The Detroit Lions bounced back from their loss to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 9 with a stunning 44-22 win over the Washington Commanders on Sunday, November 9, on the road. The win felt extra good because the Lions famously fell to the Commanders during last season’s divisional round, which saw Washington beat the Lions in a 45-31 loss to advance towards the championship game.
During the game, Lions head coach Dan Campbell took over offensive play-calling duties from first-year offensive coordinator John Morton. He told the press that he met with Morton after the loss to the Vikings to have an honest conversation and talk about what went wrong and what improvements needed to be made. He also said that Morton was fine with doing whatever it takes to ensure the Detroit Lions win.
“Listen, John Morton’s all team. That’s all he cares about,” Campbell said. “He just wants to win. He wants to be a part of it. He wants to help where he can, and he was outstanding today.” He added, “He’s a grinder, he’s a worker, and he just tries to help and give you anything you can possibly need for the game. Look, if you’re him, of course it probably doesn’t feel too good, but he’s also a pro and he understands everything, so we move on.”
Now, the Detroit Lions will face the reigning champions, the Philadelphia Eagles, on the road on Sunday, November 16, for “Sunday Night Football.” Heading into the game, they have a reason to be happy.
The Eagles beat the Green Bay Packers on Monday, November 10, during “Monday Night Football,” in doing so, they did the Lions a big favor. On Tuesday morning, the Lions woke up to being the No. 1 team in the NFC North.
Because of the Green Bay Packers having a tie with the Dallas Cowboys this season, having another loss changed the NFC North standings and put the Lions on top. Even though the Chicago Bears are tied with the Detroit Lions in the standings, Detroit holds the tiebreaker, according to NFL research, so the Lions are technically first.
The Packers’ loss to the Eagles was a bit hit for Green Bay, and going forward, that game will have significant implications in the NFC’s competition for the number one seed. If the Lions beat the Eagles this weekend, that will surely help their case to getting that number one seed, but was we know from last season, it doesn’t matter if they fall early in the playoffs.
Another team to watch in the NFC is the Seattle Seahawks. They’re ranked No. 1 in the Week 11 power rankings from the NFL, No. 5 on the ESPN’s tally and No. 1 on Alternative Fix’s NFL power rankings. The Los Angeles Rams are also topping Week 11 tallies.
Eric Edholm of the NFL’s official website says of Seattle, “Following the Seahawks’ thrashing of the Cardinals, even with some ugly stretches, I feel OK about elevating them into this perch. In a season where I’ve spotlighted multiple teams atop the list, this feels like stability.”
Chris Jones is a future Hall of Famer.
A six-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro, he has 82.5 career sacks. That number is the fourth most in Kansas City Chiefs history.
But in his 10th season, the 31-year-old defensive lineman, who has been the team’s best defensive player throughout the Patrick Mahomes era, has not played up to his typically elite standards.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid was asked about Jones during Monday’s press conference.
“We all need to do better,” he said. “Chris is always striving to do better every day. That’s what’s made him such a good player.”
But only in his rookie year in 2016 has Jones had so few sacks through eight games. (That year he also had two sacks but did not start until Week Seven and got his two sacks over the next four games.)
He’s had at least five sacks every other season.
It’s not just the two sacks he has this year. He has totaled just five pressures in the last three games while opposing offenses continue to focus their blocking schemes toward Jones.
“He’ll get his as we go forward,” Reid said. “He’s the guy that they’re going to focus on. And if you’re getting a double team, that’s who’s getting doubled.”
But from a financial perspective, Jones must do more than occupy blockers. He takes up three times the salary cap space as every other Chiefs defender after signing a five-year $158.75 million contract extension before the 2024 season.
The Chiefs need him to dominate.
Many presumed 2025 would be a huge year for Jones because of how the defensive leader was emotionally impacted by the 40-22 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX.
In the postgame locker room, his inspiring, motivational speech to the team was captured in the ESPN documentary Kingdom.
“Hey, it’s gonna hurt. It’s supposed to. It’s a lesson, but it’s also something you can build off of,” he said. “Make sure when you approach training camp, this is the best shape you’ve ever been in because you’ve got something to prove, man. It’s gonna hurt. They was the better team today, and it’s okay. You got to accept that —-. When you accept it, you work hard.”
Jones knows what it’s like to both win and lose Super Bowls. Along with Mahomes and Travis Kelce, Harrison Butker and James Winchester, Jones is one of five players to suit up in all five of the Chiefs’ recent Super Bowls, winning three.
He explained his postgame reaction to coming up just short of the historic three-peat last year.
“We all was overflowed with emotions especially after a big game like that and especially the way we lost,” Jones said. “It’s more so about how you respond. So eventually you going to get knocked down, but the response is the most important thing.”
So far Jones has not responded in the way most figured.
His struggling season — at least by the lofty bar Jones has set — was symbolized by the Jacksonville Jaguars’ last offensive play to win 31-28 on
Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence fell twice but still ran in for the game-winning score, and Jones did not run to the ball.
To Jones’ credit, though, he was a stand-up person who owned up to his mistake.
“It’s a teaching point for me,” he said. “I can’t think the play is over. You know what I mean? It’s a learning lesson. I thought it was over. I thought we had him down. So I kind of stopped and was about to celebrate and then realized that he wasn’t down.”
That loss to the Jaguars was the most surprising of the season for the 5-4 Chiefs, but a clear path to their 10th straight AFC West title remains.
And with a pivotal game Sunday against the first-place Denver Broncos, the Chiefs could use a vintage performance from Jones more than ever.