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Eric Woodyard, ESPN
DETROIT — The Detroit Lions refused to let their foot off the gas in Sunday’s dominant 42-24 win against the winless Carolina Panthers at Ford Field.
Without leading receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (abdomen) and rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs (hamstring), the Lions took control from start to finish to give them their first 4-1 start since 2011.
“Just like I told them, I’m not worried about the opponents that you can see eye-to-eye because I believe we can compete with anybody and beat anybody,” coach Dan Campbell said he told his team. “It’s the ones you don’t see coming, and they know exactly who’s coming and they know who’s around, and they proved that today.”
The Lions displayed their depth on both sides of the ball Sunday, throwing for three touchdowns and rushing for three in a game for the first time since 1962 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Defensively, they allowed the Panthers 99 rushing yards. Through the first five games, the Lions defense has allowed only 342 rushing yards, which is their fewest in that span since 1932.
The victory also marked Detroit’s third straight win by double digits, which is the longest active streak in the NFL and the team’s longest streak since 1997, per ESPN Stats & Information research.
Lions quarterback Jared Goff said the way in which Detroit handled the Carolina win shows the team’s growth.
“I think we’re becoming a more mature team and understanding when we play a team, with all due respect to them, they’re 0-4 and we feel like we can do some good things against, we go out and do good things against,” said Goff, who finished 20 of 28 passing with 236 yards and three touchdowns.
“Again, all due respect, we’ve been there. We know what that feels like, but when we’re becoming this team that we hope to be, when we play a team that we want to get after, we’ve got to go do it and I thought we did a good job there.”
Lions receiver Jameson Williams returned from a four-game suspension for gambling with a quiet game — two catches for 2 yards. But Campbell says the coaching staff is integrating Williams back into the team slowly, giving him time to get more comfortable following the time away.
Rookie tight end Sam LaPorta continued to shine, though, with two touchdowns on three catches. He is now the third tight end since 1950 to record 25 or more catches in the first five games of his career, joining Keith Jackson (29 in 1988) and Jordan Reed (26 in 2013).
“It’s a little yes and a little no,” LaPorta said when asked if he’s surprised by Detroit’s hot start and his individual accomplishments in the professional ranks.
LaPorta called the Lions a “hungry group” who are still “on the hunt” despite the early success.
“I get a lot of help from my teammates certainly. I play with a lot of great guys that help me elevate my game so it’s cool that I get to acknowledge some of the tally marks and accomplishments that I’m receiving, but you can only stop and smell the roses for so long,” he said. “We’ve got a big one [against the Buccaneers] next week.”
