The Lions escaped New Orleans with a win, but it wasn’t pretty. Now, let’s break down the PFF grades to see who stepped up, who struggled and who made the biggest impact.
It was quite the roller coaster for the Detroit Lions. Although the win wasn’t pretty, I’ll take it as Detroit moves to 1–0. After breaking down the offensive line using PFF grades, I’m going to finish recapping the offensive grades by talking about Jared Goff, Jahmyr Gibbs, Sam LaPorta and the wide receivers.
Jared Goff
Goff completed 26 of his 39 pass attempts for 206 yards and two touchdowns with a 96.7 quarterback rating. Goff finished with an overall offensive grade of 65.9 and a 66.1 passing grade.
Overall, Goff was solid and should have finished with more passing yards and another completion if Jameson Williams would have caught a deep pass that Goff put right on the money in the first quarter.
Jahmyr Gibbs
Gibbs had 29 rushing attempts for 156 yards, averaging 5.4 yards per carry, along with two touchdowns. He earned an impressive 72.8 offensive grade and a 74.4 rushing grade.
Gibbs forced seven missed tackles which was the second most in the NFL for week one, had a long rush of 21 yards and recorded seven carries of 10 or more yards. He also had five receptions on five targets for 30 yards and earned an impressive 78.6 pass-blocking grade.
Gibbs also recorded an impressive 14 first downs. He did have one fumble, but overall, Gibbs played an excellent game and was one of the biggest reasons Detroit was able to come away with the victory.
Sam LaPorta
Sam LaPorta received the highest offensive grade among all of Detroit’s pass catchers, earning a 65.4 offensive grade. LaPorta had a 67.6 receiving grade and a 70.2 pass-blocking grade.
LaPorta caught five receptions on eight targets for 48 yards, with a long reception of 19 yards. He also contributed two first downs and, overall, had a solid performance in his first game back from his back injury.
Wide Receivers
Amon-Ra St. Brown stole the show, recording 10 receptions on 14 targets for 67 yards and two touchdowns, with a long reception of 19 yards. St. Brown had a 65.2 offensive grade and a 65.6 receiving grade.
He lined up in the slot 18 times and out wide 21 times showcasing his versatility. St. Brown also recorded 27 yards after the catch and forced one missed tackle. He picked up four first downs and had a 121.1 passer rating when targeted.
Jameson Williams did not have his best performance, recording four catches on nine targets for 45 yards. He earned a 54.7 offensive grade, a 59.0 receiving grade and a 41.6 drop grade.
Williams was officially credited with one drop, but it certainly looked like he had at least two. He lined up in the slot nine times and out wide 30 times while recording only two yards after the catch which is very underwhelming. Williams also fumbled a reverse play that ended in a loss of three yards.
Williams did have the longest reception of the day for the Lions at 22 yards, but he also had the lowest passer rating when targeted at 60.0. Williams finished with two first downs.
Isaac TeSlaa had the worst offensive grade among all of Detroit’s wide receivers, earning a 49.1 offensive grade and a 51.7 run-blocking grade.
TeSlaa had just one target with no receptions. He played 52 total snaps, with 32 of those coming on passing plays. This was not the ideal performance for the second-year wide receiver.
