6 match point candidates for Lions win over Jaguars

The Detroit Lions entered Week 13 in the healthiest of the entire season and it showed. They jumped on the Jacksonville Jaguars and never let up on the gas. That day, the Lions possessed the ball eight times – except kneeling in the victory formation – and never punted, scoring four touchdowns and scoring four field goals, ultimately winning Game 40. -14.

Total domination from start to finish.

There were plenty of players who stepped up to this win. Let’s take a look at the six in contention for this week’s game.

Jared Goff

Stat line: 31 of 41, 340 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, 115.9 passer ratings

When Goff is operating with confidence, he has the potential to chew through defenses. Against the Jaguars, he had a lot of confidence.

Goff stood in the pocket and calmly held his own – something he hasn’t always done in the past – and made some decisive, smart reads. He rarely pushed the ball into tough windows, but didn’t shy away from attacking the Jaguars secondary. It was Jared Goff’s top 10 at his best. That’s what general manager Brad Holmes envisioned for the Lions offense when he traded him.

Amon-Ra St. Brown

Stat line: 11 receptions on 12 targets, 114 receiving yards, two receiving touchdowns

By this point, we should be used to the magic St. Brown brings to the table every week, but every week he continues to surprise with his tenacity and ability.

Against the Jaguars, St. Brown converted on third down all four times he was targeted. By next-gen stats“St. Brown has won a first down on a league-high 18.2 percent of his third runs this season (min. 50 runs).

His third most impressive conversion came early in the game, where his ability to focus on the football led to a brilliant take.

But St. Brown, of course, is doing more than just catching passes on third down. He found the end zone not oncebut twice in this gamehis fifth and sixth touchdown receptions this season.

Chark DJ

Stat line: 5 receptions on 6 targets, 98 receiving yards

Even if he was facing his old team, we probably shouldn’t classify this as a rematch for Chark. At the same time, Chark nearly doubled his receiving distance for the entire season, so it’s safe to say he was motivated.

While his stat line was solid, what makes his day truly impressive was that Chark brought in Jaguars No. 1 corner Tyson Campbell, who has shut down wide receivers all season. Campbell entered the game allowing just six receptions over the past five games, and according to NFL stats, Chark had at least three receptions and 69 yards with Campbell in coverage.

Alex Anzalone

Stat line: 5 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 fumble recovery

Anzalone drew his fair share of criticism during his time in Detroit, but he was the difference maker on defense on Sunday. After DeShon Elliott forced a fumble, Anzalone was quick to pounce on the ball, get his first career fumble.

Anzalone was also a key factor late in the game. On the Jaguars’ second-to-last possession, Anzalone read a swing pass to Travis Etienne and stopped him for a 4-yard loss on third down, forcing Jacksonville to throw. Then on their final possession, he made a save on first and fourth downs to help secure the Lions victory.

John Cominsky

Stat line: 2 tackles, 1 deflected pass

The stats don’t show Cominsky’s true impact, but he was as disruptive a force as he was during his time in Detroit.

By the end of the first quarter, with the Lions leading 14-3, Jacksonville had the ball and was driving, hoping to continue trading points. But Cominksy’s third save on a run from Etienne took the Lions’ defense out of the field. This led to a Lions field goal and a 17-3 scoreline. On the very next possession, the Jaguars came out three times behind a third save (pass break) made by Cominsky. It led to another Lions field goal and a huge shift in confidence.

Michael Badley

Stat line: 4 field goals from 4 attempts, 4 extra points from 4 attempts, 16 points scored

We’ve come a long way since Week 3 when Campbell wasn’t sure if he could trust Badgley to kick a 50-yard field goal.

Since then, Badgley has converted 15 of his 16 field goal attempts and was perfect on all 14 extra points. On Sunday, he was again perfect on the day, with 16 points, two more than the Jaguars scored in total.

Okay, time to vote: