Check out your movers from the Lions’ win over the 49ers in this week’s stock report.
It wasn’t pretty, but the Detroit Lions got the job done. That seems to be a common theme as of late. It’s going to be put to the test in Week 18 as the Lions host the Minnesota Vikings for the NFC North and the number one seed in the NFC playoffs , but that’s a worry for next week. For now, here are your movers for the Lions’ 40-34 win over the San Francisco 49ers.
Stock up: Kerby Joseph, S
Stats: 6 tackles, 2 INT
Joseph developed a reputation early on in his career for making high-risk, high-reward plays in pursuit of turnovers. That isn’t the case any longer. He’s simply making high-reward plays and doing so at an arguably All-Pro level. His two interceptions on Monday night put him at a league-leading nine on the season, and they came in a game where the Lions defense quite literally couldn’t find any other way off the field. They didn’t force a single punt on the day. Joseph is getting hot again at the best possible time, and it made all the difference to secure a Lions win on Monday.
Stock down: Jalen Reeves-Maybin
Stats: 2 tackles
Reeves-Maybin made his return to the lineup after missing almost two months with a neck injury. The return wasn’t pretty. There was a hope that his veteran presence would elevate a struggling rag-tag linebacker group, but the Lions had no such luck. Reeves-Maybin got picked on just as Ezekiel Turner and Ben Niemann were in weeks past, struggling to keep up in coverage and looking off-base when attempting to make tackles. Hopefully it’s just rust, but Week 17 wasn’t a promising return.
Stock up: Graham Glasgow, G
Glasgow has had a bumpy season, and it was underscored by the calls for his job when rookie Christian Mahogany stepped in admirably while Glasgow was injured in Week 16. Those calls were quieted after Monday night’s win, with Glasgow having his best game in a while. Jared Goff consistently had a tall and clean pocket to step into, and Glasgow held steady when surrounded by pressure. The Lions also found plenty of success running the ball, including a few nice scampers from Jahmyr Gibbs down the left side of the field.
Stock down: Terrion Arnold, CB
Stats: 6 tackles
Arnold racked up plenty of tackles on Monday night, often because he was a step late in coverage. It was a rough outing for the Lions’ makeshift CB1, who has had a very up-and-down year. Admittedly, nobody was planning for Arnold to be CB1 at this point. However, given the Lions’ myriad of defensive injuries, that’s the reality. The Lions have missed Carlton Davis for a couple weeks, but they missed him even more as the Lions secondary got picked apart in San Francisco.
Stock up: Sam LaPorta, TE
Stats: 6 rec, 64 yards, 1 TD
LaPorta has had an underwhelming year as the Lions offense tries to feed too many talented mouths. That’s a great problem to have, but expectations were certainly higher than what reality has been for LaPorta this year. You wouldn’t know that Monday, though, as Jared Goff targeted LaPorta eight times, the second-highest mark on the year. LaPorta finished with 64 receiving yards, his third-highest game total of the season.
Quick Hits
Stock up
Jared Goff, QB: Goff continues to have an unreal year. He’s not always making flashy throws, but he’s playing a Tom Brady-esque brand of ball where he just simply isn’t making mistakes. That’s a hard thing to beat if you’re an opposing defense. I have to believe looking back that if the Lions snuck out a win against Buffalo, Goff would be squarely in the MVP conversation.
Jahmyr Gibbs, RB: Gibbs left more questions than answers last week as to how the Lions would address David Montgomery’s absence in short-yardage situations. There were no such concerns Monday night, as Gibbs looked electric in every down and distance.
Miles Adams, DL: In just his third week with the team, Adams tallied one of the Lions’ two sacks Monday night. It was much needed for Detroit.
Stock down
Brian Branch, S: Branch had a decent stat sheet on the night thanks to blitzes and run support, but he didn’t have his best day in coverage. Branch was picked on by Ricky Pearsall all night to the tune of receiving 141 yards.