Sunday’s 40-14 romp over the Jacksonville Jaguars was one for the Detroit Lions. The big win snapped quite a few long-running streaks for the franchise.
It was Detroit’s largest margin of victory since blanking the visiting Packers 31-0 in the 2018 season finale, a game where Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers walked off in disgust before halftime.
The 41-point outburst was the second time this season the Lions have topped 40 in a game. That hasn’t happened since 2013, and in that season the Lions hit the 40 mark against both Green Bay and Chicago thanks to defensive scores. This year’s Lions team hit 40 against both Seattle and Jacksonville without any defensive or special teams TDs.
Sunday’s win marked the fourth straight game where the Lions topped 25 points. The Lions haven’t done that since the final four games of the 2011 season, plus tacking on the 2012 season opener.
Punter Jack Fox did not have a single punt attempt on the day. It’s the first time the Lions have gone a full game without a punt since 2017. Even more impressively, it was the first home game without a Detroit punt since Thanksgiving of 1971. In that win over the Chiefs, QB Greg Landry threw two INTs. Jared Goff threw a clean slate against Jacksonville.
The run game continued to hum along as well. The Lions ran for 100 yards on the nose. Detroit has now topped 80 rushing yards in all 12 games this season. The Lions haven’t done that since 1981.
Detroit is even doing positive things rarely seen across the entire league. Witness this tidbit:
Lions has 8 possessions (other than taking a knee) Sunday.
Lions scored on ALL 8 possessions.
No @NFL team had scored on every possession in a regular season game in 4 years.@NFLResearch
— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) December 5, 2022
There’s still a long way to go at 5-7, but the days of the 1-6 start sure feel far behind with ongoing accomplishments like this.
