FIRST DOWN: WILLIAMS' GAME BALL
Jameson Williams has made a lot of big plays and had a ton of big games over his football career, but he said after Sunday's 26-20 win over Los Angeles in the season opener, the game ball he received was a first. It meant so much to him he took it to his postgame press conference and probably won't let it out of his sight anytime soon. Williams had five receptions for 121 yards and a touchdown to earn the honors.
"I never got a game ball," Williams said after the game. "Not at Alabama, not nowhere. I'm not even going to lie, this right here might not leave my hands. I might sleep (holding it)."
Williams has put in a lot of work this offseason and in training camp, and it's good to see that work translate to great production Week 1. What should make Lions fans even more excited about his performance is that both he and head coach Dan Campbell said afterward he can be even better.
"He showed up. That was a big game," Campbell said. "The best about it is he didn't even play his best ball. There's still so much to clean up. But it also shows the work he's put in and he is improving and he's an improved player and he wants it, man. He's working on it and he keeps taking these steps."
In a game where the Rams' defense tried to take wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and tight end Sam LaPorta out of the game with some of their coverage schemes, it was huge that Williams took advantage of one-on-ones.
SECOND DOWN: HUTCHINSON & DAVENPORT
The Lions have been excited about what veteran Marcus Davenport could to bring to the defensive line with his ability to push the pocket opposite Aidan Hutchinson and set a good edge in the run game. Sunday night we got our first look at Detroit's new edge-rushing duo.
Hutchinson finished with five tackles, a key sack that sent the game to overtime, four quarterback hits and a tackle for loss. He also drew a key holding penalty at the one-yard line that eventually forced a Rams field goal and helped save the game for Detroit.
Davenport notched a sack on a play where he walked the tackle back into the quarterback with one arm. He also hit Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford four times.
"This was the vision the whole time," Campbell said of this defensive end duo. "This is what we knew we were going to get when we got Davenport. We felt really good about the production Hutch is bringing and brought last year and what he was going to bring this year.
"Someone who can crush the can and send (the quarterback) his way or vice versa and that's what Davenport can do. He's long. He's physical. He's strong. He's a big man and so that showed up today."
The Lions have been eagerly looking for consistent production opposite Hutchinson and it was good to see Davenport provide that Week 1.
THIRD DOWN: OT DRIVE
When Stafford called heads for the overtime coin toss and it dropped tails, Lions quarterback Jared Goff offered a quick 'We'll take the ball' with confidence.
Maybe it was a little foreshadowing of what was to come because that overtime game-winning touchdown drive was a thing of beauty for the Lions' offense.
It started with a Kalif Raymond end around for 12 yards. Then a handoff to David Montgomery off the right end for 21 yards down to the LA 37-yard line. Montgomery took another handoff, this time off the left tackle, and cranked out another nine yards.
A 10-yard pass to Jahmyr Gibbs set the Lions up with 1st & 10 at the LA 28-yard line before the Rams' defense even knew what hit them. A short Gibbs run of three yards was followed by Montgomery runs of six and eight yards, respectively, setting up a 1st & goal at the one-yard line. It only took one handoff to Montgomery from there to end it.
"Yeah, it was good. Just hand it to D-Mo, man, a battering ram," Goff said of the overtime drive. "Just hand it to him and he did the rest, and it was fun. It was fun watching him – kind of catch that second wind there in that overtime, and our O-line the same way.
"I was joking with him when we called the play on the one-yard-line, it was like, 'This is scoring.' There was no doubt – and punched it in, it was great."
Montgomery had a great training camp and finished Sunday with 91 yards on 17 carries for a 5.4-yard average per rush and the game-winning touchdown. It was a drive that showed what this offense is capable of when 11 players are on the same page and they impose their will on the defense.
FOURTH DOWN: SECONDARY PERFORMANCE
We got our first look at Detroit's revamped secondary to mixed results. Stafford threw for 317 yards and a touchdown, and Detroit's back end had difficulty containing veteran Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp, who finished with 14 grabs for 110 yards and a score.
Rookie first-round pick Terrion Arnold was flagged for a couple interference penalties that set up Rams scores, and safety Brian Branch and cornerback Carlton Davis III both dropped interceptions.
But there was also plenty of good.
Safety Kerby Joseph had a key interception in the Lions' end zone late in the second quarter, and the defense came up with some key plays late in the game to help spark Detroit's comeback.
"I don't want to take away his stinger. I want him to play aggressive, and I thought he did some really good things today," Campbell said of Arnold's performance. "Certainly, was not too big for him. He stepped up.
"I thought Carlton (Davis III) did some good things too. Really, the back end played pretty good overall. We just – there's a couple of things communication-wise we have to clean up and we will. We will."
Remember this is a Lions secondary that doesn't have a lot of time on task together. There were a number of different players who suffered nagging injuries in training camp that kept the unit as a whole from getting a lot of time on the field together.
There was some good and there was some not so good from that group Sunday night, but it's a lot easier watching film on Monday and correcting the mistakes after a win.
