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Detroit Lions vs. Texans winners and losers: Aaron Glenn 'out there dialed in'
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- Detroit Lions vs. Texans winners and losers: Aaron Glenn 'out there dialed in'
HOUSTON – Free Press sports writer Dave Birkett highlights the best and worst performances of the Lions' 26-23 win over the Houston Texans on Sunday at NRG Stadium.
Game balls
K Jake Bates
Bates' storybook season keeps getting better.
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Bates made his second game-winning field goal of the season Sunday, this one from 52 yards out with no time on the clock to send the Lions to their seventh straight win. Bates is 14-for-14 on field goals this year, including 3 of 3 from 50-plus yards. He also made a career-long 58-yarder Sunday, and he said he never could have dreamed a moment like he had against the Texans – his hometown team.
"I mean, I think that's kind of like it almost feels like too scripted, like too good to be true," Bates said. "I don't try to let myself get too far into the what-ifs and just kind of keep myself in the moment and stay even keeled while I can."
MUST READ: Another winning FG for Jake Bates as Detroit Lions kicker's fairy tale adds epic chapter
DC Aaron Glenn
The Texans scored on five of their six first-half positions to take a 23-7 halftime lead, but things could have been much worse for the Lions. Houston started two possessions in Lions territory in the first 23 minutes and another near midfield.
Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn talks with reporters before OTAs on Thursday, May 26, 2022 at the team practice facility in Allen Park.
After halftime, the Lions pitched a shutout, intercepting two passes and forcing four punts before the Texans missed a long field goal on their final drive. The Lions had four sacks and held the Texans to 56 yards rushing, and Glenn called a masterful game, mixing his pressure to harass C.J. Stroud and beat his old team.
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"He was trying to call him the perfect call every time and he was out there dialed in," Alim McNeill said. "So I'm excited for him, really happy for him, happy for him as a defense, but he's always happy when we go out there and execute and do what we need to do."
CB Carlton Davis III
Davis exacted his own personal revenge on the Texans after a rough game last season in Houston while he was with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers .
Davis intercepted two C.J. Stroud passes in the second half, including one on Houston's first play of the third quarter when he bated Stroud into throwing an out route to Tank Dell .
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Alex Anzalone said that takeaway affirmed coaches' halftime message that the Lions were still in the game, and while Davis' second pick was a gift on a poorly thrown and late pass, it came in the end zone and kept points off the board at a crucial time in the game.
Goats
FIND A WAY TO WIN: Forget the 5 interceptions: Detroit Lions QB Jared Goff dared to become cold-blooded
QB Jared Goff
Goff has been brilliant for the Lions this season, to the point he's a legitimate MVP candidate. But he threw a career-high five interceptions Sunday as part of a rough 15-for-30, 240-yard passing day.
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) throws an incomplete pass as he is pressured by Houston Texans safety Jalen Pitre (5) in the second quarter at NRG Stadium in Houston on Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024.
The turnovers were a team effort. The Lions struggled in pass protection, didn't run the ball well until the end of the game and Campbell said two of Goff's picks came on plays where his receivers didn't run great routes.
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Still, the Lions' success in recent weeks was partly a product of their ball security and Goff's struggles against a good defense nearly cost the Lions the game.
Texans LS Jon Weeks
The Texans had a chance to win Sunday – or at least put the game in position to go overtime, but Ka'imi Fairbairn missed a 58-yard field goal with 1:51 to play after a high snap from Weeks.
Kicks that long are no gimmes, but Fairbairn made a 56-yarder early in the game and was an impressive 11 of 13 on field goals of 50-plus-yards before his late miss.
Compounding matters, the miss gave the Lions the ball at their own 48-yard line to start their final drive. Three plays later, they were in field goal range – and three plays after that, the game was over.
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Dave Birkett will sign copies of his new book, " Detroit Lions : An Illustrated Timeline" at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Our Lady of Victory in Northville. Order your copy here . Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com . Follow him on X and Instagram at @davebirkett .
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Lions vs. Texans winners and losers: Aaron Glenn 'out there dialed in'
