Detroit Lions grades: Aaron Glenn continues to dominate vs. Colts

Handing out grades for Lions vs Colts, including a big section of gratitude for DC Aaron Glenn.

The Detroit Lions quietly hummed along to a 24-6 victory over the Indianapolis Colts . While it wasn’t the prettiest game from the Lions, it’s worth noting that this is a Colts team whose biggest loss of the season was 10 points. They have some talented players, they hang around on their opponents, and the Lions didn’t really ever let them do that on Sunday.

So let’s hand out some grades in our Week 12 Lions vs. Colts report card.

Quarterback: B

Jared Goff’s final statline looks like a relatively efficient day: 26-of-36 for 269 yards. And it was a perfectly fine day for Goff. Early in the game, he made a couple of nice plays out of the pocket, including a throw-across-your-body toss to Tim Patrick for a 27-yard gain.

But he also had a couple of uncharacteristic misses in this game, including a turkey hole shot to Sam LaPorta and another easy dump-off to the tight end. He threw behind Jameson Williams on a couple of occasions. I think Goff was responsible for two of his three sacks, although those losses are certainly preferable to dangerous throws under duress.

Running backs: A-

The yards didn’t come easy for the Lions’ backs in this game, but, man, they were maximizing the gains on just about every play. David Montgomery continues to punish those who attempt to arm tackle him, while Jahmyr Gibbs’ short-area quickness was on display all game. The duo combined for 127 rushing yards, three rushing touchdowns, and 45 receiving yards.

Wide receivers: A-

While Amon-Ra St. Brown sadly saw his touchdown streak come to an end, he still caught six of seven passes for 62. The aforementioned Tim Patrick turned his four targets into four catches and 55 yards. Jameson Williams did some dirty work over the middle of the field in this game and helped move the chains a few times. No real complaints about this unit, although there were times it seemed like Goff was having trouble finding an open receiver.

Tight ends: C

LaPorta and Goff just don’t appear to be on the same page right now. The second-year tight end caught just three of six passes for 19 yards. Goff missed on a pair of throws. LaPorta stumbled out of his break on another play. It’s hard to know who exactly is to blame for some of these struggles, but the duo just haven’t been as efficient as we’re used to seeing.

That said, Brock Wright is having no trouble being involved in the passing game, he turned both of his targets into receptions for a total of 24 yards.

Offensive line: B+

I thought pass protection was fantastic for most of this game. Goff was sacked three times in 40 dropbacks, but, again, a couple of those seemed like Goff holding onto the ball a little long.

That said, the offensive line struggled a bit when attempting to run. Of Detroit’s 29 rushes from Gibbs and Montgomery, 10 of them were stopped for 2 yards or shorter. There was no consistent push from the front, and a lot of their yardage was derived from catching the Colts off guard on third-and-long. Still, they deserve credit for the blocking on those plays, and it seems nitpicky to complain about a rushing attack that finished with 137 yards, three touchdowns, and a decent 4.2 YPC.

Defensive line: A

I thought the defensive line was Detroit’s best unit on Sunday. Sure, they were going up against a beat-up Colts offensive line, but the Lions finished with six quarterback hits, and Jonathan Taylor was basically a non-factor in the run game (11 carries, 35 yards). Detroit was particularly lethal up the middle, as DJ Reader and Alim McNeill were causing havoc for all four quarters. When they weren’t pressuring the quarterback, they were forcing Colts penalties that erased big plays.

Not to be overlooked, Levi Onwuzurike nearly had a safety, Za’Darius Smith logged two QB hits, and Josh Paschal continues to stack very solid performances.

Linebackers: C+

Early in the game, it was the linebacking crew that seemed to be struggling with the Anthony Richardson-designed runs. They were often in the wrong spots in their run fits. That said, context is needed. The Lions went through a ton of linebacker rotation in this game. According to PFF’s immediate snap counts, Ben Niemann, Trevor Nowaske, Ezekiel Turner, and David Long all had at least 10 snaps on defense, so the chemistry is still being worked out.

Additionally, Malcolm Rodiguez and Jack Campbell continue to be steady. Campbell also had two passes defended, including an impressive PBU that nearly led to a Carlton Davis pick.

Secondary: B-

Kindle Vildor is heavily weighing this entire group down. In his first start for the Lions this season, he was continually picked on. He gave up several big plays, and if it weren’t for errant passes from Richardson, he probably would’ve been responsible for another couple.

That said, the rest of the group is still doing their jobs well. Amik Robertson had a big fourth-down stop. Kerby Joseph continues to patrol the no-fly zone. And while Brian Branch continues to draw flags, his aggressive style of play is pretty important to what the Lions do, and I don’t think he’ll change anytime soon.

Special teams: A-

Jack Fox looks like a guy who had been yearning to punt for a couple weeks. He very well may have saved the Lions three points at the end of the half with a 58-yard punt that had enough hangtime to draw a fair catch. Given that punt came from Detroit’s own 23-yard line, it’s reasonable to believe the Colts could’ve had enough time to score with a decent return.

Jake Bates made all his kicks, including an extra-long extra point and a 56-yard field goal that essentially clinched the game.

No complaints about this unit this week. They just didn’t have an explosive play to push them to a full A.

Coaching: A

No complaints about in-game coaching here. Even though the play didn’t work, I agreed with going for it on fourth-and-1. And while I would’ve liked to see the Lions get a little more aggressive at the end of the half, I understand why—starting from your own 10-yard line—Detroit was a little more focused on burning clock so they could go into the half with a touchdown lead and the ball coming back to them.

As for bigger-picture things, give a ton of credit to Aaron Glenn. The Colts came out with a game script that seemed to have the Lions on their heels. But Detroit essentially stopped the Richardson-keepers from hurting them in the second half. Additionally, Glenn deserves credit as a play-caller. Detroit came into this game as the best third-down defense in football (30.4% conversion rate). They were even better in this game, holding the Colts to conversions on 3-of-12 third downs (25%). They were the fourth-best red zone defense in football before Sunday and held another offense to 0-for-2 against Indy.

Unfortunately, I agree with Alex Anzalone.