Lions’ Key Grinders Earn Game Balls After Major Performance [WATCH]

The Detroit Lions have gotten big production from tons of players on their roster, and the way those glue guys have reacted has led the team into contention for a playoff birth.

In the afterglow of Detroit’s impressive 34-23 win over the Minnesota Vikings, the team once again got to celebrate in the locker room. Dan Campbell’s enthusiastic postgame speeches have become something of a legend for the team, and the version for this week was just as good.

After Detroit’s big win over Minnesota, Campbell was clearly still fired-up, and sounded like it when talking with his team.

“Talk about you guys being ready to go? You guys have been ready to go for the last six weeks man. That’s the way to come out and set the tone for the day. It wasn’t the cleanest game either, but we did what we had to do and took control of that game. I want you guys to enjoy this because we earned it, we’re earning all of them right now. You’re playing good football,” Campbell said. “We gotta keep going. Win the next one. Jets are coming up, we got to be ready to go. That’s a physical freaking team and we’re going up to their place.”

After that, Campbell presented game balls to a couple unsung heroes for the Lions in defensive tackle Isaiah Buggs as well as safety C.J. Moore, both of whom made huge plays for the team that the coach sited as important.

“One was we had a guy who had a sack fumble right before halftime that Kerby got ahold of and that is Isaiah Buggs. Second is, we came out in the third quarter and we needed a critical play on a punt team to shift momentum. Our punt team, spotless. C.J. Moore,” Campbell roared to applause.

It’s clear the Lions don’t just have reverence for star or big name players, but everyone on the roster. That’s refreshing to see, and points to a team culture that is elite right now.

Buggs Having Solid Season for Lions

While many might see Buggs as a depth lineman, savvy fans understand how he has changed the game for Detroit’s defensive front this season.

The Lions haven’t been pushed around up front as much as they may have been in the past thanks to Buggs coming into the mix and locking things down for the team. While he might not pile up the stats, he is actually playing an important role.

So far this season, Buggs has a total of 15 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble and one pass defended. He has been an anchor up front for the Lions in the middle of the line with Alim McNeill. The Lions have needed his emergence given the health struggles of Levi Onwuzurike, Josh Paschal and others.

With this in mind, Buggs has been a significant player for the Detroit defense. It’s nice to see him enjoying some shout-outs for the success he has shown on the field thus far this season.

Moore Providing Lions a Special Teams Edge

As a reserve safety, C.J. Moore doesn’t often see the field in a huge way for the team, but he has played a significant role on special teams, and finds a way to make plays happen when he is called on to do so.

In this game, Moore made arguably the biggest play when he took a fake punt on a long 42 yard run. The play helped the Lions establish some momentum in a very close game, and break things open eventually by a 21-7 score.

Moore’s quality work on fakes have made him one of the more interesting players on Detroit’s roster. He has become a leading rusher from the defensive back position, something the Lions’ PR account showed.

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“Lions S C.J. Moore rushed for a 42-yard gain on a fake punt. Detroit is 6-of-7 on fake punt attempts over the past two seasons. Moore now has 4 carries for 86 yards (21.5 avg.) in his career, the 5th-most rushing yards by a DB in team history,” the site tweeted.

Moore along with Buggs have stepped up this season, and Campbell recognizing that is significant. Both of them earned their game balls as well as their shout-outs for their work in Week 14.