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Dan Campbell's big decision helps Lions dominate slumping Commanders, 44-22
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- Dan Campbell's big decision helps Lions dominate slumping Commanders, 44-22
LANDOVER, MD – The high-flying Detroit Lions ' offense is back, and it took a more involved Dan Campbell to make it happen.
Jahmyr Gibbs ran for 142 yards and two touchdowns Sunday and Jared Goff threw touchdown passes to Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams as the Lions scored on their first eight offensive possessions – a streak that came to an end only when backup quarterback Kyle Allen took over to run out the clock – to avenge last season's playoff loss and beat the Washington Commanders, 44-22 , at Northwest Stadium.
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The Lions (6-3) bounced back from last week's upset loss against the Minnesota Vikings , and last lost back-to-back games in October 2022.
Campbell was on the play-calling headset to Goff, something he hasn't done since relieving Anthony Lynn of play-calling duties midway through the 2021 season. The Fox broadcast of the game reported Campbell said at halftime the Lions "wanted to mix things up and that everyone is still involved in the offense," without clarifying who was calling plays.
The change seemed to jumpstart a Lions offense that spent most of October in the dumps. The Lions scored more points in the first half – 25 – than they did in each of their previous three games, and dominated a Washington team (3-7) that entered the game ranked 28th in total defense and 23rd in scoring defense.
Gibbs became the fifth player in NFL history with at least 40 touchdowns from scrimmage before turning 24 years old, joining Barry Sanders (47), Randy Moss (43), Emmitt Smith (43) and Jim Brown (42). Gibbs has 41 and does not turn 24 until March.
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The Lions visit the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 11 on "Sunday Night Football." The defending Super Bowl champion Eagles finish Week 10 on Monday night at the Green Bay Packers .
Here are three thoughts from the Lions' win:
Dan Campbell the play-calling man
Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell stands on the sidelines during warmups prior to a game against the Washington Commanders at Northwest Stadium, Nov. 9, 2025, in Landover, Maryland.
The Lions are a better team with Campbell calling plays instead of John Morton .
I hate to jump to conclusions after one game against a bad defense, but they had more rhythm on offense Sunday, they got Williams more involved on short crossing routes to take advantage of his speed horizontally – it worked; he had six catches for 119 yards and a TD – they seemed to dress things up better with pre-snap motions to confuse the Commanders and they were much better on third down.
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Campbell breathed life into the Lions offense in 2021 when he demoted Lynn, his first coordinator and good friend, and took over play-calling duties. Ben Johnson assumed the role of pass-game coordinator, and when Lynn was fired after the season, Johnson was promoted to offensive coordinator.
The Lions had one of the best offenses in the NFL for most of 2022 and all of 2023-24 with Johnson calling plays, and while they entered this week as the second-highest scoring offense in the NFL, their production was much more spotty.
The Lions scored 24, 24 and 17 points in their three games prior to Sunday and were converting about 36% of their third downs. Their run game looked sluggish. They weren't generating explosive plays.
I don't know what the future holds for the Lions offense, which will face a sterner test next Sunday against the Eagles, or Morton, who took the Lions job over other opportunities in part because it came with play-calling duties. I do know it's tough to move on from a play-caller midseason, and Campbell deserves credit for doing it twice in five seasons if that's indeed what happened.
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The Lions have a good enough team to win the Super Bowl, as long as their offense is healthy and clicking. And with Campbell more involved in the play-calling, they have a better chance of that happening.
Jameson Williams is back
Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams (1) celebrates against first down against Washington Commanders during the first half at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md. on Sunday, November 9, 2025.
Williams tied his season-high with six catches and had his highest yardage total since going for 143 yards in a Week 16 win over the Chicago Bears last year. Naturally, he seemed to be having more fun on the field, too, somersaulting into the end zone on his 14-yard touchdown catch and celebrating by wildly throwing the ball in the air.
Williams entered the week with 21 catches for 355 yards in eight games and had five games with two or fewer receptions. He's at best the Lions' third option behind Gibbs and St. Brown, but he's better than almost every other third option in the NFL and needs to be more involved in the offense than he was the first half of the season.
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Morton predicted a huge year for Williams, and that still may come true. The Lions are done using him as a deep-route decoy. His speed is a weapon anytime he has a running start, and he showed as much on his short touchdown.
Jake Bates a cause for concern?
Bates had another kick blocked Sunday, and for the second straight week his kicks appeared to be coming low off his foot – he made a short field late in the third quarter that sailed low over the crossbar.
It's one of those little details that didn't matter against the Commanders, but could cost the Lions down the road. Bates had a PAT blocked with 12:50 left in a blowout, but last week, the Minnesota Vikings blocked a Bates field goal and returned it into Lions territory to set up a field goal that turned out to be the deciding points.
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The Lions also gave up another long kick return early against Washington, the second straight week that unit has had problems.
Washington has one of the best special teams units in the league and the Lions got an important onside kick recovery in the fourth quarter, so things weren't all bad in the kicking game. But when they look for areas to clean up ahead of next week's showdown with the Eagles that will factor heavily into the race for the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs, that's something Campbell and special teams coordinator Dave Fipp will need to clean up.
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Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com . Follow him on Bluesky , X and Instagram at @davebirkett. Check out his new Lions book .
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Lions game vs Commanders: Jahmyr Gibbs scores 3 TDs in blowout win
