Grades: The Lions’ victory is sealed in the fourth quarter by a spectacular ace, but there’s devastating news.

Grades: Jared Goff delivers in fourth quarter to seal Lions’ victory

The Detroit Lions looked to be rolling over the New Orleans Saints early in Sunday’s game.

With a 21-0 lead in the first quarter, it looked to be a rout. However, the Lions struggled on both sides of the ball and ultimately the Saints crawled their way back into the game.

Thanks to some timely completions by Jared Goff and a key fourth down stop, though, the Lions were able to emerge with a 33-28 road victory and move to 9-3 on the season.

Here are grades for each position group based on performance in Sunday’s win.

QUARTERBACK: B

It was almost a disastrous start for Jared Goff, who fumbled the first snap of the game on a play that was halted because of a false start. However, he rebounded by leading the first of three straight touchdown drives.

He was his sharpest early in the game, firing a pair of well-placed throws for touchdowns to Sam LaPorta and Amon-Ra St. Brown. It wasn’t his best showing, as he finished with just 213 passing yards, but he came through when it mattered most.

After two consecutive games with three turnovers, he avoided making a mistake and made the most of his opportunities in the clutch. The Lions faced two third downs on what wound up being the final drive of the game, and Goff delivered strong throws to convert both situations.

RUNNING BACK: B

The Lions established the run with authority early in the game. On their first drive, they ran the ball six of seven plays including on a third-and-7 early in the series.

On that possession, Jahmyr Gibbs had an impressive 36-yard run and David Montgomery scored a touchdown. The Lions appeared to be off to the races. The momentum changed, however, when Frank Ragnow left the game with a knee injury.

Gibbs and Montgomery were used together plenty and combined for over 100 yards rushing. However, neither had particularly big days and Montgomery was held to just 3.1 yards per carry. He also had a drop in the fourth quarter that was critical at the time, as it forced a punt.