Observations: Lions stay atop NFC North behind 7 sacks from dominant defense

DETROIT -- They faced questions about their defense all week. They answered them on Sunday with violent intentions.

Down both of their starting safeties and three-fifths of their secondary overall, the Detroit Lions still racked up more sacks (seven) than points allowed (six) and put their 20-6 win against Atlanta on ice with another sack by Aidan Hutchinson, his second of the day. This one jarred the ball loose, and Hutchinson jumped on it himself at the 2-minute warning.

Jared Goff touched knee to turf three times, and that was it. Detroit had improved to 2-1, setting up a first-place showdown with the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night at Lambeau Field. Green Bay (2-1) came back to beat the New Orleans Saints on Sunday afternoon.

The Lions took control of the game on a 45-yard touchdown pass to Sam LaPorta, the longest touchdown by a rookie tight end in franchise history. Tight end is notoriously difficult for rookies to play, but LaPorta is now Detroit’s second-leading receiver on the young season. He finished with eight catches for 84 yards against Atlanta overall, giving him at least five catches in each of his first three career games, an NFL record for a rookie tight end.

He wasn’t the only rookie doing work.

Fellow second-round pick Brian Branch led the team with 11 tackles, three tackles for loss and two passes defended, while first-round pick Jack Campbell added his first sack in the first start of his career. Detroit finished with seven sacks overall, a team high during the Dan Campbell years, and at least five players had a full sack for the first time since 2015.

Rookie sensation Bijan Robinson was held to 33 rushing yards, a career low, and Atlanta -- averaging more than 170 yards on the ground per game -- finished with just 183 yards overall.

Atlanta was able to hang around to the fourth quarter though, before rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs helped put away the game in his first career start. He racked up 37 yards on three consecutive handoffs in the fourth quarter, the last of which gave Detroit the ball inside the 5-yard line. Jared Goff finished off the series with his feet, keeping the ball on a read option around the left side for the score.

Then Hutchinson finished off Atlanta for good with two late sacks, the last of which separated Desmond Ridder from the football. Just like that, Detroit shared the NFC North lead with Green Bay heading into a prime-time showdown on Thursday night at Lambeau Field.

Let’s get to some more instant observations.

-- What a response from the defense, which was pretty heavily questioned, if not outright criticized, coming out of a loss against Seattle where they allowed 37 points. But the defense also was backed into a lot of short fields against the Seahawks, and was pretty good against Patrick Mahomes in the win against Kansas City in Week 1. Aaron Glenn was disappointed with the results and especially the pass rush, but undeterred. Against Atlanta -- which has a good offensive line and some really good skill players, including Bijan Robinson -- they answered a whole lot of questions. Benito Jones got home for an interior sack, the first we’ve seen in a while. Jack Campbell got home for a linebacker sack, the first of his promising career. Charles Harris got home for another, his first since the groin injuries that derailed his 2022 season. Derrick Barnes got home for another, his fourth tackle at or behind the line of scrimmage, among the league leaders for a linebacker. And then there’s Aidan Hutchinson, who after applying the only consistent pressure in the first two games, was finally rewarded with his first two sacks of the young season, the last of which was a sack-fumble that ended this game. He also deflected a third-down pass, and got his hands on two overall. Not a bad way to celebrate a game where his sister, Mia, sang the national anthem.

-- Brian Branch continues to look like a baller. Yes, he got beat for the overtime touchdown that put away Detroit last week. He spent about 40 minutes with his head in his hands -- and full pads still on his shoulders -- thinking about that one in the locker room. Then he came out the next week, and provided his best all-around game to date. He led the Lions with 11 tackles, three of which were for loss, which also led the team. He also happened to break up two passes, one of which killed a promising scoring drive for Atlanta. A second-round pick in the draft, Detroit seems to have stumbled into yet another steal under Brad Holmes. Just three games into his career, Branch looks like a great foundational piece for years to come.

-- The defense was so good that it’s easy to forget they were playing without both starting safeties. Tracy Walker, a former captain and longtime starter, is about as experienced as any backup in the league. Ifeatu Melifonwu, well, isn’t. But they played well together on the back line of the defense, and Melifonwu -- making just his second career start at safety -- made a couple big plays, registering a tackle for loss that forced Atlanta to settle for a field goal early in the game, then breaking up a third-quarter pass with a huge hit against receiver Mack Hollins.

As for Walker, he offered a difficult reminder why he was benched in the first place. After Romeo Okwara popped a Desmond Ridder pass high into the air, Walker raced in for the pick, only to watch the ball bounce between both hands and through his legs. He nearly made the circus catch against the back of his legs, a play so close that Dan Campbell challenged the ruling of an incomplete pass. But the ruling stood. Walker did help kill that drive with some good coverage on the following play, but Detroit lost a whole lot of field position by taking possession via punt rather than turnover. Then Goff threw a pick on the ensuing series, giving Atlanta the ball right back to open the fourth quarter.

-- People have been calling for more Jahmyr Gibbs. For three quarters, it was easy to see why. Gibbs earned the start for the injured David Montgomery at running back, but really struggled to get anything going on the ground, rushing for just 42 yards on his first 13 carries, nine of which came on a single touch. Other than that, nada. Then the fourth quarter started, and Gibbs started to find a rhythm on the ground we have not seen before. With the Lions nursing a 13-3 lead, Gibbs was fed the ball on three straight plays, and turned them into 37 yards that helped move Detroit inside the 5-yard line. Then Goff feigned a handoff, and spun out to the left for a 3-yard touchdown on the read option. Yes, the read option. Yes, that Jared Goff -- beat to hell for most of Sunday’s game, but still getting it done.

Gibbs finished with 80 yards on 17 carries, besting Bijan Robinson in a matchup of the top two rookie running backs in the NFL draft. Robinson finished with just 33 yards on 10 carries, the worst performance of his bright young career.

-- While Jared Goff cooked on offense and everyone ate on defense, the only thing that seemed not to go right for Detroit -- surprise, surprise -- were the injuries. Already down two starting offensive linemen, the Lions started backup Matt Nelson at right tackle. Then Nelson was carted to the locker room with an ankle injury, which forced Dan Skipper -- signed to the practice squad this week -- into the game at right tackle. Then Skipper suffered a hamstring injury, which forced rookie guard Colby Sorsdal to make his offensive debut at right tackle. Then Sorsdal nearly got Goff killed, whiffing on a third-quarter block that led to a huge quarterback hit. Goff was slow to get up after the play, and while he did not leave the game, he has just three days to get right before facing Green Bay. If he’s sore, this could be a tough week for him.

-- The Lions scored at least 20 points for the 12th straight game, the longest active streak in the NFL and the second-longest streak in franchise history. They also went 12 straight games with at least 20 points from 1989-90. The franchise record of 13 games, set in 1995, can be matched on Thursday in Green Bay.

-- Penei Sewell didn’t like his first start back at left tackle last week. Here’s betting he won’t like his second start, either. Sewell was flagged twice for holding, one of which set up a second-and-very-long in the red zone and forced Detroit to settle for a field goal, the other of which set up a second-and-very long near midfield and forced Detroit to punt away a promising drive. Sewell is one of the most athletic tackles in the league, and among the best right tackles, period. He’s a unique talent. But his foray back at left tackle has been a little more uneven than we’re used to seeing, while the right tackles that have replaced him are dropping like flies. All of which is to say: Sure would be nice if Taylor Decker returns in Green Bay on Thursday night.

-- Running back Zonovan Knight was signed off the practice squad to fortify the depth with David Montgomery out. But he was more than a depth piece, actually playing over Craig Reynolds on offense and replacing Reynolds as the kick returner. Knight finished with