Week 12 NFL Takeaways: Lions’ Defense Looks As Good As Their Offense

Just another reason Detroit is clearly the NFL’s best team. Plus, the Giants must learn lessons from 2021, what will change (and what won’t) in Cleveland, and more.

Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez celebrate after Sunday’s win over the Colts / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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1.  Detroit Lions
2. Minnesota Vikings
3. Miami Dolphins
4. New York Giants
5. Cleveland Browns
6. Hall of Fame finalists

Our Week 12 takeaways are live with everything I’ve got off of this week’s games. As we’ve been doing all season, we’ll publish the takeaways Sunday and update them live through Monday morning. So come back again if not all 10 are here yet …

 Detroit Lions

Don’t look now, but the Detroit Lions’ defense looks as dominant as their offense. And it’s another reason why this once sad-sack franchise has emerged as the NFL’s very clear No. 1 team as we approach the team’s annual Thanksgiving game—with no complaining anymore that the Lions are sitting in that national television window.

Somehow, this is what the aftermath of losing Aidan Hutchinson looks like for Detroit. Out goes the Lions’ best defensive player and in comes the team’s defensive breakthrough.

After Sunday’s workmanlike 24–6 deconstruction of the Indianapolis Colts, the Lions will carry a streak of 10 quarters without allowing a touchdown into Thursday’s game against the NFC North rival Chicago Bears, who are six games behind Detroit in the standings. Over that time, Aaron Glenn’s defense has allowed just four field goals. And in the six games since losing Hutchinson, the defense has allowed 316.0 yards per game and 15.3 points per game, which is actually less than the unit allowed over the first five games (329.4 and 18.2, respectively).

“We can’t replace Hutch,” veteran corner Amik Robertson told me postgame. “But we can continue playing together. We know Hutch causes havoc every time he’s out there, but the next guy has to step up. We got to play as a whole. The D-line helps the secondary and the secondary helps the D-line. We got to do it for him because we know if he was out there, he’d be playing 100%, so that’s what we do.”

It’s also happened because, as has seemed to be the case with virtually everything since Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes arrived in 2021, the Lions have had answers, post-Hutch.

On Sunday, two guys registered multiple hits/hurries on Anthony Richardson—D.J. Reader and Za’Darius Smith. The former is the havoc-wreaking defensive tackle that Detroit gambled on in March, signing Reader as a free agent while he was rehabbing a torn quad, knowing it’d take patience to get the most from him. A trade for the latter was the result of Holmes staying after the Cleveland Browns about a deal for weeks, leading up to the Nov. 5 deadline.

But those additions were just part of a much larger picture that’s come together over four years, after the Lions consciously decided in 2021 to address the offense first, since, at that point, it was closer to being competitive than the defense. It’s why, in large part, the Lions had the NFL’s 29th-ranked defense in ’21 and the league’s worst defense the year after that. Slowly, but surely, Glenn’s shared vision with Campbell for a versatile, deep unit with position flexibility all over the place came together.

In came pieces such as Hutchinson, Alim McNeill, Brian Branch, Jack Campbell and, this year, Terrion Arnold that fit that vision. And all along, Glenn kept the guys believing in the vision, even when it looked bleak, with the backing of the head coach, who never backed down from it, even as he made big changes on offense.

“It’s their will,” says Robertson, who jumped aboard the moving train this offseason, coming over from the Las Vegas Raiders. “We got some great coaches. Our leader, Coach Campbell, A.G., they know what it should look like. When you buy into it, you play for the guy next to you. You have no choice but to go out there and play Lions football.”

Robertson then added, on Glenn, “His passion—he cares. He cares about his players. When you got a guy that backs you up and cares about the players and what’s good for the players, you got no choice but to run through a wall for him. I’m glad I was able to come here and be able to get coached by a coach and individual like A.G.”

Lots of guys are, clearly. And based on the way this has been going, the best could still be ahead for the Lions’ defense.

That, by the way, could also include Hutchinson. Because the break in his leg was so clean—there was no artery, ligament or nerve damage—the team is optimistic that he’d be able to play in the Super Bowl on Feb. 9 in New Orleans, which is where Detroit plucked both Campbell and Glenn from.

Increasingly, it looks like the Lions will be there to give Hutchinson that chance. And this time, it certainly wouldn’t be in spite of the defense he’d be rejoining.

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Minnesota Vikings

Meanwhile, the Minnesota Vikings are keeping pace in the NFC North—and it’s not happening in spite of Sam Darnold, like some people figured it would by this point of the year. I’ve had the feeling for a while now, with the way narratives have been spun on Minnesota’s quarterback situation, that a lot of folks have been waiting for the other shoe to drop.

It hasn’t yet. It probably won’t, either.

That’s not to say 2024 has come without turbulence for Darnold’s and Kevin O’Connell’s Vikings. There were the two losses in five days—to the Lions and Los Angeles Rams—followed by slugfest wins over the Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars, and those wondering whether O’Connell’s reclamation project had some sort of expiration date. This, I think, is closer to the truth: He’s a really good player now who, after going through a lot, was just going through a season’s ups and downs.

Sunday’s 30–27 overtime win over the Bears does tell the story for you. Darnold threw for 330 yards, two touchdowns and a 116.1 rating on 22-of-34 passing. He took Minnesota on a clock-killing drive in the fourth quarter that ran nearly six minutes, and ended with a field goal that staked his team to a 27–16 lead with two minutes to go. Then, when the Bears furiously stormed back with a touchdown, onside kick and field goal to force overtime, Darnold was nails in the extra period.

He took a sack on his first snap of the extra session, only to convert second-and-17 over the next two plays. Later in the drive, he brought the Vikings from behind the sticks, after penalties put them in first-and-15 and then first-and-20. He made chain-moving throws to Jordan Addison and Justin Jefferson, and two to T.J. Hockenson to put new kicker John Parker Romo in position to knock through a 29-yard chip shot to win it.

But there was one play in particular that stood out for the Vikings in the game’s aftermath.

Against the Colts three weeks ago, with Minnesota holding onto a 14–7 fourth-quarter lead, Darnold forced a ball over the middle to Jefferson, with Jefferson and Addison both lined up to his left and running over routes to his right. The ball was picked and, at least momentarily, positioned the Colts to flip momentum. The Vikings survived it, holding the Colts to a field goal after the turnover, and grinding out a 21–13 win.

But Darnold didn’t forget it. On the first play of the second half Sunday, O’Connell called the play again. Darnold took the lesson, hung in the pocket on the play waiting for his receivers to uncover, and threw it to Addison, away from the traffic in the middle of the field, rather than Jefferson. Addison caught it about 25 yards downfield and did the rest, racing for a 69-yard gain. The Vikings ended up kicking a field goal to extend their lead to 17–10.

It's a little detail from Sunday, but it’s a big one, too. Darnold—with all that experience from the New York Jets, Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers under his belt—looks like a guy who is not just better for all he’s been through, but is getting better as he goes.

So now the Vikings are 9–2, and he’s a huge part of that. He’s a shining example, like Geno Smith is for the Seattle Seahawks, of how a guy can overcome a tough start to a career, given better circumstances in a better place. (He and Geno have something else in common, too. Hint: the team that drafted both of them.) Which is why all of you should be a little less skeptical of the guy.

Will he be the Vikings quarterback in 2025? I don’t know. J.J. McCarthy’s there and Minnesota really likes him, too. But I’d bet Darnold will be playing somewhere, and playing well, next year. The evidence that it’ll happen, at this point, is pretty overwhelming.

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Miami Dolphins

Everyone should have a better appreciation for Tua Tagovailoa now. I know I do. And that was only reinforced in a conversation I had with Calais Campbell after the Miami Dolphins’ 34–15 rout of the New England Patriots—one that pushed the quarterback’s career mark to 7–0 against Miami’s AFC East rival.

Of course, I didn’t really have to have that conversation to feel that way.

Tagovailoa was 29-of-40 for 317 yards, four touchdowns and a 128.9 rating Sunday. It was the third time in five games since returning from his Week 2 concussions that his rating has exceeded 120. It was the fifth consecutive game his completion percentage topped 70. It was Miami’s third straight win, after consecutive losses in which the offense scored 27 against the Arizona Cardinals and Buffalo Bills.

There’s a lot to like about Tagovailoa right now. That stuff about Mike McDaniel perfectly tailoring the offense to leverage the 26-year-old’s timing, anticipation and accuracy has proven true, both in how bad things looked without him and how quickly everything fell back into place when he got back in there.

All that said, the situation that unfolded on Sept. 12, and I was in the stadium for it, didn’t go away. Teammates were clearly shaken that night. Coaches, too.

So how did they overcome it? Tagovailoa actually helped them. Just listen to Campbell, a 17-year veteran, who’s now on his fifth team, and has, naturally, played with countless quarterbacks, having experiences both good and bad with them.

“He’s just stayed present and tried to be authentic to himself and be the best version of himself,” Campbell tells me. “Nobody ever wants to go through any kind of injury, especially head injuries. It’s very scary. You go through the process and meet with the specialist and realize that, as long as you’re healthy, you can go out there and play the game you love. And now, he’s very in the moment and enjoying the game as a kid would.

“He has a greater appreciation for playing good football. He’s been really big in the locker room, just for having fun and enjoying the ride. He brings a great energy to work every day, making sure that we have fun every time we’re out there on the football field, through practice, through studying."

In other words, if Tagovailoa doesn’t feel sorry for himself, maybe … others won’t either?

“He definitely has that happy charm,” Campbell says, agreeing. “Being around him is infectious. You can’t help to be happy. He’s got a great energy.”

Now, this isn’t in any way to minimize what happened that night—it was, and is, a very serious thing that affects so many players, many for long after they’re done playing.

But I can appreciate Tagovailoa’s passion here, and how it’s spilling over to his team.

Like him, the Dolphins are playing fast, smart football and, at 5–6, are right back in the AFC playoff race, just two games out of the final spot. That sets up a big game Thursday night in Green Bay. The projected temperature at kickoff is 26, which will give Tagovailoa a shot to bust some more preconceived notions, and shine in the sort of big game that, four weeks ago, at 2–6, very few folks expected the Dolphins to be playing in.

“This is going to show you what kind of team we are,” Campbell says. “We’re going to find out a lot about ourselves because this is the toughest matchup we’ll have all season. Short week, cold weather, all those things that really don’t matter but matter. It’s going to say a lot about our mental toughness, our belief, our preparation, how hard we work. This is a game that we got to have. We got to go out there and play our best football to get it done.”

And Tagovailoa, after all that’s happened, still gives them the best shot to do just that.

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Daboll and the Giants fell to 2–9 after getting crushed by the Buccaneers on Sunday / Chris Pedota, NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

New York Giants

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are still alive in the NFC South after an impressive beatdown of the New York Giants in the Meadowlands, but that’s not my takeaway from that game. It’s that the loser of this one needs to look better the rest of the way, with lessons of 2021 still there.

First, we’ll give you the nuts and bolts of the rout. The Giants trailed 23–0 at the half, were outgained 290–45 in scrimmage yards and gave up 17 first downs to that point. Time of possession was nearly two-to-one. The numbers leveled off a little bit in the second half, with the Buccaneers essentially spending those 30 minutes getting the change out of their pockets to clear TSA for the flight back to Florida.

Of course, the lipstick on the statistical pig won’t do much for anyone in the long run.

Now, as for those lessons of 2021? As that season circled the drain, the Giants were prepared to give Joe Judge a third year. Owner John Mara really didn’t want to have a third consecutive two-and-out coach—after firing both Ben McAdoo and Pat Shurmur after only two seasons—and genuinely liked Judge. Then came an embarrassing loss on Jan. 2 in Chicago, and the infamous Judge press conference after it. After that, it was a listless effort in every possible way the next week against Washington, and Mara cleaned house.

I believe the Giants’ owner wants to keep Brian Daboll and GM Joe Schoen moving forward to 2025. I think the foundation is actually pretty solid, with building blocks such as Malik Nabers, Andrew Thomas, Dexter Lawrence, Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux, and I think Daboll’s a really good coach.

But after this Sunday, I think it’s hard to speak in absolutes on the team’s future.

Burns was asked by reporters about coming off a bye, and then trailing by 30 at home. “It’s ass,” he responded. Said Nabers, “I started getting the ball when it was 30–0. What do you want me to do?” Lawrence called his team “soft,” and tackle Jermaine Eluemunor added, “I personally don’t think everyone is giving 100%.”

These are incredibly damning comments, and for the crowd that thinks this is about the release of Daniel Jones, I can say there was quite a bit of frustration with Jones from players and coaches before his release, with how hesitant he was to pull the trigger and for all the throws he missed. So while Tommy DeVito’s deficiencies might’ve made things worse for some guys, as Nabers himself said, “It ain’t the quarterback. … Same outcome when we had D.J.”

The larger issue has to get fixed. Daboll and Schoen won’t save this season. But it’s important, I’d surmise, that Sunday’s flat-line showing doesn’t trend. The Giants are on national television Thursday in Dallas. They have consecutive home games against the New Orleans Saints and Baltimore Ravens after that. I don’t think they have to win all three.

But I’d say, for everyone to be safe, it’ll have to look a lot better than it did Sunday to avoid the kind of spiral that cost a lot of folks their jobs three years ago.

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Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns’ show of life Thursday was a great illustration of why the Haslams plan to (mostly) stay the course in 2025. In a way, the 24–19 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers had a lot of the markings of ’24. They won without Deshaun Watson, and without their top two left tackles, and their star linebacker on defense. They showed resilience, and balance, in how they were able to pull different levers through the night. And pride, despite being a two-win team, in outlasting a rival that came back from a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter.

That it was all closed out in a lake-effect whiteout only added emphasis to the victory.

It added up to a program win for coach Kevin Stefanski and GM Andrew Berry. And good reason, again, for Cleveland to feel good about where its football team is, even with its 3–8 record.

With that in mind, here’s some of what I was able to dig up on the direction of the franchise, and its owners, before the team scored that win …

• Just to reiterate, and this was true before the game, the Browns are planning to go forward with Berry and Stefanski, barring something cataclysmic unfolding over the next six weeks. In particular, the Haslams like the job that Stefanski has done keeping the team together. They’re going to evaluate anything and everything after the season, but Stefanski and Berry have given them the sustainable model they chased for the eight years before both of those guys arrived in Northeast Ohio.

And a really bad year won’t flip that on its head.

• Just as big a question, of course, is where the Browns stand on Watson. Part of the Browns’ thinking on Berry and Stefanski is an acknowledgment that everyone has to shoulder their part of the blame for the trade and everything that’s happened since acquiring the quarterback from the Houston Texans. Watson has 19 touchdown passes against 12 picks, an 80.7 passer rating, and a 9–10 record in 19 starts as a Brown. Watson’s rehabbing his torn Achilles, splitting time between Florida and Ohio.

And the plan, going forward, isn’t the same as it has been. Until now, the Browns have built a quarterback room to support Watson. This year, they’ll look, through the draft and/or the veteran market, to add competition to the room. So while the likelihood—because of the injury and the contract—is Watson will be back, the Browns are going to look to do more than just stop-gap the backup spot.

• Cleveland’s optimistic on a crew of younger players emerging from the rubble of this year. Second-year left tackle Dawand Jones showed better focus and a ton of potential at left tackle before getting hurt, giving the team a real option if it lets Jedrick Wills Jr. go. Cedric Tillman has taken advantage of opportunity the Amari Cooper trade afforded him. And Mahamoud Diabete’s been a revelation at linebacker with Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah out.

If there’s a silver lining in the year Cleveland is going through, it’s right there. The Browns have a chance to be deeper, and more balanced, in 2025.

Throw in the extensions Stefanski and Berry signed earlier this year, and there’s plenty of reason for the Browns to stay the course next year, with pressure on everyone to perform when they get there. And Thursday showed why staying that course is a sensible call.

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Kraft fell short for another year in his highly publicized hopes to land in the Hall of Fame / Peter van den Berg-Imagn Images

Hall of Fame finalists

Robert Kraft’s omission this year as a Pro Football Hall of Fame contributor-category finalist is particularly glaring. All credit to you if you knew who Ralph Hay was before Thursday. I didn’t, first learning of his existence in Don Van Natta’s ESPN story on Kraft’s mission to make it to Canton failing once again.

This has, unfortunately, become way more complicated than it needs to be. And this is coming from a guy who wouldn’t have voted for him in 2023, when former Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan was in the same category as Kraft and, to me, was the clear, logical and easy selection. Shanahan, for the record, wasn’t picked, either; both he and Kraft were passed over for former Lions coach Buddy Parker.

This year was different. The Hall separated coaches and contributors which, on paper, seemed to clear a path for Kraft to make it to Canton next summer.

Instead, Hay, credited for being a co-founder of the NFL, was the pick. He was credited as a co-founder, by the way, because he called the meeting at his Canton car dealership that led to the formation of the league. The problem, from there, is his reasoning for wanting the league was to control what owners of teams were paying players, and he wound up bailing from ownership for that reason in 1922, after four years running the Canton Bulldogs.

So with that as the backdrop here are a few things I’ve been able to ascertain, in talking to a few voters over the past few days (I don’t have a vote) …

• The powers that be at the Hall are not pleased that Van Natta’s story preempted their announcement on the contributor selection. Whether that should be a factor going forward, it certainly won’t help Kraft with voters tired of being worked on this.

• The Spygate and Deflategate scandals are, for sure, a problem for Kraft, and a problem in this specific way—if he’s going to take credit for the six Super Bowls via the hiring of Bill Belichick and drafting of Tom Brady, the thinking goes, then he has to wear their warts, too.

• The change in process has an effect, too. Starting this year, there are separate seniors, coach and contributor categories. Nine-man subcommittees vote on those, with a max of three seniors, plus one coach and one contributor going to the general vote each year. From there, a max of three of those five can be voted through, with an 80% vote required. That gives the smaller subcommittees a lot of power.

• There’s a feeling the contributor committee was worn out years ago by the back-room politicking for Kraft. More recently, the public narratives that they’re idiotic for not putting Kraft in have probably hurt Kraft’s case, because this committee doesn’t want to be told what to do, or that they don’t know what they’re doing. And Kraft endlessly showing up on TV, and having game broadcasts tooting his horn, doesn’t help to quell those feelings, either.

• For those reasons, some believe they actively look for other candidates to put in over Kraft, and the selection of Hay certainly has that “we know more than you” air to it, with an older group of selectors, some of whom don’t cover the league anymore.

One final point from me: Legendary NFL journalists such as Will McDonough, Dave Anderson and Edwin Pope had opportunity after opportunity to put Hay in—as guys who were closer to being contemporaries of Hay—and said no every time, and said no through a time when a lot of “contributors” were going in (10 were inducted in the 1960s alone). That, of course, shouldn’t be a disqualifier. But it certainly does make you wonder if the exhibit Hay already has in Canton is enough of a way to honor him, given his contributions.

Meanwhile, Kraft’s wait continues, and the way the news of that was digested this week won’t help in putting an end to it anytime soon.