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The Detroit Lions remain one of the best stories in the entire NFL. That story continued on Sunday in Los Angeles. The Lions embarked on a shootout with the Chargers and lived to tell the tale, winning by a final score of 41-38. The Lions finished the job by going for it on 4th and two on the Chargers' 26-yard line. The Chargers had only one timeout left, so a first down would've iced the game for the Lions' if they converted the 4th down rather than just kick the field goal. It was a gutsy move, but the right one and one that rewarded the Lions with a win.
It was a big win for Detroit. The Lions are now 7-2 and in clear control of the NFC North. The Philadelphia Eagles are the only team in the NFL with fewer losses than the Lions at the moment. Jared Goff's home-road splits were nothing for the Lions to worry about in this one. It was a great win, but it wasn't a perfect one. There is still a lot the Lions need to sort out and improve upon. Two of those areas stood out in this game against the Chargers.
A Second Wide Receiver
Amon-Ra St. Brown is elite. He sits tenth in the NFL in receptions and is tied for seventh in receiving yards despite the fact that he has missed a game due to injury and the Lions have already had their bye week. He torched the Chargers in this game, going off for 156 yards and a touchdown on nine targets and eight receptions. He is exceptional. But he also can't do it on his own.
Rookie tight end Sam LaPorta caught the aforementioned fourth down conversion that set up the Lions' game-winning field goal. Though he had a modest performance in this game (five targets, four receptions, 40 yards), he has been a bright spot for the Lions all season long. He has 47 receptions on 64 targets for 474 yards and four touchdowns. He's been excellent, but the Lions need more from their pass catchers. Primarily, their receivers not named Amon-Ra St. Brown.
Josh Reynolds currently leads that group of receivers with 412 yards on the season and three touchdowns. But he had two receptions for 15 yards in this game. Jameson Williams has yet to get his career on track after rehabbing a torn ACL and facing a suspension to start the season. Khalif Raymond is a fine deep threat and gadget guy but nothing more. Williams or Donovan Peoples-Jones, the former Brown the Lions traded for at the trade deadline, could turn out to be the reliable number two wide receiver this team needs, but they haven't yet. That's a concern that needs to be monitored as the season progresses.
Pass Rush
Much like the Lions' receiver core, the Detroit Lions' pass rush needs to get involved more. The Lions have 21 sacks on the season, which is tied for 24th in the NFL. Only the Los Angeles Rams, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, Jacksonville Jaguars, Denver Broncos, Carolina Panthers, New York Giants, and Chicago Bears have fewer sacks than the Lions. The Lions didn't get to Justin Herbert once in this game against the Chargers over the weekend.
Aidan Hutchinson racked up 4.5 sacks in a three-game stretch but hasn't had any sacks on the season outside of that. Those 4.5 sacks still lead the team. The next highest on the Lions come from players whose primary duties aren't rushing the passer: defensive tackle Alim McNeil and linebacker Alex Anzalone. They rank 25th in ESPN's Pass Rush Win Rate metric. It's a weak spot for them.
Every great team needs a solid pass rush to take over and stall opponents' drives. The Lions don't have that yet. If that doesn't happen soon, it might stall them from their ultimate goal. It's something to watch closely.
