Detroit

Lions

In an unexpected turn of events, the league revised it’s gambling policy on Friday, shortening the suspension for first time offenders caught betting on non-NFL games from inside team facilities from six games to two games. This was the exact violation that saw Williams get suspended for six games earlier this offseason, but the revision has resulted in the league opting to reinstate Williams early. Players who bet on NFL games will now receive a one-year suspension. Betting on your own team is a two-year suspension and match-fixing is a lifetime ban. Williams can now rejoin the 3-1 Lions who currently rank eighth in points per game (26.5) and seventh in passing yards ahead of the team’s Week 5 matchup against the Panthers. Titans OT Nicholas Petit-Frere, also suspended for gambling, had the remainder of his suspension nixed by the league as well.

Jones was targeted only one time all evening. Catch-less since a rough Week 1 against the Chiefs, Jones might not make it through the entire season on the Lions’ 46-man game-day roster.

Raymond lost two yards on his lone passing-game target. Raymond’s first quarter rush was the Lions’ longest play of the evening. Raymond maintains legitimate play-making upside, but it is being sporadically utilized. The 29-year-old has no fantasy value in 12-team leagues.

It was a nice bounce-back effort for Reynolds after he wasn’t targeted in Week 3. Reynolds was battling a core issue in that contest. For his three healthier performances, he has averaged 72 yards. That number will probably slowly come down, but Reynolds has a valuable real-life role as a field-stretcher. Just don’t expect it to translate to consistent, or even inconsistent, fantasy production.

35 of LaPorta’s yards came on a first quarter catch-and-run. It was an otherwise quiet night as the Lions rode their rushing attack and Jared Goff attempted fewer than 30 passes for the first time all season. LaPorta has still managed to reach at least 56 yards in 3-of-4 appearances. He’s yet to catch fewer than four passes. He’s looking every bit a weekly TE1, one that will be in the top 6-7 more weeks than not. The Panthers are on tap for Week 5.

St. Brown’s score, his second of 2023, came after he put Rasul Douglas in a first quarter blender. He got the DB to literally trip over himself before waltzing into the end zone for a 24-yard strike after Jared Goff identified Douglas’ mishap. It was an otherwise quiet night as the Lions rode the ground game on a short week, dialing up 43 carries in a contest they led 27-3 at halftime. The passing-game script just wasn’t there. St. Brown will remain a high-end WR1 for Week 5 against the Panthers.

Goff’s night got off to the poorest possible start when he capped the Lions’ opening drive with an interception. He simply never saw safety Rudy Ford camping out in zone coverage. Goff stabilized after that, though he mostly got to sit back and relax and the Lions rushed 43 times and the Packers self-destructed in the first half on offense. The Lions appear poised to remain one of the league’s best offenses, but Goff has only one multi-score start through the air in four 2023 outings. This scheme is built on the ground, while it’s Amon-Ra St. Brown’s YAC work that fuels the passing attack. That will make QB1 consistency difficult for Goff to come by, but the Panthers are a plus Week 5 matchup.

Coming off an 18-touch outing in Week 3 against the Falcons, Gibbs had to contend with the healthy return of David Montgomery (thigh). That mostly involved just getting out of the way as D-Mont handled a career-high 32 carries. Coach Dan Campbell erased any remaining doubt as to how he planned to deploy his two backs this season. Gibbs converted a few third downs both with his legs and hands, but he’s a specialist back to Montgomery’s clear-cut 1A role. Gibbs’ explosive play-making ability still makes him a viable FLEX, but it’s pretty clear by now that RB2 is going to be a stretch, at least on an every-week basis. Perhaps matchups can dictate, while byes will help, too. The Panthers are on tap for Week 5.

The Jamaal Williams role travels. Returning from a Week 3 absence with a deep thigh bruise, Montgomery ended up matching his career high for carries, originally set back in Week 15, 2020 for the Bears. Montgomery was a bulldozer all night long but most acutely near the goal line, where he continues to monopolize work over ballyhooed rookie Jahmyr Gibbs. D-Mont has now scored in all three of his Lions appearances, with five total touchdowns to his name as the calendar flips to October. Montgomery is averaging just 3.8 yards per carry, but efficiency was never the thesis of coach Dan Campbell’s play. He wants thunder and he’s getting it. Fantasy managers simply need to get on board. There should be plenty of drives to finish in Week 5 against the rebuilding Panthers.

The versatile, impressive rookie was getting blocked in the third quarter and went down after minimal contact. He could put little weight on his right foot as he made his way slowly to the sideline. He was then loaded up on a cart and taken to the locker room. An impact player in the slot through his first four games, Branch’s loss would be big for this on-the-rise defense ... is what we wrote before Branch managed to return following a new tape job. Crisis averted.