The season came to a close Sunday with playoff implications in a number of games along with a slew of intriguing and high-caliber matchups. In our final Marquee Matchups column of the regular season, we take a look at a face-off between this year’s standout wide receiver and a corner who has played better than a frankly astronomical stat line would suggest.
Calvin Johnson is a legitimate MVP and Offensive Player of the Year candidate, while in the wake of this game, Tramon Williams gave up more yards in coverage than any other cornerback in football according to our coverage stats. After relinquishing 178 yards on eight catches in this Wild West shootout, Williams roared past Devin McCourty to the “top”; giving up 1034 yards on the season, 30 more than the Patriots' corner. Williams is no slouch and has proven himself over the last two years a solid corner who allows Charles Woodson to play a more freelance role for the Packers, but how did Johnson manage to rip his coverage to shreds in this game? Let’s take a look at it target by target.
Q1 – 13:38
It only took the Lions until their second offensive snap to look to Johnson and he set the tone on that first play. Johnson beats Williams on an in break and is able to pull away from the Green Bay corner to pick up 6 yards after the catch before he is tripped by Charlie Peprah for a 20-yard gain. With the inside linebacker pairing of AJ Hawk and Desmond Bishop held by underneath routes, Johnson is able to find the soft spot between the linebackers and secondary to bring in the catch and pick up his first of many long gains of the day, setting up the Lions inside the Green Bay 10-yard-line.
Q1 – 5:23
The Packers attempt to bracket Johnson on this play and neither coverage defender is close enough to deny him a catch to the left sideline for another gain in excess of 15 yards. Williams is aligned off of Johnson to take away the deep route and the Packers try to get Jarrett Bush to bail from his slot alignment to play underneath coverage. Bush, however, slips and with Johnson running his out route, it would have taken an exceptional play by Bush to reach this play. Johnson cuts to the outside before Williams allows the cushion to close and is barely within 5 yards when Johnson hauls in his 17-yard completion on 1st-and-10.
Q2 – 14:22
This play highlights what Tramon Williams does well and is also the sort of play that could end up being a difference-maker in this year’s NFC playoffs, a third-down stop. Williams doesn’t get his hands to the ball but with the Lions looking deep downfield on 3rd-and-15, he is able to run Johnson off of his route and bump him underneath the pass on a post which ends up overthrown. Any contact this far downfield is flirting with disaster, but if games turn into 42-35 shootouts in the post season, then plays like this denying a conversion could be crucial.
Q2 – 7:18
Williams gets caught badly on a route fake by Johnson on this play. The Lions' receiver is in the peripheral vision of the Packers' corner and runs a fake slant which Williams bites on just as Johnson takes to the outside past him. Off of a pump fake by Matthew Stafford, Johnson is wide open and picks up the catch for a 23-yard gain to the Green Bay 15.
Q2 – 2:00
With every other early kickoff opening the second half, the Lions and Packers are finally at the two-minute warning and the first play after it is an incompletion to Johnson in the end zone. Williams is stride-for-stride with Johnson to the back left corner and presses Johnson all the way out to the pylon making even a spectacular grab impossible.
Q2 – 1:55
The Lions catch the Packers in a blitz on the very next play and, against favorable coverage, the Lions simply cannot hook up. LOLB Vic So’oto is dropping into underneath coverage but has no play on the ball and Williams has to get over the top. An off-target pass from Stafford high and behind Johnson leads to a tough catch that Johnson can’t quite pull in. Stafford just gets antsy, the blitz doesn’t get there and a throw out in front of Johnson is a touchdown with neither man in coverage having a prayer of closing on him. This miss combined with the ensuing missed field goal was enough to swing the Lions away from New York and into New Orleans.
Q3 – 12:59
Johnson’s first grab of the second half shows his ability to create after the catch and take the benefit of a poor angle from safety Morgan Burnett. Johnson beats Williams on an in route and runs away from him as he is able to cross the field with Burnett unable to close while crossing the middle of the field. Williams chases Johnson down eventually for a 30-yard gain.
Q3 – 8:36
Another play, another pass, another first down. This is becoming a common thread for Johnson who again takes perfect position on Williams on a post route boxing him out of the play as if he were going up for a rebound. As Jarrett Bush tracks the out route by Tony Scheffler, Williams has no underneath help and with a well-placed pass from Stafford the Green Bay corner cannot fight through the physical Lions’ receiver to break up the pass. Johnson makes the catch look easy with Williams hitting him just after the catch as he hauls the pass in for 17-yard gain to take the Lions inside the redzone.
Q3 – 3:29
On Johnson’s final catch of the third quarter, Johnson and Stafford pull a page out of the Packers' playbook with Williams getting beaten on a route he must have seen hundreds of times since Green Bay reconvened after the lockout. OK, it didn’t look as crisp as a Rodgers to Nelson back shoulder throw up the sideline, but the end result was the same. Williams has close coverage with Johnson but the Lions receiver simply peels off to bring in the pass and pick up another 27 yards and a first down.
Q4 – 14:13
As the snow starts to fall on Lambeau Field, we see Calvin Johnson bringing in a short throw and running through a weary tackle from Williams to get away up the right sideline before eventually being run out of bounds by Peprah. Williams sees the route and closes but cannot finish on the play. He goes high with his tackle and Johnson is just too strong to be dragged down. First down.
Q4 – 13:03
After Johnson takes a play off to take on fluids, he’s back in the game and back in the action immediately, but this time Williams is able to get the better of him. Williams and Johnson are again isolated and Johnson takes good position in front of him on an in route but this time the Green Bay corner is able to fight through and get a hand to the ball. Williams times his break well and gets a rare coverage win.
Q4 – 7:38
Deep in their own end on 2nd-and-22, down by four, half way through the fourth quarter, the Lions are in a slight desperation mode on this play. Johnson runs a deep post, getting close to midfield, but the throw is late and up for grabs on a jump ball. Williams played it soft the whole way and this allows him to compete with–and beat–Johnson in a way that he wouldn’t necessarily be able to in bump-and-run coverage. Williams elevates as the lofted pass arrives and gets a pass break-up on his second straight target against Johnson. As the game reaches the crunch, Williams is delivering key plays to help the Packers maintain their lead.
Q4 – 0:40
This game goes down to the wire with the Lions gunning to the end and the final target to Johnson inside the final minute sees him bring in arguably his most impressive catch of the night. Williams has good coverage in front and–having run all day–can do nothing more than he does, but can’t quite reach the pass. Johnson still has enough in his legs to elevate and concentrates with the ball just clearing Williams’ fingertips to bring in the pass. Johnson maintains control to the ground and has his final catch in the books. That’s 244 yards for those of you keeping score at home, 178 of them coming from passes aimed at Williams.
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Calvin Johnson has been one of the most exhilarating players to watch all season long and has been a pivotal factor in the Lions surge to their first playoff appearance in more than a decade. He is a candidate for both Offensive Player of the Year and the NFL Most Valuable Player and has fulfilled in the most impressive way the great promise with which he came into the league.
The Lions were much maligned for spending so many high first round picks on wide receivers and some suggested that for that very reason they should pass on Johnson. The Lions' front office and fans will be glad that they did the smart thing and trusted their board on this one. This was just one game to highlight his capabilities and if teams don’t make a concerted effort to take him away in the playoffs, his legacy could yet grow with a prolific post season.
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