot of love for the way they played Sunday afternoon scoring on their first eight possessions before a kneeldown to end it, but Detroit's defense did what they were supposed to do Sunday too against a backup quarterback and undermanned Jaguars' offense.
Detroit allowed just 170 yards of total offense to the Jaguars and just 41 rushing yards (2.4 avg.). Jacksonville was 2-for-10 on third down and Detroit prolonged their takeaway streak to 14 games as they are one of the NFL's best teams at generating turnovers dating back to last season.
A Kerby Joseph interception in the third quarter kept the NFL's longest takeaway streak going. It was Joseph's seventh interception of the season. He's the first Lions player since James Hunter in 1976 to produce seven interceptions and a pick-six in a season.
Just how good has Detroit's defense been under Aaron Glenn this season? Detroit's only the fourth team in history to allow one passing touchdown or less and intercept at least one pass in each of the first 10 games of a season.
FOURTH DOWN: SONIC & KNUCKLES
The best running back duo in the NFL was back in action Sunday. The Jacksonville Jaguars' defense had few answers for Sonic & Knuckles.
Both running backs found the end zone – David Montgomery twice – as they both scored in the same game for the ninth time in just over a season and a half together, which is already a franchise record.
Jahmyr Gibbs' 1-yard touchdown in the second quarter and Montgomery's two scores (2 & 6) means both have now rushed for at least eight-plus touchdowns in each of the last two seasons. The NFL's last running back duo to do that in consecutive seasons was the Packers' Paul Hornung & Jim Taylor from 1960-61.
Montgomery finished Sunday with 75 rushing yards on 15 carries (5.0 avg.) with two touchdowns. He also caught three passes for 20 yards. Gibbs rushed 11 times for 69 yards (6.3) with a touchdown. He also had a 54-yard reception. Detroit finished the contest with 196 rushing yards, three touchdowns and a 4.6-yard average per carry.
