Detroit Lions game balls: Week 17 vs. the Green Bay Packers

The Detroit Lions came into the last week of the season with “nothing to play for.” Here are the players that showed up and did their job anyway.

The Detroit Lions closed out their first set of consecutive winning seasons since the 90s at Ford Field today. This game marked a first for me. I have never been able to understand word for word the conversation between the quarterback and his offensive linemen in a televised football game. The crowd noise in the first half was virtually nonexistent.

The Packers opened the game with an onside kick in a game with no stakes but pride. If their goal was to awaken the Lions players and coaches they succeeded. Here are the three players that earned a game ball in week 17.

The offensive game ball goes to Matthew Stafford. After a rocky start to the game that saw him miss several open receivers, Stafford rebounded. He completed 20 of 29 passes for 323 yards and three touchdowns. He also recorded a reception for a two-point conversion from this week’s honorable mention Golden Tate. Tate not only completed his only pass on the day, he also caught seven for 104 yards including a 71-yard touchdown.

The defensive game ball goes to Ziggy Ansah. Ansah recorded three sacks, for the third time this season. Much will be made of Ansah’s very up and down 2017 performance. He capped off a statistically impressive season with a statistically impressive performance.

12 sacks and 44 tackles is a good year, particularly when you factor in that Ansah was featured on the vast majority of Jim Caldwell’s reports. I checked them. Darius Slay added another interception to his league-leading season. Glover Quin also earned an honorable mention for his forced fumble. Jamaal Agnew did well, seeing his most extensive playing time of the year.

Nothing particularly great happened on special teams this week so Agnew gets the nod for his three punt returns for 30 yards. The reason he gets the nod is that he has likely sealed his spot as the NFL leader in punt return average, and punt return touchdowns in his rookie season. There is no doubt that Agnew was the best pick of the 2017 draft, at least in year one.

Next: Lions maul Packers in season finale

Have a great new year, and stay safe.