After the Detroit Lions beat the Dallas Cowboys 44 to 30 on Thursday night, it felt like old times. The Lions offense sustained drives, had explosive plays and we saw Lions QB Jared Goff have time to make throws. This led to the Lions offense putting up over 400 total yards on offense and 44 points.

The offensive explosion was led by a three touchdown performance from Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs. In fact, it’s the third time in five games where Gibbs had three total touchdowns for the Lions. However, it wasn’t just him making plays for the Lions offense. It was everyone.

We saw Jameson Williams finish with 7 receptions for 96 yards, Amon-Ra St. Brown played through an ankle sprain and finished with 6 receptions for 92 yards. Meanwhile, the Lions saw RB David Montgomery score a touchdown on a 35-yard run and rookie WR Isaac TeSlaa hauled in a 12-yard touchdown pass from Jared Goff.

Now, it’s far from perfect for the Lions offense. Penalties were a factor in this one. In total, the Lions had 8 penalties for 50 yards but there were drives where they’d move backwards due to holding calls, illegal formations and false starts. Speaking of false starts, we saw rookie left guard Miles Frazier play 26 snaps and while he played relatively well, he did have two false starts. Lastly, the Lions were only 3-for-8 on 3rd down but their execution on 1st and 2nd down was much better in this game.

No doubt, the Lions offense got help from their defense and special teams in this game. Six of the Lions drives started beyond their 35-yard line. In total, the Lions recorded 282 total return yards between kick and punt returns. If you didn’t see, Lions WR Tom Kennedy earned a game ball after the game due to his 3 kick returns that totaled 120 yards. His final kick return went 42 yards and the Lions were able to go 51 yards for a touchdown in three plays.

All together, it takes ever player on the field for success to happen. Especially within the Lions offense. We’ve seen for most of this season the Lions offense have failures due to the lack of execution on specific plays or even specific players. After week 14, things feel somewhat different. Let’s dive into the film room to look at how the Lions offense went back to their roots in their win over the Cowboys!

Earlier, I mentioned how Lions WR Tom Kennedy had a 42 yard kick return that essentially changed the game for the Lions. His return gave the Lions great field position and put them in a position to put the final nail in the coffin of this game. The Lions did just that.

Looking at the play above, come out with QB Jared Goff under center and RB Jahmyr Gibbs aligned behind him. To the right of the formation, the Lions have two tight ends and a 6th offensive lineman. That offensive lineman is Dan Skipper and the tight ends are Ross Dwelley and Anthony Firkser.

On this play, the Lions run Duo wrap and end up scoring a touchdown out of it due to some great blocks across the board. They get a strong down block from Frisker off the edge as he blocks down and buries a defender into the dirt. Meanwhile, we see LG Trystan Colon pull and hit a defender out in space. This gives plenty of space for Gibbs to just walk into the end zone.

Keeping the play calls simple in the red zone are crucial for the Lions. Getting downhill, imposing their will and continuously finding ways to establish the run will lead to plenty of success. With this touchdown, it felt like the Lions put this one well out of reach.

The Lions offense went back to their roots last night. They're faced with 2nd and 13 on this play and it's a simple slant route from Amon-Ra St. Brown. He sprays it but they work towards the MOF and if he's tackled, it's all good. Or in this case, plenty of YAC. #OnePride pic.twitter.com/gTPVloW1Q1

— Russell Brown (@RussNFLDraft) December 5, 2025

Moving to earlier in the game, we focus on 2nd and 13 for the Lions on the Cowboys 34-yard line. They were trying to get themselves out of a hole as they lost five yards two plays earlier on an illegal shift from Dan Skipper. To help get out of a jam, there’s nobody better than WR Amon-Ra St. Brown and what he provides an offense.

Looking at the play above, the Lions come out with a 2×2 set and on the left it’s WRs Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams. For this play, we’ll focus on Amon-Ra and how he runs a simple slant route. The Lions love attacking the middle of the field with Dagger concepts, crossers and slant routes. On this particular slant route, Amon-Ra sprays his slant route to sell the potential of breaking his route to the outside.

In the snap of a finger, we see the shiftiness from Amon-Ra and he breaks toward the middle of the field. He’s left wide open and Jared Goff completes the pass to him with ease. From there, Amon-Ra picks up plenty of yards after-the-catch and in total, it leads to a 26-yard gain for the Lions. The beauty of this play is that the Lions attacked the middle of the field but also were short of the first down marker.

That’s important because if Amon-Ra would have been tackled right after securing the pass, it would have setup a manageable 3rd down situation for the Lions. The beauty of this one were the yards after the catch and the touchdown that occurred two plays later.

Weekly appreciation post for how hard Lions RB David Montgomery runs. #OnePride https://t.co/OWoCNc7GyG pic.twitter.com/0z72K4nlb9

— Russell Brown (@RussNFLDraft) December 5, 2025

Please tell me we’re back to being able to do weekly appreciation posts on Lions RB David Montgomery. It’s been tough sledding for Montgomery over the last several weeks but he finally was able to break free for a touchdown on this 35-yard run.

We look to the play above and the Lions look to run a Duo concept. Getting to the linebackers are Lions LG Trystan Colon and RT Penei Sewell. While it’s not clean, it worked and ultimately, David Montgomery ran hard and was able to break through contact for the touchdown. This run felt like old times for the Lions offense.

Overall, the Lions offense were able to throw for over 300 yards and they ran for over 100 yards on the ground. The offensive line still has plenty of things to clean up with penalties such as holding and false starts but it felt like old times on Thursday night. We’ll wait and see if the Lions can maintain this level of success in the final month of the season but there’s no question, it’s what they plan to do with the Rams up next on their schedule.