Grading comeback win over Houston

LIONS

Detroit Lions place kicker Jake Bates, middle, is embraced by a teammate as he celebrates with other teammates after kicking a game-winning, 52-yard field goal at the end of Sunday’s road game against the Houston Texans. The Lions prevailed, 26-23, and are 8-1. DAVID J. PHILLIP PHOTOS — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Houston Texans safety Jimmie Ward, left, is tackled by Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs after intercepting a pass during the first half of Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans. Quarterback Jared Goff threw five interceptions, but Detroit won.

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By Richard Silva

The Detroit News

HOUSTON >> Richard Silva grades the Detroit Lions’ performance in their 26-23 win over the Houston Texans on Sunday Night Football, as they overcame an off night by the offense with a superb defensive effort.

Here are the grades:

Quarterback

The two hallmarks of Jared Goff’s production in 2024 have been efficiency and ball security. It wasn’t all his fault — the offensive line turned in one of its worst performances of the season — but both of those strengths became weaknesses against Houston’s aggressive defense. Goff completed 50% of his passes and finished with five interceptions, setting a career high and more than doubling his season total of four coming into the game. Some of the INTs can be explained away — the first one was tipped, for example — but others such as a misfire to Jameson Williams in the third quarter were on him. Goff made the necessary plays late, but it’s a showing he’ll want to forget. Grade: D-

Running backs

Detroit has had a strategy this season: Get the bruising David Montgomery going early to set the tone before following him up with the speedy Jahmyr Gibbs for a change of pace. For one reason or another, that wasn’t the case this time. Montgomery had just two carries in the first quarter and four in the first half, totaling six yards in the opening two frames. It was a struggle for both of Detroit’s running backs through the first three quarters, combining for 2.7 yards per carry ahead of the final 15 minutes. But in the fourth, Gibbs finally popped a few big runs and collected 40 yards on seven attempts. Montgomery also found the end zone for the eighth time this season. Grade: C+

Wide receivers/tight ends

The good news for tight end Sam LaPorta is that he turned in his most productive game of the season, snaring three balls for 66 yards and a touchdown. The bad news for him is that he suffered a shoulder injury in the third quarter that held him out the rest of the way. Other standout pass-catchers include receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams, who tallied 60 and 53 yards, respectively. St. Brown caught a TD to pull within three points late, and Williams showed some excellent grip strength while hanging on to a pass through contact two plays ahead of St. Brown’s score. Grade: B+

Offensive line

Things were uncharacteristically bad for Detroit’s offensive line, particularly early. Goff was never sacked, but don’t be fooled. The Texans generated four quar