The Detroit Lions are coming off another impressive win Sunday, 24-14 on the road in Green Bay to secure their sixth straight victory and improve to an NFC best 7-1. Next up Detroit will be under the lights in primetime on Sunday Night Football in Houston against the Texans (6-3).
Here’s a look at five numbers that really stand out for the Lions coming out of Week 9:
1. Number: 0.00001
What it means: Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown’s chances of catching all 30 of his last targets based on the difficulty of each throw, per Next Gen Stats (1 in 780,000)
Twentyman: St. Brown caught all seven of his targets for 56 yards and a touchdown in Week 9, extending his catch streak to 30 straight targets. Jared Goff has not thrown an incompletion targeting St. Brown since Week 3, and St. Brown is now tied with Khalil Shakir for the longest catch streak of any wide receiver since 2016.
“He’s the friendliest target I’ve ever thrown to and I’m lucky to play with him,” Goff said after Sunday’s win. “I hope to play with him for quite some time. He’s a hard worker. He does everything right. I love him. He’s great.”
2. Number: 6
What it means: Interceptions for Lions safety Kerby Joseph through eight games
Twentyman: Joseph’s sixth interception was also his first career pick-six coming late in the second quarter Sunday vs. Green Bay. He’s the only Lions player to produce six games with an interception through the team’s first eight games of any season since 1940. Sunday was Joseph’s 14th career interception. He is the NFL’s first safety to accumulate at least 14 interceptions through three career seasons since Hall of Famer Ed Reed (2002-04).
3. Number: 7-1
What it means: It’s been a long time since the Lions started a season with a 7-1 record.
Twentyman: You have to go all the way back to 1956 to find the last time the Lions started a season 7-1. Dwight D. Eisenhower was the president, “Heartbreak Hotel” and “Don’t Be Cruel” by Elvis Presley topped the billboard charts and the top grossing movie was “The Ten Commandments.”
Campbell on playing good football
4. Number: 100 and 1
What it means: The Lions have produced at least 100 yards rushing and a touchdown in every game this season.
Twentyman: David Montgomery rushed for 73 yards (4.3 avg.) and Jahmyr Gibbs had 65 (5.9) and a touchdown as the best running back tandem in the NFL continued to churn up over 100 yards combined while finding the end zone. Gibbs has rushed for 656 yards and seven touchdowns on the year and Montgomery has 488 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. Gibbs set an NFL record by producing his seventh straight game with a rushing average of 5.0 yards per carry Sunday in Green Bay.
5. Number: 10
What it means: Second-year linebacker Jack Campbell logged at least 10 tackles for a second consecutive game.
Twentyman: Detroit’s MIKE linebacker is having a really nice second season. Campbell leads the Lions with 62 tackles and also has four tackles for loss, a sack and a forced fumble. His 80.1 overall grade from Pro Football Focus ranks Top 15 among all linebackers. He’s also Top 12 in coverage, an area of his game he’s really improved from his first season.
