The Detroit Lions (8-5) returned to winning ways by decisively cooling off the hot streak of the Dallas Cowboys (6-6-1) with a 44-30 win in Week 14. The Lions were dealing with several injuries and needed to make several roster changes to perform at their best. They've also adjusted their personnel usage a bit to help unlock passes on defense, which could be a sign of things to come.
Let's take a look at how the Lions have adapted to all the moving parts of their roster by examining how they used their personnel against the Cowboys in Week 14.
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Defenders:
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Jared Goff: 62 snaps (100%)
Goff was in the pocket, took what he had, didn't turn the ball over, and finished another game with over 300 yards passing and a passer rating of over 110.0+.
Running backs:
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David Montgomery: 19 (31%)
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Jacob Sailors: 2 (3%) — 19 special teams snaps (56%)
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John Waki: 0 (0%) – 19 (56%)
The Lions have kept their split the same as it has been in recent weeks, leaning on their player in Gibbs and allowing Montgomery to rest and perform at his best when given the opportunity. While Gibbs will grab headlines for his three-touchdown game, it was Montgomery's best game in a long time, recording 60 yards and a touchdown on just six carries. Sailors found use in the Lions' winning lineup and on special teams. Waki appears to have injured his return-covering thumb and will be one to watch next week.
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Wide Receivers:
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Amon-Ra St. Brown: 57 (92%)
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Jameson Williams: 57 (92%)
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Tom Kennedy: 5 (8%) – 9 (26%)
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Dominic Lovett: 2 (3%) – 1 (3%)
St. Brown's defied the odds and not only played in this game, but also excelled at critical moments. Meanwhile, Williams continues his rise in development and had another dominant game, converting several first downs and proving his worth in the moment. TeSlaa's role has increased as the Lions use more than 11 personnel as they deal with injuries at tight end, and the rookie was rewarded for his hard work with another touchdown. Of his eight catches on the season, four have found the paint, including one in each of the last two games.
Kennedy saw his role in the offense diminished with St. Brown's return, but he was stellar on special teams. Kennedy simply looks like he's built for the NFL's new special teams units, and he returned three kicks for 120 yards (40 yards per return average) and also returned a punt for 21 yards.
Lovett saw the field in the winning formation, while Cunningham – a former Louisville defensive end – took advantage of one direct hit from the Wildcat formation.
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Narrow ends:
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Anthony Firkser: 35 (56%) – 19 (56%)
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Dan Skipper: 23 (37%) – 9 (26%)
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Ross Dwelley: 18 (29%) – 17 (50%)
While Dwelley is the senior player from the remaining reserves, Firkser is a better pass catcher and therefore more balanced, which may be why he saw a larger role this week. Using Skipper at tight end will likely result in record usage in a Jumbo package (six offensive linemen).
Fun fact: All three of Gibbs' touchdowns came while he was in the Jumbo formation:
Offensive line:
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Tate Ratledge: 62 (100%) – 9 (26%)
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Penei Sewell: 62 (100%) – 8 (24%)
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Graham Glasgow: 62 (100%) – 1 (3%)
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Tristan Colon: 36 (58%) – 9 (26%)
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Miles Fraser: 26 (42%) – 9 (26%)
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Michael Niese: 0 (0%) – 9 (26%)
With Awosika demoted just hours before kickoff, the Lions opted for a rotation at left guard, with veteran Colon starting and rookie Frazier entering the game after the first two series. Colon had a rough start, especially in pass protection, but he was able to regain his base as the game went on and was very impressive as a run blocker. Frazier has been up and down in his first NFL career, but the Lions wanted some experience and he certainly got it against a formidable Dallas front.
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Sewell is also the best run blocker in the game, and it's not that close, period.
Defensive end:
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Aidan Hutchinson: 77 (94%)
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Marcus Davenport: 39 (48%) – 6 (18%)
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Al-Qadin Muhammad: 38 (46%) – 8 (24%)
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Tyrus Wheat: 7 (9%) – 22 (65%)
Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard challenged his pass rushers to do better and vowed to make changes to make that happen. After four games with four total sacks, the Lions pass rush answered the bell, recording 20 pressures and five sacks against the Cowboys.
An impressive 10 of those pressures belonged to Hutchinson, who saw his role as unchanged, while Davenport saw his opportunities increase as he continued to acclimate. The real change came with Muhammad, who missed 40% of defensive snaps for the month and saw his snap count double from the previous week (19 to 38). After Muhammad was allowed to flatten his ears and rush, he did well, recording four pressures and three sacks, bringing his season totals to 42 pressures and nine sacks, according to Next Gen Stats.
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Defensive Grip:
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Alim Makneil: 60 (73%) – 6 (18%)
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Tylake Williams: 22 (27%)
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Roy Lopez: 23 (28%) – 5 (21%)
With increased options for edge rushers (and linebackers, we'll get to that in a second), Sheppard has reduced the roles of his interior defensive linemen. He has reduced his use of 4i – and the recent trend of using McNeil in that role – and instead placed his defensive tackles in more traditional roles. As a result, McNeil, Reeder and Williams saw their snap count drop by more than 20 percent, while Lopez's was down about eight percent.
Midfielder:
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Jack Campbell: 82 (100%) – 8 (24%)
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Derrick Barnes: 58 (71%) – 2 (6%)
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Trevor Novaske: 14 (17%) – 25 (74%)
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Malcolm Rodriguez: 2 (2%) – 25 (74%)
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Grant Steward: 0 (0%) – 25 (74%)
Campbell and Anzalone still see nearly every defensive snap, while Barnes has logged about 70% of the defensive snaps over the past few weeks. We did see a significant increase in Novaske's usage, primarily using him as an inside pass rusher and trying to use his athleticism to fool Cowboys defenders. Rodriguez has also been used situationally in situations where the Lions use two inside linebackers to stack the box.
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Another schematic trick Sheppard implemented was to hit his linebackers (and defensive backs) on second down rather than on the traditional third down. This seemed to catch Dallas off guard and lead to more difficult third down situations; Dallas converted just six of 15 third down attempts (40% success).
Cornerback:
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Rock Ya-Sin: 47 (57%) – 15 (44%)
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Khalil Dorsey: 0 (0%) – 17 (50%)
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Nick Whiteside: 0 (0%) – 1 (3%)
Reed was finally fully acclimated and returned to reviewing full-game snaps. Robertson continued to feature on the outside in two full-back sets and inside in subpacks where Ya-Sin took over on the outside. With Terrion Arnold finished for the season, the trio will be asked to play similar reps moving forward, although it's fair to wonder if Ya-Sin deserves more opportunities for his recent stellar play.
Safety:
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Avonte Maddox: 80 (98%) – 2 (6%)
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Daniels Thomas: 8 (10%) – 25 (74%)
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Thomas Harper: 2 (2%) – Injured (concussion)
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With Harper suffering a concussion in the second defensive play, Maddox had to take over Joseph's role at safety. The savvy veteran has been amazing in short order and should give Lions fans some confidence in his readiness moving forward.
Unfortunately, Maddox will likely be called upon sooner rather than later as he reportedly Branch ruptured his Achilles, ending his season.. This is brutal news for the Lions defense to deal with while waiting for Joseph and Harper to recover. While it's certainly a gut punch, the Lions' secondary could survive if Joseph or Harper (or both) can return soon.
Specialists:
Despite the blocked field goal attempt, the Lions' special teams unit was otherwise very solid throughout the rest of the game. Kennedy returned well, the covering units were in the traffic lanes and stood firm, and the impact locations were accurate.
