Lions dominate Browns despite injuries to cornerbacks
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DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Lions had a lot of things go right in Sunday’s 34-10 win against the Cleveland Browns.
Now they need to find out how costly the game will be in the long run.
The Lions (3-1) lost both starting cornerbacks to injuries against the Browns — D.J. Reed to a hamstring injury and Terrion Arnold to a shoulder problem.
Reed was having one of his best games before the injury. He finished with three passes defended, tying for the team high, and returned an interception 34 yards to set up a touchdown.
“He’s going to be down for a while, but the good news is that it isn’t a season-ender,” Campbell said. “We should get him back, which is big, because he’s a stud.”
Reed, who is in his first season with the Lions after spending the first seven years of his career with the 49ers, Seahawks and Jets, also impressed Campbell on his final play of the game. Despite sustaining a hamstring injury bad enough that he had to be carted off the field, he still fought to make a tackle.
“When you watch him play, you know that he’s a great fit for us,” Campbell said. “That play just shows everything you need to know — the team is more important than his body. He’s trying to make a play for his teammates, because he doesn’t want to let them down.”
Arnold, last year’s first-round pick from Alabama, came out of the game with better health news.
“I don’t think this is a huge thing,” Campbell said. “The big question is if he will be ready for this week. If he’s not ready for this Sunday, he should be back by next week.”
Khalil Dorsey and Rock Ya-Sin stepped in at cornerback, and they would start against the Bengals on Sunday if Reed and Arnold aren’t available. It could have been worse for the Lions, who also saw safety Kerby Joseph go down with an early knee injury. However, he was able to return to the game.
Campbell said the Lions might have to sign a cornerback to at least give the team enough players for practice.
What’s working
The Lions were plus-2 on turnovers and turned that into a 14-point edge on the scoreboard.
“We got two touchdowns and a field goal from our three takeaways,” Campbell said. “On our turnover, they got the ball in field-goal range, and the defense held them to that field goal. That’s great, and that played a huge role in the game.”
What needs help
Jameson Williams is a big part of the Detroit offense because of his big-play ability, but the Browns were able to take that away for most of Sunday’s game. While he did have a 27-yard catch, he only caught one of the other seven passes aimed at him, gaining 13 yards, and his rushing attempt lost 3 yards.
Campbell said Williams’ chemistry with Jared Goff was a little off against Cleveland, but noted that they would work on it in practice.
Stock up
On a day when running back David Montgomery didn’t have much success, rushing nine times for 12 yards and not catching a pass, Jahmyr Gibbs picked up the slack. Gibbs rushed for 91 yards and a touchdown, averaging 6.1 yards per carry, and added two pass receptions.
Stock down
Detroit’s receivers weren’t able to get much separation downfield. Goff only had 168 yards on his 16 completions, and 76 of those yards came after the catch. That means his average completion came just 5.8 yards downfield, including 5.1 yards for Amon-Ra St. Brown’s seven catches.
Injuries
The best injury news for the Lions came from a player who hasn’t been on the field in almost a year. Defensive tackle Alim McNeill tore his ACL in a Week 15 loss to the Buffalo Bills and started this season on injured reserve. Campbell said the team is getting close to starting the 21-day evaluation period before he returns to play.
Key number
0 — the number of yards Browns wide receiver Jerry Jeudy picked up in the final three quarters. He had three catches for 48 yards on Cleveland’s first drive, which finished with its only touchdown, but Detroit shut him down after that.
Next steps
Avoid a letdown against a Cincinnati Bengals team that is struggling badly without Joe Burrow.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl