Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs tallied 172 total yards and three touchdowns in a 44-22 road win at Washington. Peter Casey / Imagn Images

By The Athletic Staff

Nov. 9, 2025Updated 8:27 pm EST

By Colton Pouncy, Nicki Jhabvala and Darnell Mayberry

Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions offense erupted in a 44-22 road win at the Washington Commanders on Sunday. It was Detroit’s second-highest-scoring game this season and improved the Lions to 6-3.

Goff completed 25 of 33 passes for 320 yards and three touchdowns. He was not sacked for the first time in five games. He had been sacked 14 times in Detroit’s previous four games, including five sacks in a loss to the Minnesota Vikings last week. Lions third-year running back Jahmyr Gibbs tallied 172 total yards and three touchdowns in one of the best performances of his career, and Lions receivers Jameson Williams and Amon-Ra St. Brown each recorded a receiving touchdown.

Washington (3-7) was led by backup quarterback Marcus Mariota, as second-year star Jayden Daniels missed the game with an elbow injury. Mariota completed 16 of 22 passes for 213 yards and two touchdowns, but the Commanders defense had no answers for the Lions’ high-powered offense.

Lions offense responds with a roar

It was a much better showing from the Lions offense on Sunday, after a rough outing last week. This was expected from this group — motivated by a loss to the Vikings and playing a hobbled and below-average Commanders defense — but to do it in this manner was an emphatic flex of their muscles. The Lions recorded 44 points, north of 500 yards of offense, 212 rushing yards, zero sacks and zero turnovers. The Lions scored on every possession, with punter Jack Fox taking the afternoon off. This was arguably their best performance of the season, which includes a 52-point win over the Chicago Bears in Week 2. We now know there was a change in the offensive play calling, with Lions coach Dan Campbell having more input this week. — Colton Pouncy, Lions beat writer

Campbell’s sideline role hints at offensive shake-up

The big story here is that Campbell was more involved in play calling on Sunday, perhaps taking the reins from offensive coordinator John Morton. Campbell was spotted on the sideline early in the game, speaking into the headset more than he typically does while wearing glasses and staring at the call sheet. Fox sideline reporter Megan Olivi seemingly confirmed as much when talking to Campbell at halftime, relaying the following message: “They just wanted to mix things up. Everyone is still involved in the personnel and the players; they just wanted to find a bit of a rhythm.”

If that’s the case, it’ll be interesting to see what comes of this. Morton has been criticized by the fan base for the lack of efficiency from this offense. Entering Sunday, the Lions ranked 25th in third-down conversion rate at 36.3 percent, 16th in explosive play rate (10.7 percent) and 27th in offensive rushing success rate. Morton seemed to place the blame on the offensive line for the offense’s struggles against Minnesota. But with Campbell calling plays, this looked like a return to form for the offense. We’ll see if this was a one-off or a sign of things to come. — Pouncy

Commanders’ slide continues amid defensive woes

The Commanders promise change week after week but show no results. The defense gets only worse. The team has lost five straight now, the last four of which were by more than 20 points. — Nicki Jhabvala, Commanders beat writer

Washington’s offense wakes up too late

Washington’s offense actually moved the ball, especially late. But by then, the game was too far out of reach. The only mistake the Commanders corrected was not keeping their starting quarterback in late in a blowout. Josh Johnson took over for Mariota with a little more than six minutes left in the fourth quarter. — Jhabvala

Nov 10, 2025

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