DETROIT — Leading up to Sunday’s matchup at Ford Field, Jameson Williams’ role in the Detroit Lions’ offense remained a frequent topic of conversation.

Entering Week 9, the speedy wideout ranked 120th in the NFL with 17 receptions and had seen a slight decline across his receiving statistics. Speaking to the media on Thursday, Lions offensive coordinator John Morton promised to increase Williams’ involvement in the passing game.

To his credit, that promise was kept. In the Lions’ Week 9 contest against NFC North rival Minnesota, Williams hauled in four of six targets for 66 yards and one touchdown — a 37-yard score with 1:55 left in regulation. Still, it wasn’t enough, as Detroit fell 27-24.

Interestingly, Williams had the same stat line in the Week 6 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, finishing with 66 yards and a touchdown.

“It’s kind of hard to think about that. We lost,” Williams said. “So I ain’t really thinking about anything else right now because we lost. We’re going to do what we do best — bounce back. We get days off, come back Wednesday and Thursday, and get ready for our next game. That’s it — just do what we do.”

During the contest, Detroit’s interior offensive line struggled against the Vikings’ defensive front, creating problems in both pass protection and run blocking.

Although touchdowns came from the Lions’ running duo of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, Detroit’s rushing attack totaled just 20 carries for 65 yards, an average of 3.3 yards per carry.

With the run game being crucial to the Lions’ offense, the lack of consistency up front disrupted their rhythm after the opening drive, limiting their ability to sustain drives and move the ball efficiently.

Still, Williams did not place all blame on the run game.

“It affected us a little bit. I wouldn’t say a lot,” he said. “We left opportunities on the field in a couple of drives, but we lost by three points. We had chances, just need to execute. We could’ve still won. All our mistakes matter, it’s tough, you know.”

Williams’ observation aligns with the team’s struggles on third down. Detroit converted just 5-of-17 attempts (29.4%) — the third time this season under 30% and fourth time under 40%. Two of these came against NFC North rivals: Green Bay in Week 1 (33.3%) and Minnesota on Sunday.

Coach Dan Campbell said his staff is working to smooth out offensive issues. While Williams showed a solid performance, Morton and the offense still have work to do moving forward.