Lions pull away from Browns but injuries put damper on third straight victory

DETROIT — The Detroit Lions' 34-10 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday at Ford Field came at a tremendous cost for a defense that was finally humming after enduring several season-ending injuries the year prior.

Cornerback D.J. Reed was carted off with a hamstring injury, cornerback Terrion Arnold went to the locker room with a shoulder injury and did not return, and All-Pro safety Kerby Joseph briefly exited with a knee injury before returning for the second half.

Cleveland's defense lived up to the hype and kept the Browns (1-3) in the game entering the fourth quarter, but the Lions' ability to play complementary football was ultimately too much to handle.

The Lions (3-1) got interceptions from Joseph and Reed, which resulted in a combined 10 points. It added another seven points on Amon-Ra St. Brown's second touchdown of the game after a late strip-sack by Aidan Hutchinson.

And with Detroit nursing a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter, Kalif Raymond provided the dagger by housing a 65-yard punt return to go up 27-10 with 13:40 left.

Those contributions were the difference in a 24-point victory, which temporarily gives the Lions sole possession of first place in the NFC North, pending the Green Bay Packers' Sunday night matchup against the Dallas Cowboys.

Neither offense found much of a rhythm throughout the game. Jared Goff finished 16-for-27 passing for 168 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. The Lions went 6 for 14 on third down and averaged 5.2 yards per play.

Running back David Montgomery, who had a career day his last time out, was limited to 12 yards on nine carries while running back Jahmyr Gibbs totaled 91 and a touchdown on 15 rushes. St. Brown caught seven passes on seven targets for 70 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Cleveland and Detroit actually had similar offensive outputs — 249 yards compared to 277 for Detroit — but the Browns went 3 for 14 on third downs and couldn't sustain drives the length of the field.

After taking a 7-0 lead on their opening possession, the Browns put together just one more scoring drive, which started at the 42-yard line of Detroit when Goff threw his second interception of the season with 10:16 left in the third quarter.

Arnold did not have a diminished role to start the game like Dan Campbell suggested he might during the week, but he certainly did not make a strong case for why he should continue starting over Amik Robertson before getting injured. He was flagged twice for defensive holding on third down during the opening drive; both penalties were declined, since the receiver made the catch anyway.

After Cleveland got it to first-and-goal at the 1-yard line, the Lions made three stops but couldn't hold Quinshon Judkins on the fourth, as the rookie running back punched it in on fourth-and-goal to give the Browns a 7-0 lead with 5:36 left in the first quarter.

The Lions answered with a five-play, 65-yard drive to tie the game, 7-7, with 3:20 to go in the first. After a defensive holding penalty on the Browns set up first-and-goal at the 8-yard line, Gibbs followed the blocks of St. Brown and Sam LaPorta to reach the end zone for the fourth time this season.

The Lions took over at the Cleveland 46 less than two minutes later after Browns quarterback Joe Flacco threw a ball straight into the air with no receivers in the area, allowing Joseph to snag his second interception of the season.

A false start penalty on Christian Mahogany before third-and-9 derailed the drive, however, forcing the Lions to settle for a 48-yard field goal from kicker Jake Bates to go up 10-7 at 14:17 in the second quarter.

The Lions added another interception at 4:36 in the second quarter. Reed made a sensational play while going to the ground to pick off Flacco on a throw to the sideline, and returned it to Cleveland's 5-yard line. Joseph was hurt on the play, though, and immediately went to the locker room after being unable to walk off under his own power.

Detroit cashed in quickly on a 2-yard, third-down touchdown pass to St. Brown, his fifth touchdown of the season, to take a 17-7 lead with 3:00 left in the first half.

Bates added to Detroit’s lead with 8 seconds left in the first half. After the Lions crossed midfield with a 27-yard completion to LaPorta, Bates delivered a career-long 58-yard field goal that started inside of the right upright, drifted a few yards outside of it, and curved back in to put Detroit up 20-7.

After Cleveland scored on the opening drive, it had just two first downs and no drives longer than four plays for the rest of the first half.

Goff attempted several deep throws to Jameson Williams throughout the day, a tactic that led to an interception before it had the chance to result in a completion. Browns cornerback Denzel Ward picked off Goff on first-and-20 with 10:30 left in the third quarter, allowing Cleveland to cut into the lead with an eight-play field-goal drive that made it 20-10 with 6:44 left in the third quarter.

After another punt by Detroit, Cleveland almost made it a one-score game near the end of the third quarter, but Andre Szymt's 58-yard attempt went wide left.

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