Detroit Lions taking aim: The Detroit Lions supporters who were hoping for an easy ride to the team’s first division title since 1993 have had a difficult three weeks with two losses in three games and hardly any breezes (except for the gales off Lake Michigan during the team’s loss to the Chicago Bears last week).
Even so, the Lions are 9-4, leading the NFC North by two games, and with a win or draw against the Denver Broncos and a few more outcomes, they may guarantee a postseason berth as early as this Sunday.
And while the North title, which the Lions can win if they win their next two games, is the wind beneath everyone’s wings, there are a few additional milestones that, by the conclusion of the season—one of which has only been accomplished seven times in almost 100 seasons—may astound Lions supporters even more:
Detroit Lions taking aim
Let’s begin with the player who has probably caused the most distress to Lions supporters in the last three games: quarterback Jared Goff. Goff has 21 touchdown passes through 13 games; while not a huge total, it is good for eighth this season going into Week 15.
It will undoubtedly be difficult because he is only expected to throw 27. However, excellent news is here. During the Lions’ current winning streak, at least two teams are in the bottom half of the league in terms of touchdown passes allowed: the Denver Broncos, who play the Lions on Saturday, have allowed the seventh-most (20 touchdown passes, one less than the Lions), while the defence facing the Cowboys on December 30 is tied for 11th (17).
He might, of course, require a few grabs from the guy next him on our list.
Is St. Brown making history again?
Amon-Ra St. Brown began his third season with the Lions already owning the records for the most catches in a player’s first two seasons in the NFL and the most catches through three seasons for the Lions — both of which were set with just two seasons completed. Additionally, he seemed set to shatter yet another franchise record prior to the last two weeks: Despite missing Week 5, he was on pace for 131 receptions on the year with 82 receptions (on 109 targets, a catch rate of 75.2%) through 10 games. That is nine more receptions than Herman Moore’s 1995 record for the most in a single season (123).
However, St. Brown’s performance has slowed down over the last two games. Against the Saints and Bears combined, he has only five catches (on 15 targets, for a 33.3% catch rate); to make up for it, he will need 37 catches over the last four games. That’s a 9.3 catch average, which could be challenging.
However, in his 45-game career, St. Brown has already recorded 10 nine-reception games, which ranks him third in franchise history behind Moore and Calvin Johnson’s 18 apiece. That includes four so far this season, three of which occurred during his five-week absence due to injury on September 24–October 22.
For St. Brown, there is still one more challenge: he needs 42 more catches to surpass Justin Jefferson’s record of 324 catches in a player’s first THREE seasons in NFL history. That’s also within reach, but he’ll likely have to make some plays against the player who comes next on our list.
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LaOne LaPorta
Sam LaPorta now holds the record for receiving yards by a rookie tight end for the Lions, and he has a chance to break the mark for all rookies in the club. In 2021, St. Brown set that. LaPorta is at 702 yards despite having a difficult game the previous week in which he only managed 23 yards (on two catches). To defeat St. Brown, 918–912, he simply needs to return to his average of 54 yards per game during the remaining four games.
However, what if LaPorta can provide a few strong performances in the lead-up to his Week 13 matchup with the New Orleans Saints? He could be able to make NFL history: To surpass Mike Ditka’s 1961 rookie passing touchdown record of 1,076 yards (albeit, to be fair, the season only lasted 14 games), LaPorta needs to gain 375 yards. That’s a potentially unachievable average of 93.8 yards over LaPorta’s final four.
Or not? “He simply catches the ball when it comes to him and is efficient and consistent.” Earlier this month, Lions guard Jonah Jackson told Dave Birkett of the Free Press, “And he can get a little YAC, he can keep it moving.” “He is unique. He is still quite young. He seems no older than 22. We have a lot of freakshows with performers under the age of 25, which is just absurd.
LaPorta will only be the third first-year tight end with at least 900 receiving yards, behind only Ditka and Kyle Pitts (1,026 in 2021), even if he merely surpasses St. Brown in the rookie ranks. With LaPorta selected in the second round, the Lions’ 2023 draft class appears to be quite strong, especially considering that one additional player is included.
Two RBs with 1,000 yards
Indeed, Jahmyr Gibbs, a first-round pick, might form one of the seven rarest running back tandems in history.
The Lions’ history with quarterbacks may be surpassed only by their lacklustre running back situation. Before the Detroit Lions had a single 1,000-yard back, it took 38 seasons: Steve Owens, who in 1971 gained 1,035 yards on 246 carries. (Although there were fewer games back then, 19 AFL and NFL teams had at least one 1,000-yard player during that time, and several had multiple; the Lions did not.) The Lions have hit the magic number with Billy Sims three times, Barry Sanders ten times, James Stewart twice, Kevin Jones in 2004, Reggie Bush in 2013, and Jamaal Williams in the most recent season since Owens.
In contrast, Gibbs has 692 yards through 11 games, or an average of 62.9 yards per game. He would have around 252 yards if he were to achieve that mark four more times, for a total of 944 yards. So perhaps he is a little lacking. Or maybe he gains some ground against this week’s opponent, the Broncos, who allow 144 yards per game (almost twice as many as the No. 1 49ers and over 50 more than the No. 9 Lions) in the worst rush defence. The Lions’ schedule gets more difficult as they play two games against the Vikings, who rank fifth in rushing defence (92.9 yards per game), and then go to the Cowboys, who rank thirteenth (106 yards per game). However, yards are to be gained.
And achieving a combined 1,000 yards of rushing by two players? That is extremely uncommon. The 1972 Miami Dolphins (Larry Csonka and Mercury Morris), the 1976 Pittsburgh Steelers (Rocky Bleier, Franco Harris), the 1985 Cleveland Browns (Earnest Byner, Kevin Mack), the 2006 Atlanta Falcons (Warrick Dunn, Michael Vick), the 2008 New York Giants (Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward), the 2009 Carolina Panthers (Jonathan Stewart, DeAngelo Williams), and the 2019 Baltimore Ravens (Mark Ingram, Lamar Jackson) are the only teams that have accomplished that feat (two of which depended on rushing quarterbacks).
We’ll simply point out that, save the Falcons and Panthers, five of those seven teams won their divisions. That’s one last encouraging indicator for the Lions’ aspirations of winning the NFC North, if they can find their offensive spark from the previous two seasons.
