This player’s primary highlight was bad for the Lions, overshadowing all of his solid performance against the 49ers.
Another week, another heartbreak for Detroit Lions fans. While Sunday’s matchup against the San Francisco 49ers was a tough loss, there was definite improvement over the showing we saw Monday night against the New York Jets. With that being said, it will be a little bit easier to hand out this week’s award for unsung hero of the week. The series highlights one player whose performance, be it throughout the whole game or in a single moment, played an important role in the Lions’ success but may not have been the most memorable.
Unsung hero of the week: LeGarrette Blount
LeGarrette Blount’s biggest highlight on Sunday came from the sidelines, shoving down 49ers linebacker Elijah Lee after a questionable hit on Matthew Stafford as Stafford ran out of bounds on a scramble. Blount was ejected from the game, the Lions were tagged with a 15-yard penalty that turned a third-and-2 into third-and-17, and announcers Chris Spielman and Thom Brennaman began talking about Blount’s uncontrollable anger that dates back to his college days.
There’s no doubt that it was a poor decision by Blount to lash out and cost the team like that, but if you want to hear both sides of the argument the POD staff talks more about it on this week’s PODcast around the 20 minute mark.
We’re here to discuss what Blount did right, however. While it was a rough day for Stafford until the fourth quarter, the ground game was uncharacteristically steady and sound throughout the afternoon. Kerryon Johnson stole the show with this 21-yard scamper around the outside, with the rest of his carries looking pretty ordinary. Blount was a little bit more consistent, however, steadily churning out 5-to-10-yard carries from early on in the game, even making positive yardage out of plays when he was swamped in the backfield.
His best run, while not as big as Johnson’s, was the running that Blount does best.
Fortunately for the Lions, Blount showed the same passion while running as he did when charging from the sidelines. That allowed Blount to hold it down until Johnson got into a rhythm later in the game.
While Blount might have caught the most attention from his unsportsmanlike play, his play in between the tackles was noteworthy and uncharacteristically good for a Lions running back, and for that reason Blount earns this week’s honors.
Who do you think had a quietly good game against the 49ers? Let us know in the comments.
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