Check out your movers in this week’s Detroit Lions stock report.
The Detroit Lions are back-to-back NFC North champions and have staked their claim as the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs for the first time in team history. They did so in dominant fashion on offense, defense, and special teams in their most well-rounded win in recent memory. It was a strong finish to the season that bodes well for the playoffs. Here are your movers for the week.
Stock up: Jahmyr Gibbs, RB
Stats: 23 carries, 139 yards, 3 TDs; 5 catches, 31 yards, 1 TD
I don’t think this one needs much explaining. Gibbs absolutely took over this game down the stretch, dominating between the tackles, outside the tackles, in the receiving game, and in pass blocking. It was a complete performance for him as he shattered Barry Sanders’ franchise record of 18 touchdowns in a season, with Gibbs finishing the night at 20 and as the 2024 league leader.
Stock up: Terrion Arnold, CB
Stats: 2 tackles, 1 pass defense
Arnold rebounded really well from a rough Week 17 to anchor a strong defensive performance in Week 18. He and Amik Robertson handily shut down one of the best receiving duos in the league in the Vikings’ Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. Arnold found a nice balance by playing his usual physical brand of football while also keeping clean from the penalties he has struggled with at times this season. He was especially effective in the Lions’ defense of several red zone stops. It was a strong finish to Arnold’s rookie campaign as he took on more than what was initially anticipated of him.
Stock up: Amik Robertson, CB
Stats: 5 tackles, 1 pass defense
Speaking of good cornerback performances, it doesn’t get much better than Robertson’s on Sunday night. He spent a good chunk of the night shadowing Justin Jefferson, who has gotten the better of the Lions just about every time these two teams play. That wasn’t the case this time, with Jefferson catching just three of his nine targets on the night. A good chunk of Justin Jefferson’s yards came on a single reception where Amik Roberston stumbled and could have made a case for offensive pass interference. Robertson had an otherwise spotless night, including strong run support.
Stock down: Graham Glasgow, G
Glasgow had a rough start to the night, particularly in run blocking. The offense struggled to get things going early on the ground, often when they ran in Glasgow’s direction. They would find their groove as the night went on, but it was another bumpy performance in what has been an up-and-down season for Glasgow.
Stock up: Alex Anzalone, LB
Stats: 7 tackles, 1 pass defense, 1 QB hit
They say you don’t know what you have until it’s gone, and Lions fans surely learned over the last month what they had in Alex Anzalone. Anzalone returned from a broken arm and played all but one defensive snap. He had T.J. Hockenson in absolute clamps the entire night, with Hockenson finishing the night catching just two of his eight targets. The Vikings also weren’t able to throw much to their running backs, who finished with just 34 receiving yards. That is a stark contrast to the past month, where opposing teams have picked on the Lions linebackers who simply couldn’t keep up with running backs in the passing game. It’s a testament to how much better the entire unit is with Anzalone back.
Quick hits
Stock up
Levi Onwuzurike, DL: Onwuzurike finished the night with nine pressures, which was a huge factor in the Lions getting home on blitzes from the second level and in clean-up duty from the edges.
Christian Mahogany, G: Mahogany played well in limited action following Kevin Zeitler’s late departure with a hamstring injury. Mahogany filled in admirably for Glasgow a couple weeks ago, and may now get an opportunity to prove himself once more.
Hogan Hatten, LS: Hatten finished the night with two tackles to cap off his rookie season tied for the league lead in long snapper tackles with five.
Jameson Williams, WR: It wasn’t a flashy game from Williams, but he crossed the 1000-yard threshold to cap off a complete season that lived up to the offseason hype. Love to see it finally coming together for Jamo.
Sam LaPorta, TE: LaPorta finishes the season with back-to-back games with six or more receptions, a strong finish to a year that only saw four such performances out of him.
Al-Quadin Muhammad, DL: Muhammad doesn’t get a ton of sacks, but when he does, man do they come at great times. He’s making a strong case for himself to remain a part of this defense in 2025.
Stock down
Jared Goff, QB: Goff came back down to earth after an MVP-level run the last month and a half. He had two pretty bad interceptions and almost a third that had a clear path for a defensive touchdown. Aside from a handful of costly throws, he was really sharp on the day, but those handful were not pretty.