Lions defense bounces back with dominant effort, grounds Falcons

Detroit — All week, the Detroit Lions didn’t shy away from needing to overcome a sudden rash of injuries; they embraced it. And on Sunday, against the Atlanta Falcons, they proved their mettle, answering the challenge for the next guy and the next guy and the next guy to step up in a 20-6 victory over the Atlanta Falcons at Ford Field on Sunday.

More impressive, the Lions did it behind a maligned defense that had given up 37 points in an overtime loss to the Seahawks a week earlier. The pass rush that had racked up steady quarterback pressure but struggled to get home the first two games of the season had no such issues on Sunday. Six different defenders combined to sack Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder seven times. Aidan Hutchinson dropped Ridder twice, forcing and recovering a fumble late in the fourth quarter to seal the game.

BOX SCORE: Lions 20, Falcons 6

Offensively, the Lions (2-1) did enough, jumping out to a 10-point lead in the first half behind the efficient play of quarterback Jared Goff. He completed 15-of-21 for 188 yards and a touchdown through two quarters, finishing his day 22-of-33 for 243, the score and an interception.

After a sluggish start for both offenses, the Lions got moving behind a pair of first-down catches by rookie tight end Sam LaPorta before stalling just inside the red zone and settling for a 37-yard Riley Patterson field goal.

The Falcons (2-1), riding the playmaking ability of running back Bijan Robinson and tight end Kyle Pitts, were able to navigate into position to respond as kicker Younghoe Koo converted a 48-yard field goal to tie things up at three apiece.

Detroit appeared to have an immediate counterpunch as Kalif Raymond got open deep on the first snap of the ensuring drive, but Goff put the throw just beyond the receiver’s reach. Still, the quarterback gathered himself to find Amon-Ra St. Brown for a third-down conversion before connecting on a makeup deep ball, hitting LaPorta down the middle of the field for a 45-yard touchdown.

A second-round pick out of Iowa, LaPorta continued the hot start to his career, catching eight balls for 84 yards and the score.

The Lions nearly got seven more before the half, but again fell short deep inside Falcons’ territory. Despite having first-and-goal from the 4, the Lions went the wrong way after a Penei Sewell holding infraction and ended up taking a short Patterson field goal, this one from 24 yards, to push their lead to 13-3 at the break.

About the only thing not working in Detroit’s favor through two quarters were the continuing injury issues. Already down two starters along the offensive line, the team lost two more linemen when Matt Nelson and Dan Skipper exited before the half.

Both offenses struggled coming out of the locker room as the Lions went three-and-out to open the third quarter when fullback Jason Cabinda was stuffed on third-and-1, and the Koo missed a 47-yard field goal that could have cut Atlanta’s deficit to a touchdown.

Detroit found itself in a tough spot late in the third quarter when a Goff pass to St. Brown across the middle sailed over the receiver’s outstretched arms and was intercepted by Falcons safety Jessie Bates. That gave the opposition starting field position inside Lions’ territory, but the defense stepped up again, quickly forcing a turnover on downs.

Riding that wave of momentum in front of a loud home crowd, Goff immediately found St. Brown for 17 yards before handing the ball to rookie Jahmyr Gibbs four straight plays, resulting in a combined gain of 37 yards that ended inside Atlanta’s 10-yard line.

Two plays later, Goff took advantage of the attention Gibbs was drawing from Falcons defenders, keeping the ball on a zone read and taking it into the end zone from 3 yards out to extend the lead to 20-3 with just under 10 minutes remaining.

The Falcons finally managed to snap their lengthy scoring drought with a 24-yard Koo field goal after the Lions defense bent, but didn’t break, coming up with a red zone stop.

In addition to the sacks of Ridder, the Lions did an outstanding job bottling up Robinson, the outstanding rookie running back. He mustered just 33 yards on 10 carries and 60 yards from scrimmage, both season-lows.

The shorthanded Lions face a quick turnaround, heading to Green Bay to face the Packers Thursday night.

jdrogers@detroitnews.com

Twitter/X: @Justin_Rogers