Lions' Week 18 Grades: Detroit Closes Out 2021 Season on Strong Note
The Detroit Lions ended their 2021 season on a positive note.
Dan Campbell’s first season as head coach ended with a 37-30 victory over Green Bay, a division rival that holds the top seed in the NFC for the playoffs.
Though the Packers sat a fair amount of starters in the second half, it's still fair to give the Lions credit for handling their business and scoring 10 unanswered fourth-quarter points to come out victorious.
Here are SI All Lions’ grades following the victory.
Quarterback: A
After missing two games, Jared Goff returned for the season finale. In his weekly media session, he spoke on the need to finish strong with a win against a good team like the Packers. Thanks to one of his best performances as a Lion, the team did just that.
He finished 21-of-30 for 238 yards and two touchdowns. More importantly, he went a second straight game without a turnover. Both of Goff’s final two starts of the season went down as wins, with the other coming against the NFC West division-winning Arizona Cardinals.
For as difficult as the first few weeks were, the former Los Angeles Rams signal-caller showed substantial growth as the season progressed. His first season as the Lions' starting passer was far from perfect, but he began to recover from early struggles around the time Campbell took over as play-caller in Week 10 against Pittsburgh.
It wasn’t a perfect performance Sunday, but Goff didn’t make any bad plays that hurt the team, either. In the end, it was good enough to win.
Tom Kennedy and Jack Fox each threw passes, too, with Kennedy notching his first career touchdown pass on a 75-yard connection with receiver Kalif Raymond.
Running back: B-
D’Andre Swift had just 30 yards on the ground in his second game back from injury, notching almost half on his game-winning 14-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. He returned last week from a shoulder sprain that kept him out of four games.
Jamaal Williams, meanwhile, was limited to just 43 yards on 13 tries. Part of this was due to the Lions missing Penei Sewell and eventually Evan Brown, when he left with an injury.
Craig Reynolds couldn’t get back on track after two dynamite games to begin his career. He was held to just two yards on three carries. Amon-Ra St. Brown and Kalif Raymond both took handoffs, rushing for 12 and 13 yards, respectively.
Wide receivers/tight ends: A
Speaking of St. Brown, he finished a superb second half of the season with eight more catches and 109 yards. He caught a second-quarter touchdown from Goff on a fourth-and-goal, and made a big catch-and-run on the game-winning drive, when he hauled in a pass over the middle and bounced off a defender.
Raymond had the big play of the day, catching the pass from fellow receiver Kennedy and burning the Packers defense as he raced 75 yards for his team’s first score of the day. He finished with 101 yards receiving on four catches.
Kennedy had just two catches for 16 yards, but will go down in Lions lore for his touchdown pass that came after taking a reverse handoff from St. Brown. Josh Reynolds converted a fourth down when he hauled in an 11-yard pass.
Brock Wright caught his second career touchdown pass, pulling down a 36-yard pass from Goff on a flea-flicker. He finished with two catches for 51 yards.
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Offensive line: B
Without Sewell, the line was in for a tough assignment against the Packers. Fortunately, several starters either didn’t play or played just a half for Green Bay. Yet, things got tougher when Brown, the center, and Taylor Decker, the left tackle, left with injury.
Decker would later return, but Brown was done for good with an ankle injury. Brown was replaced by Ryan McCollum, who was beaten on his first play for a sack. He struggled, eventually being replaced by starting guard Jonah Jackson.
Tommy Kraemer then replaced Jackson, and was called for holding. There were instances where the Packers got pressure on Goff, but the quarterback was sacked just one time. In all, that’s a win for the unit that was without key pieces all afternoon.
Defensive line: B+
Aaron Rodgers was successful moving around during his time on the field, scrambling away from Lions pressure. Yet, the Lions did a good job moving guys around and putting heat on the Packers veteran quarterback.
Defensive end Julian Okwara led the way with two sacks, but was also called for a penalty that allowed the Packers to convert a fourth down. Tackle Alim McNeill continued his solid finish to the season, clogging run lanes alongside John Penisini.
Charles Harris made a big hit on running back A.J. Dillon, and logged a quarterback hit. Between Dillon and backup running back Patrick Taylor, the Lions allowed 116 yards on the ground.
Linebackers: B-
Rookie Derrick Barnes was up and down in his final game of 2021, getting a sack but also being beaten in coverage for a touchdown by receiver Allen Lazard.
Newcomer Jessie Lemonier had his first full sack of the season, when he broke free and hit Rodgers on a third down in the second quarter.
Jalen Reeves-Maybin finished with seven tackles, four of which were solo. Lazard was able to get free on short routes early with Rodgers in the game, as the Packers' offense orchestrated a 7:18 drive to open the game that ended with a touchdown.
Secondary: B+
The Lions’ young secondary showed up in the season finale. Though Rodgers gashed Detroit's defensive backs during the first half, the unit rebounded to make things difficult for backup Jordan Love in the second half.
C.J. Moore and Tracy Walker III had fourth-quarter interceptions. Walker finished the game with 14 tackles, 10 of which were solo. Moore’s pick came on a tipped pass, and set up Detroit’s insurance field goal late in the game.
Rookies Ifeatu Melifonwu and A.J. Parker finished with a combined three pass breakups, with Parker laying a big hit on receiver Amari Rodgers in the second half.
On the negative side, Walker missed a tackle on what wound up being a 62-yard touchdown for tight end Josiah Deguara, and Will Harris was beaten on the Packers’ first touchdown.
Special teams: B-
For the first time all season, the Lions failed on a fake punt try. Fox did his job, laying a perfect pass into the hands of backup running back Godwin Igwebuike. However, Igwebuike dropped the pass, and it resulted in a turnover on downs.
Fox also had a punt partially blocked, and finished with an average of 48.5 yards on his two attempts. On the place-kicking side of things, Riley Patterson drilled all three of his attempts, to finish the season 13-of-14.
There wasn’t much to speak of in the return game, as Raymond fair-caught Green Bay’s only punt and Igwebuike returned one kick for 25 yards.
Coaching: A
The Lions took the field determined to finish the season with a win, and did just that under Campbell. The gameplan was solid, as Campbell emptied the playbook in the final game of his abbreviated season as offensive play-caller.
Detroit ran a reverse pass, a flea-flicker and multiple jet sweeps. The offense continued its upward trend, from a creativity standpoint. With the help of tight ends coach Ben Johnson, Campbell designed yet another good gameplan.
Defensively, Aaron Glenn designed multiple schemes that allowed his unit to get pressure on Green Bay’s signal-callers. The young secondary was ready to play, and played well.
It wasn't exactly a phenomenal first year for the new regime. However, the end of the season leaves plenty of optimism, and it’s clear the present players have immense faith in the coaches calling the shots.
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