In the days leading up to Sunday’s matchup at Ford Field, Jameson Williams’ involvement in the Detroit Lions offense remained a frequent topic of discussion.
Entering Week 9, the fast receiver ranked 120th in the NFL in catches (17) and had slightly declined across multiple receiving metrics. Speaking to the media on Thursday, Lions offensive coordinator John Morton promised to get Williams more involved in the game plan.
That promise largely materialized. In Detroit’s Week 9 clash against division foe Minnesota, Williams hauled in four of six targets for 66 yards and a touchdown — a 37-yard grab with 1:55 remaining in regulation. Still, it wasn’t sufficient for a win, as the Lions fell 27-24.
Interestingly, outside of the targets, Williams mirrored the same stat line he posted in the Week 6 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, finishing with 66 receiving yards and a touchdown.
“It’s kind of tough to, you know, think about that. We lost,” Williams said. “So I’m not really thinking about anything else right now because we lost.
“We’ll do what we do best, you know, bounce back. We get some days off. We’ll return to work Wednesday and Thursday and get ready for the next opponent. It’s nothing extra — just do our job.”
During the contest, Detroit’s interior offensive line was overpowered by Minnesota’s defensive front, creating problems in both pass protection and run blocking.
Even with touchdowns from their dynamic backfield duo, Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, the Lions’ rushing attack totaled only 20 carries for 65 yards — an average of just 3.3 yards per carry.
With running the ball being a key part of Detroit’s offense, the lack of push up front caused drives to stall after the opening series. This, in turn, limited the team’s ability to sustain drives and move the chains efficiently.
Still, Williams refused to blame the team’s struggles entirely on the ground game.
“It impacted us a bit. I wouldn’t say a lot,” Williams said. “We left some opportunities out there on a few drives, but we lost by three points. We had chances. We just have to execute and do our job. We still could’ve won. It’s still there for us. With all the mistakes, it’s tough, you know.”
Williams’ observation aligns with the team’s struggles on third downs. Detroit converted just 5-of-17 attempts (29.4%) — the third time this season under 30% and fourth time under 40%. Two of those subpar games came against NFC North rivals: Green Bay in Week 1 (33.3%) and Minnesota on Sunday.
Coach Dan Campbell said he’s instructed his staff to address some of the offensive issues. While Williams produced a solid performance versus the Vikings, it’s clear Morton and the offense still have adjustments to make.
