CINCINNATI, Ohio -- The Detroit Lions beat the Cincinnati Bengals for their fourth straight win on Sunday.
Detroit won 37-24 in Week 5. It took all hands on deck, with the defense starting hot and opening the door for the offense to build a sizable lead.
In all, the Lions created three takeaways via interceptions, turning those into 14 points along the way. Lions cornerback Amik Robertson, safety Kerby Joseph and linebacker Alex Anzalone all had picks.
The offense was led by another ultra-efficient day from quarterback Jared Goff, with the David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs duo accounting for three touchdowns. The passing attack was highlighted by tight end Sam LaPorta and another 100-yard day for All-Pro Amon-Ra St. Brown.
Here are some notable quotes from the Lions and Bengals players and coaches on Sunday:
Lions HC Dan Campbell’s opening statement: “I told the team that’s a good win. We will take that. And do we have things to clean up? Was it perfect? No, it wasn’t. But, man, we did what we needed to do. Came in here and I thought our guys were ready to compete. We fought, and once again, the best thing we did was that we played complementary football and that’s what great teams do.”
Campbell, on the string of takeaways for the defense: “We make an emphasis in practice. Every day we do some type of takeaway circuit, just like we do ball security on offense. We start every day right out of warm up. We go into those and we coach them, we teach them and we try to highlight it. We don’t want it to be lip service ... They’re hunting for them. When you make a conscious effort to go after them or the ball is in the air and you say, ‘I’m going, that’s, my ball. I’m going to get it,’ then good things happen.”
Lions RB David Montgomery, on scoring through the air and on the ground back in his hometown as a former area HS QB: “Super, super meaningful. To be able to come back home where it all started for me, being able to kind of show my arm where it all started for me, I think it was a special moment.”
Montgomery,on having his sister and familywatching the game: “Super meaningful. My sister hadn’t seen me play in person since her accident. But to be able to get her here -- I really appreciate the Cincinnati Bengals for helping, and they made sure that she got on the field. That was really special, and I appreciate them for that.”
Bengals QB Jake Browning, on his three interceptions: “Most of mine came from trying to force plays — frustration from wanting to push the ball downfield. I’ve got to pick my spots better. I threw three bad interceptions. There’s no hiding from that. It was bad football from me.
Lions LB Derrick Barnes, who is from the area, on how much family he had at the game for his safety and big day: “About 100. I heard there were a lot of No. 55 jerseys out there. I don’t see a lot of that, even at home. And I don’t want to promote, but go out there and get my jersey (laughs). But, seriously, we were on the bus and I saw them, and it’s all love. That was my main goal today; make people here that came to support me proud.”
Bengals HC Zac Taylor, on his disappointment with the offense: “We’ve hung the defense out to dry a couple of times down the first half of three games in a row. To hold them to 14 points at halftime, seven of them coming off a turnover in a short field, really gave us a chance. Then the second half started with another turnover, giving them a short field and points. That’s my job. I call the plays on offense. I put this thing together. I’ve got to be better for this football team because it just hasn’t been good enough, and I put that on myself. We’ve got to get it fixed. I’m confident we will. It’s disappointing and frustrating again that we’ve scored three points, three weeks in a row in the first half. You’re not going to win against these teams when you do that.”
Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase, on why they were able to score three touchdowns in the fourth quarter: “Just finding ways to get the ball down the field to the top playmakers. That’s the things we do.”
Lions CB Amik Robertson, on hunting for interceptions: “I told myself my goal, that I wanted two (interceptions) because I knew I was going to have targets. He (Chase on his 62-yard touchdown) sat at the sticks. I was trying to jump it. That’s all me, man. Just being greedy. Bad eyes. But it’s something I can fix, man, you know, as far as, you know, because when I’m on it, man, when I’m playing with good eyes, whatever, I’m one of the most stickiest guys in the league.”
Campbell, on why LT Taylor Decker was inactive: “Just every week, the recovery has not -- it’s been less and less. He has not been able to quite catch up. We feel like there’s diminishing returns every week. Man, it’s just a little -- ah, you know? We just felt like we needed to give this guy a little time. I don’t know how long. But this is so we get him back. That’s what this is. Let’s get this thing calmed down. Let’s get some strength back in the shoulder to where he feels good. All of this is for a positive. We just felt like coming down the wire yesterday, today, we needed to back off of this and let’s be smart with it. In that regard, I feel good.”
Lions OT Giovanni Manu, on his first start: “When I stepped out there, it was definitely a moment to take in. What was great was that everyone on the sideline was supporting me. The amount of strength coaches and defensive coaches that came up to me and said they were super proud of me, it was amazing. I had a long talk with Hank (Fraley) on the sideline as soon as the anthem broke. He just told me not to think, go play, and you deserve this moment.”
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