NFL Week 16 Game Recap: Carolina Panthers 37, Detroit Lions 23

Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard (30) with the ball as Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson (97) defends in the fourth quarter at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

The porous Detroit Lions defense we saw early this season reared its ugly head once again. They had no answer for the Carolina Panthers‘ rushing attack, which finished with 320 rushing yards on the day en route to a 37-23 win.

Offensive spotlight: D’Onta Foreman and Chuba Hubbard had everything they wanted on the ground against the Lions. Foreman finished with 165 yards on 21 carries with six broken tackles, while Hubbard racked up 126 yards on only 12 carries with three broken tackles. The Panthers' offense scored on seven of 10 possessions in their most impressive offensive performance of the season.

Defensive spotlight: These were the kind of performances the Panthers thought they’d be getting regularly when they drafted Derrick Brown in the top 10 back in 2020. He was the Panthers' highest-graded defender on the day, with two hits and two hurries on 34 pass-rushing snaps. 

Rookie spotlight: The Lions' rookie defenders took it on the chin Sunday. Safety Kerby Joseph missed three tackles on the day, and Aidan Hutchinson was a non-factor against the run, with only one stop on the day. There’s still been more good than bad from both this season, but that was a learning experience. 

Offensive line spotlight: What a bloodbath upfront created by the Panthers' offensive line. They provided their running backs a ridiculous 139 yards before contact on 43 rushing attempts on the day. That’s 3.2 yards before contact when the Lions knew darn well what was coming the entire second half. 

Box Score

Passing
Detroit Lions
Player Fantasy Comp/Att Yds YPA TD Int
Jared Goff 29.7 25 / 42 355 8.5 3 0
Carolina Panthers
Player Fantasy Comp/Att Yds YPA TD Int
Sam Darnold 21.9 15 / 22 250 11.4 1 0
Rushing
Detroit Lions
Player Fantasy Car Yds YPC TD Long
Jared Goff 29.7 3 15 5 0 14
Amon-Ra St. Brown 14.6 1 0 0 0 0
Kalif Raymond 7.4 1 8 8 0 8
D'Andre Swift 3.5 4 12 3 0 4
Jamaal Williams 3.4 7 11 1.6 0 4
Justin Jackson -0.1 1 -1 -1 0 -1
Carolina Panthers
Player Fantasy Car Yds YPC TD Long
D'Onta Foreman 25.5 21 165 7.9 1 38
Sam Darnold 21.9 6 19 3.2 1 13
DJ Moore 20.1 1 8 8 0 8
Chuba Hubbard 15.5 12 125 10.4 0 35
Raheem Blackshear 8.5 3 3 1 1 7
Receiving
Detroit Lions
Player Fantasy Tgt Rec Yds YPT TD
Shane Zylstra 25.6 6 5 26 4.3 3
DJ Chark 17.8 5 4 108 21.6 0
Amon-Ra St. Brown 14.6 13 7 76 5.8 0
Kalif Raymond 7.4 1 1 56 56 0
Josh Reynolds 5.1 4 2 31 7.8 0
James Mitchell 5.1 2 2 31 15.5 0
D'Andre Swift 3.5 5 1 13 2.6 0
Jamaal Williams 3.4 2 2 3 1.5 0
Brock Wright 2.1 1 1 11 11 0
Jameson Williams 0 1 0 0 0 0
Justin Jackson -0.1 1 0 0 0 0
Carolina Panthers
Player Fantasy Tgt Rec Yds YPT TD
DJ Moore 20.1 7 5 83 11.9 1
Raheem Blackshear 8.5 1 1 12 12 0
Laviska Shenault Jr. 8.3 3 3 53 17.7 0
Terrace Marshall Jr. 7.5 3 2 55 18.3 0
Tommy Tremble 3.8 2 2 18 9 0
Shi Smith 2.7 2 1 17 8.5 0
Ian Thomas 2.2 3 1 12 4 0

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