Graham Glasgow did a great job last week stepping in for All-Pro center Frank Ragnow against Seattle. It's why the Lions made signing the starting left guard such a priority this offseason.
But this week it's trending toward Ragnow being back in the lineup at center after two weeks to rest and rehab his partially torn pectoral muscle.
It's good timing too, facing a Dallas defense led by defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, who is one of the best in the business at finding what an offense is trying to do in protection and knowing how to attack it.
Zimmer has been doing it for a long time and is the godfather of the double-A gap blitz. He's evolved it over the years, and he always seems to find a way to get an unblocked player on the quarterback.
It's why getting Ragnow back this week is big for Detroit.
"He's got a lot of experience against this type of scheme," Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said of Ragnow on Thursday. "Before I even was here, he was going against Zimmer's defense (in Minnesota), so he knows what issues that particular scheme can bring up.
"It's interesting, Year 1 for them in this scheme, how much is going to dive back into his Minnesota years, but that's where we have a little bit of familiarity with him, particularly with Frank because he's been able to see all of this. And so, he knows exactly what we want to do."
The Cowboys have been playing much better defense the last two weeks in wins over the Giants and Steelers despite losing a number of key players like Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence along their front seven.
Zimmer and the Cowboys' defense are going to come after Jared Goff, so having Ragnow back and all five starters upfront is huge this week.
"Good enough, baby," Ragnow said Thursday when asked how his pectoral injury felt. "It's all good."
JAMO EFFECT
Johnson mentioned it a week after the Arizona game when the Cardinals played two-high safety defense nearly the entire time trying to limit Jameson Williams making plays down the field behind them.
The Cardinals saw Williams' 52-yard touchdown Week 1 and 50-yard catch behind the Bucs' defense Week 2. Williams caught just one pass for nine yards against the Cardinals, but Detroit rushed the ball 43 times for 188 yards and got the win, taking advantage of the two deep safeties and running the rock.
"The best thing we have going right now is, we have so many weapons," Johnson said Thursday. "He's not the only one, so it's hard for a defense to come out and say, 'Hey, we just want to shut this one guy down.' I don't know that they can do that with how we distribute the ball."
Williams has no problem how it gets done offensively as long as they score points and win games.
"It's good. It gives all the guys a chance to make plays," Williams said Thursday. "We have playmakers. They can't really zone in on one person because somebody else is going to make some plays. It's almost 100 percent with me, I have faith in my guys to go out there and just make a play, move the sticks and score touchdowns, even if it ain't me. They lock in on somebody, somebody else is going to make a play. I really think teams have to stay away from that because we have so many playmakers."
To Williams' point, the Lions got three touchdowns from their running backs, two from their receivers (including a 70-yard score by Williams) and one from their quarterback for good measure in the 42-point outing against Seattle before the bye.
HUTCH OFF THE FIELD
Aidan Hutchinson is one of the early Defensive Player of the Year favorites for the way he's started the season on the field, leading the NFL in sacks, quarterback hits and total pressures.
Off the field, there have been a lot of videos lately of Hutchinson spending time visiting with patients at children's hospitals and saying hello to a young Lions fan in the airport who happened to be wearing his jersey.
"If you're just playing for individual greatness, I think there is this level of emptiness that comes with that," Hutchinson said this week when asked about his off-the-field efforts. "I feel like everything I've achieved, whenever you reach that you're always seeking more, and I think when you have something you are playing for that's bigger than you, I think it gives it a little bit of depth and it makes me almost more proud of what I'm doing and makes me more motivated.
"You meet these kids, and you are kind of this glimmer of hope for five minutes or however long I talk to them. It helps me have a deeper motivation than just myself and me wanting to achieve what I want to achieve."
