Stock report: 8 risers, 4 fallers following the primetime victory over the Raiders
The Detroit Lions emerged victorious despite both positive and negative aspects.
It wasn’t always pretty, but in the NFL, looks aren’t important. Wins and losses happen, and in the second half, the Detroit Lions managed to rally and thoroughly destroy one of the worst teams in the NFL. The fact that the Lions prevailed last night despite committing three turnovers makes me proud of them because, in my opinion, it says more about the strength—or lack thereof—of the opposition than it does about their own abilities.
These are your weekly movers:
Be prepared: Jahmyr Gibbs, RB
Stats: 1 touchdown, 5 receptions, 37 yards, 152 yards, and 25 carries.
If you missed this one, I’m not sure what game you watched last night. I hope you saw this one coming from a mile away. Without a doubt, the biggest winner from last night was Gibbs, who will make it difficult for anyone to question his usage for a few weeks at least.
Gibbs managed a very high volume of touches and didn’t show any signs of tiring. In contrast to what we’ve seen so far this season from Gibbs, he showed incredible vision against the Raiders defense, converting numerous “three yards and a cloud of dust” runs into gains of ten to twenty yards.
He was effective, efficient, and exhibited a high level of maturity, as evidenced by his postgame interview with Scott Van Pelt. He was candid about the challenges posed by his slow start to the season and the satisfaction that came from a Monday night like this one. I hope there are many more games like this one in the future. Kudos to the young man for his maturity and patience.
Be prepared: Graham G Glasgow
Since I just showed you the touchdown run that made the highlight reel, this one must come after Gibbs’ stock up. If you were not there, watch it again and pay special attention to number 60. Throughout that play and the remainder of the evening, he was an absolute mauler up the middle. The absence of all three was hardly noticed by the Lions.
Instead of just barely making up for it, he did so brilliantly and is still a Josh Reynolds-like steal picked up by Brad Holmes. The big man’s return to Detroit is welcome, particularly on a Monday night like this one.
Brodric Martin, DT, is down to one tackle.
Though Martin’s impact on the field has not been nearly as great as one might anticipate for a third-round selection, he is gradually becoming more and more visible. His best performance to date came on Monday when he played a notable snap count and was active in place of players like Levi Onwuzurike and Isaiah Buggs. Regretfully, his youth was evident.
Martin had quick bursts of speed and power off the ball, but he lacked control. He felt like he was pulled from his gap.
With the benefit of hindsight, we can say that it’s fortunate that he exposed these errors against a team that the Lions thoroughly defeated. However, these errors could quickly become more noticeable if he starts playing again against more experienced players.
Alex Anzalone, LB, is stocked up with 7 tackles and 2 sacks.
This season, Anzalone has quietly developed into one of the league’s top linebackers. I say quiet because he hasn’t been overly spectacular; instead of interceptions and big, hammering hits, he has typically been dependable in his tackling, never missing his gaps, and coverage that prevents the quarterback from throwing his way. But on Monday night, he showed his true colors when he scored two big sacks to end the game late in the fourth. His standout performances were
