Lions DT Alim McNeill on his excitement from returning from injury
McNeill hasn’t played since suffering an ACL injury in 2024 and is gearing up to make his return for the Detroit Lions on Monday night.
The Detroit Lions don’t lose two games in a row under Dan Campbell. Maybe it was part of his contract, who knows?
Or maybe it’s just part of him, and what he and Brad Holmes have built, this roster, this talent, their constitution. They don’t enjoy losing, and when they have, they often follow that up by looking like they did here at Ford Field on Monday, Oct. 20.
Oh, they knew they had the national football audience, and that’s always a jolt. Just not the jolt. That came after the loss to the Chiefs, and a couple of questionable calls, and the NFL Films promotional video that singled out Brian Branch on social media last week.
They were ticked. More than ticked. And they played ticked against Tampa Bay, beating the Buccaneers, 24-9 to keep pace in the NFC North, the NFC in general, and to remind themselves – and everyone else – that they are here, they are coming, and though they still have much work to do, they don’t lose two games in a row.
Not since Campbell’s second season when the team started 1-6. Since that start to the 2022 season, back in October 2022? Hasn’t happened.
Sometimes they run a team off the field with their offense. Sometimes they suffocate a team with their defense.
Against Tampa, it was the defense, buoyed by the return of Alim McNeill and the stories about how the offense would have to carry the day again.
This isn’t easy, not against these Bucs.
They muck it up and seek miracles, a mix of their clever defense-minded head coach and their magician of a quarterback, Baker Mayfield – a combo that led to a 5-1 record, that led to a win here at Ford Field last fall, that leads to the sense that they are never out of a game.
They weren’t here again, not until late in the fourth quarter, when the defense got yet another stop – Tampa managed just 266 total yards.
How?
Let’s see, the Lions were down four starters in the secondary – two safeties and two cornerbacks – and brought in some reinforcements mere hours before the game. Those replacements looked like vets and made plays everywhere.
And when Detroit faced some tough luck, like when Al-Quadin Muhammad strip-sacked Mayfield and the ball squirted several yards … right back to the Buccaneers?
They kept getting stops.
Nine points, right?
The vibe started immediately, as the defense pitched a shutout for all but four seconds of the first half. Until Tampa moved the ball for 22 yards to set up a 54-yard field goal as time expired. McNeill made the difference up front, pushing the pocket back into Mayfield, forcing him to scramble or get rid of the ball quickly.
McNeill batted a pass to stop one drive. Amik Robertson punched the ball out of Sterling Shepard’s arm, a technique he has honed as well as anyone on this punchout-happy team.
Meanwhile, Arthur Maulet, fresh off the practice squad to help the decimated secondary, ripped the ball from tight end Cade Otton for an interception late in the second quarter.
The tackling was crisp, the containment disciplined, the overall effort – considering the injuries – as on-point as it’d been all season.
But then those 22 yards and that field goal upended the perfection. It was just three points, but with the Lions’ struggles on offense despite all the first-half yards, it felt like more than three.
And when Tampa Bay took the second half kickoff and drove for a touchdown to cut the leat to 14-9? Ford Field fell quiet, then into a murmur. Folks in the building know who Mayfield is and what he does, and what these Buccaneers do.
They did it in this building last season, thwarting the Lions offense just enough and making the winning plays late. But the Lions have Gibbs, and on the next drive – Detroit’s first of the second half – the star running back ran for five yards, ran for 15 yards, ran for three yards, caught a pass for 28 yards, ran for 5 yards … touchdown.
Oh, the tight ends – Sam LaPorta and Brock Wright – each caught a pass and helped move the chains, but Gibbs served as the electric engine. This wasn’t a David Montgomery game, and while the Lions keep talking about getting him more touches, the offense is more explosive – and unpredictable – when Gibbs is the primary back.
Against Tampa’s aggressive, swift and blitz-heavy defense, John Morton relied on screens and swing passes, often to Gibbs, to counter the Buccaneers’ over-pursuit. It’s not that Jared Goff didn’t look down the field. He did, many times, and either got sacked or had to check it down.
Hey, Tampa arrived at Ford Field 5-1 for a reason. Mayfield’s MVP level is one. Bowles’ defense is another. The Lions offense did enough. The defense did the rest.
Contact Shawn Windsor: swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him @shawnwindsor.
