Burning Questions: Taking care of business, a leader emerging at a key position and a highlight and lowlight in the Detroit Lions' 34-16 road win over the Jacksonville Jaguars:
Question: It was a convincing victory, but does the fact that it was against a Jaguars team that lost its fifth straight game take anything away from it?
Answer: No. It's not like it was a fluke win on a batted ball on the last play of the game or came on a disputed call by the officials. The Lions did what they had to do, and that's win a game.
They dominated the running game on both sides of the ball, rushing for a season-high 180 yards and holding the Jaguars to 44.
They got a 14-3 lead, and instead of letting the Jaguars back in the game as happened in their three losses when they had double-digit leads, they extended it to 24-3 and were never really threatened.
The bottom line: They took care of business, and that was their goal.
Question: Did rookie D’Andre Swift's performance establish him as the lead back in the Lions' rotation of running backs?
Answer: Yes. That doesn't mean he'll get most of the carries and the majority of the snaps in every game. Swift showed his versatility by rushing for 118 yards and two touchdowns and catching three passes for seven yards.
He did not have a huge role in the passing game, but he showed his receiving skills in previous games.
Swift served his apprenticeship in the first four games before the bye. He has more work to do to solidify his role, but he's done enough already to elevate himself to the top of the rotation, in my opinion.
Question: Low spot – was there one for the Lions?
Answer: Yes. It was in the last minute of the first half, when the Lions got the ball at Jacksonville's 43-yard line. They had a chance to add to their 17-3 led. The drive fizzled because of a penalty, and they wound up punting.
Question: High spot – was there one for the Lions?
Answer: Yes. It was still a game midway through the third quarter when the Lions stopped the Jaguars on fourth down at their own 14. From there, they drove to a TD – on a pass to tight end T.J. Hockenson – on fourth down to boost the lead to 24-3.
That sealed the game – something the Lions failed to do in previous games.
