The Detroit Lions got a big win on Thanksgiving against their division rival Chicago Bears, and it was because of their job of defending Caleb Williams. Head coach Dan Campbell found a specific way to limit Williams, and Amon-Ra St. Brown shared the strategy on the St. Brown podcast.
“Before the game, we’re in a team meeting,” St. Brown said. “Dan was talking to us and he was showing us clips of Caleb going out of bounds, going back in, and going back out. He said ‘No you don’t.’ It was clips of him doing that and he goes, ‘If he does this, we’re going to hit his a–. I already warned the refs, the refs know.'”
St. Brown noted that the Bears were clamoring for the refs to throw a flag when Williams would get hit when he made that specific move, but he personally knew that they wouldn’t call it. With St. Brown sharing that information, other teams might look out for when Williams does that move out of bounds.
Lions hottest team in the league at 11-1
After defeating the Bears, the Lions were able to improve their record to 11-1, and they’re looking like one of the best teams in the league. The Lions’ offense is able to do almost anything, whether it’s running or passing the ball, and Jared Goff is the player controlling it all. After the Bears game, Goff shared his excitement for being able to get the win, which came down to the final seconds.
“It was awesome, a crazy ending there, and we fought hard; we fought until the end and got it done, my first win on Thanksgiving, all of our first wins on Thanksgiving. It was big,” Goff said.
The Lions are on their way to clinching their division and also getting a first-round bye in the playoffs if they continue to play like this. One of the things that may need to improve is their defense, which has taken some hits on the injury front during the season. Bill Belichick shared his concerns about the defense on The Pat McAfee Show.
“I think they need to do better than they’ve been doing. I think they’ve gotten away with some things and it looks good now. I just don’t know if it’s going to last against really good passing teams or quarterbacks who can extend plays a little bit,” Belichick said.
If they can find a way to shore up the holes in their defense, there shouldn’t be a reason why they don’t make a deep run in the playoffs this season.
