Lions stock report: 7 risers, 3 fallers from wet Lambeau win

Check out your movers from the Lions’ win over the Packers in this week’s stock report.

The Detroit Lions took care of business Sunday at Lambeau Field, stringing together their third consecutive win in Green Bay. They won despite poor conditions and some poorer decisions by their own guys. Here are your movers for the week:

Stock up: Penei Sewell, OT

Penei Sewell continues to do Penei Sewell things. After a rough start where he lost his footing several times on the first few drives, Sewell got back to form. He’s truly gifted with both physical and mental abilities. While he can go pound for pound with just about any defensive linemen, what makes him special in the run game is the angles he takes when he executes his blocks. Penei has several highlight blocks this year where he bulldozes one defender into another and causes a defensive pile-up. This thread contains several such examples from just Sunday’s game:

Penei continues to be a huge part of not just the run game’s, but the entire offense’s success.

Stock up: Aaron Glenn, DC

It’s long overdue that I give Aaron Glenn an apology. I have been one of his biggest critics the last several years, but he has got his defense playing impeccably this season. All of the excuses of years past are gone—no pass rush doesn’t matter, injuries don’t matter; Aaron Glenn is finding a way for his defense to shut down opposing offenses.

The biggest example of that was right after Brian Branch’s ejection on Sunday, when the Lions were down arguably their best player and gave the Packers 30 yards in penalty yardage. The Lions of years past would have probably given up a long touchdown after that. This defense held and forced a field goal that the Packers would miss. Another case was getting creative with the blitz. Glenn wasn’t afraid to send pressure from the second level against the Packers, resulting in Kerby Joseph’s pick-six at the end of the first half.

One of the biggest improvements that Glenn deserves credit for is the discipline and communication. The defenses of years past often had busted coverages or bad miscommunications due to the high turnover of defensive personnel. This year, injuries have rarely resulted in that. Props to Glenn for fixing the issues of the past and for letting his defense barely bend, let alone break, in the face of adversity on Sunday and this whole season.

Stock down: DJ Reader, DT

Stats: None

It was a quiet day for Reader on Sunday while the Packers had a field day on the ground. If the Lions hadn’t buried Green Bay in a deficit so early, the Packers run game could have caused the Lions a lot more trouble. Reader lost his footing often, possibly a product of the rain but disappointing regardless. The play that stood out to me the most was the Packers’ fourth-and-1 conversion on their opening drive, where Reader was pushed three yards off the ball on a TE sneak right up the middle. As a nose tackle, that’s exactly the kind of play you can’t have happen.

Stock up: Alim McNeill, DT

Stats: 2 tackles, 1 QB hit

This was an interesting one for me, because Alim McNeill excelled at generating pressure in pass rush, but struggled in the run game, which is supposed to be his strength. McNeill finished the game with seven(!!) pressures, an absurd number for a defensive tackle of his size. Plays like this one don’t show up in the box score but change the offensive dynamic entirely:

On the flipside, McNeill got pushed around a lot in run defense. The Packers offensive line were able to move him laterally in the run game fairly often, much like they did with Reader. Ultimately, though, the Lions needed the pass rush more than the run defense Sunday, so props to McNeill for stepping up in that department.

Stock neutral: Brian Branch, S

Stats: 2 tackles

He was ejected, and that’s that. To me, it looked like a bang bang play. We can argue all day on whether the ejection was warranted. While he was on the field, though, it was another solid—albeit brief—day. Branch continues to provide support at every level of the defense, and is as versatile as they come.

Not many safeties are getting down to the line of the scrimmage in run defense, and doing so in the box for that matter. Branch’s play was missed dearly in pass coverage too when Brandon Joseph took over.

Bonus points in my book for Branch’s passion and hatred for the Packers. Sure, flipping the double birds isn’t a high-character move, but I want Detroit Lions players to hate their rivals, so I love to see that out of Branch.

Stock down: Brandon Joseph, S

Stats: 6 tackles

Brandon Joseph saw a lot more snaps than anyone expected Sunday, taking over the second safety spot following Branch’s ejection. We’ve seen Joseph excel in limited roles in the preseason and even look decent amidst Branch’s injury absences earlier this season. Sunday was a different story though, with Joseph often trailing in coverage and making Branch’s absence painfully evident.

Stock down: James Houston, EDGE

Stats: 2 tackles

What was once a promising young career as a Lion has quickly derailed for Houston. The Lions tried to build out his skillset as a run defender this past training camp and that effort fell flat on its face. After conceding to use him in the pass rush specialist role we’ve seen him excel in, Houston has failed to even live up to that. Sunday was another disappointing effort in his expanded role since Aidan Hutchinson’s injury.

Houston continues to be a liability in the run game. Even worse, he looked unsteady in pass rush. The Packers figured out early that chipping him or putting some force into him from the side would throw him off balance and neutralize him for the entire play. The Lions really don’t have many other options in pass rush at the moment, but Houston isn’t giving them much reason to keep him on the field.

Quick hits

Stock up

David Montgomery, RB: Monty is known for putting his head down and bulldozing, but Sunday he showed tremendous patience to wait for holes to open up as Packers defenders overshot him on the wet turf. Tremendous work by Montgomery knowing when to put his head down and when to keep his eyes up.

Allen Robinson, WR: I thought when the Lions signed Robinson that he was a contingency plan in case Tim Patrick didn’t work out. Instead, he has stuck around and carved a slowly increasing role out in the offense, oftentimes alongside Patrick.

Jack Fox, P: Fox had another stellar day, averaging 50.0 yards per punt in terrible conditions and with imperfect snaps. His last punt of the day wasn’t the best, but the fact that he still averaged 50 yards per punt including that is a testament to the day he had.

Kerby Joseph, S: Not just another pick, but his first career pick-six, as well as a tight game in coverage. Well deserved.