We graded every Lions player from Sunday’s loss, and the gap between Detroit’s best and worst was massive

Sam LaPorta came one point away from a perfect score, Alim McNeill led the defense, and Detroit’s cornerbacks had a night they’d rather forget.

The Detroit Lions are back for another round of M.O.O.N. grades, and the Carolina Panthers game gave us plenty to work with. Some Lions players came close to a perfect score. A couple of others had nights they’ll want to forget.

If you missed the debut last week, here’s a quick refresher. M.O.O.N. stands for Measure of On-Field Net Impact. The idea is simple. A player earns points for impactful plays and loses points for plays that hurt the team. At the end of the game, we add it all up.

Quarterbacks have their own scale. They start at 20 points and earn more through completion percentage, passer rating, touchdown passes, yardage milestones, and big-time throws. Turnover-worthy plays cost them. Offensive linemen start at 25 and are graded on pass blocking and run blocking, including pressures and sacks allowed. Everyone else on offense and defense also starts at 25. The goal for every player is 50.

Nobody has hit 50 yet, by the way. To be honest, I’m not sure anybody can.

You can click on every player in the table, and it will tell you how the grades came about for them.

Lions Offense M.O.O.N. Grades

Measure of On-Field Net-Impact · Week 4 · Lions at Carolina Panthers · Oct 4, 2026

Tap a player to see the grade breakdown. M.O.O.N. Grades combine impact plays, charted performance and playing time on a 50-point scale.

TE · 56 snaps

Sam LaPorta

Starts at 25. Earned +24 and lost −0 points.

WR · 68 snaps

Amon-Ra St. Brown

Starts at 25. Earned +18 and lost −0 points.

WR · 70 snaps

Jameson Williams

Starts at 25. Earned +18 and lost −0 points.

QB · 71 snaps

Starts at 20. Earned +21 and lost −0 points.

RB · 62 snaps

Jahmyr Gibbs

Starts at 25. Earned +18 and lost −3 points.

Snap ceiling: 50/50. A negative play also caps a perfect grade at 49.

WR · 58 snaps

Isaac TeSlaa

Starts at 25. Earned +14 and lost −0 points.

C · 71 snaps

Juice Scruggs

Starts at 25. Earned +18 and lost −5 points.

Snap ceiling: 50/50. A negative play also caps a perfect grade at 49.

LG · 71 snaps

Christian Mahogany

Starts at 25. Earned +16 and lost −7 points.

Snap ceiling: 50/50. A negative play also caps a perfect grade at 49.

RB · 12 snaps

Starts at 25. Earned +5.5 and lost −0 points.

LT · 71 snaps

Penei Sewell

Starts at 25. Earned +8 and lost −4 points.

Snap ceiling: 50/50. A negative play also caps a perfect grade at 49.

RG · 71 snaps

Tate Ratledge

Starts at 25. Earned +10 and lost −7 points.

Snap ceiling: 50/50. A negative play also caps a perfect grade at 49.

OL · 2 snaps

Larry Borom

Starts at 25. Earned +0 and lost −0 points.

WR · 1 snaps

Tom Kennedy

Starts at 25. Earned +0 and lost −0 points.

No scored impact plays are recorded for this player.

TE · 1 snaps

Skyler Gill-Howard

Starts at 25. Earned +0 and lost −0 points.

No scored impact plays are recorded for this player.

RT · 71 snaps

Blake Miller

Starts at 25. Earned +6 and lost −12 points.

Snap ceiling: 50/50. A negative play also caps a perfect grade at 49.

TE · 25 snaps

Brock Wright

Starts at 25. Earned +0.5 and lost −8 points.

Snap ceiling: 42.9/50. A negative play also caps a perfect grade at 49.

The highest-graded offensive player for Detroit was tight end Sam LaPorta with 49 points. He had two explosive plays of 15 yards, four plays that moved the chains, eight receptions, and a touchdown. He also didn’t have any negative plays. So what kept him from 50? He just didn’t hit the blocking numbers that would have pushed him over the top.

Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown came in at 43. He had two explosives, four first downs, and eight receptions. It was a solid game for him, but he never found the end zone, and that kept his number down.

Jameson Williams had what I believe was his best game of the season. He had one explosive play, six plays that went for first downs, and six receptions. Like St. Brown, he never got in the end zone.

Then there’s quarterback Jared Goff. He stacked yardage points on top of each other, earning two for going over 100 passing yards and three more apiece for clearing 200, 300, and 400. Add in points for a touchdown pass and three big-time throws, and it was a big night. Still, it wasn’t enough to get him to 50.

Now for the rough ones. It wasn’t a great game for rookie right tackle Blake Miller. He earned six points for a good pass-blocking performance, but he got nothing for his run blocking. He had a 57.1 run-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus on 17 run-block snaps, allowed three pressures, and committed two penalties. Not good, but also not the worst game he’s ever played.

The lowest-graded player on offense was tight end Brock Wright. He had just one reception, allowed a pressure, and committed two penalties. Those weren’t minor penalties, either. He walked out with 17.5 points.

Lions Defense M.O.O.N. Grades

Measure of On-Field Net-Impact · Week 4 · Lions at Carolina Panthers · Oct 4, 2026

Tap a player to see the grade breakdown. M.O.O.N. Grades combine impact plays, charted performance and playing time on a 50-point scale.

DL · 62 snaps

Alim McNeill

Starts at 25. Earned +18.5 and lost −0 points.

DE · 70 snaps

Aidan Hutchinson

Starts at 25. Earned +17 and lost −0 points.

DE · 36 snaps

D.J. Wonnum

Starts at 25. Earned +12 and lost −6 points.

Snap ceiling: 50/50. A negative play also caps a perfect grade at 49.

DL · 50 snaps

Tyleik Williams

Starts at 25. Earned +9 and lost −3 points.

Snap ceiling: 50/50. A negative play also caps a perfect grade at 49.

DL · 32 snaps

Skyler Gill-Howard

Starts at 25. Earned +8.5 and lost −3 points.

Snap ceiling: 47.9/50. A negative play also caps a perfect grade at 49.

DL · 33 snaps

Starts at 25. Earned +4.5 and lost −0 points.

LB · 7 snaps

Jimmy Rolder

Starts at 25. Earned +6 and lost −2 points.

Snap ceiling: 30/50. A negative play also caps a perfect grade at 49.

S · 75 snaps

Chuck Clark

Starts at 25. Earned +7.5 and lost −4 points.

Snap ceiling: 50/50. A negative play also caps a perfect grade at 49.

DE · 8 snaps

Derrick Moore

Starts at 25. Earned +2 and lost −0 points.

LB · 75 snaps

Jack Campbell

Starts at 25. Earned +14 and lost −13 points.

Snap ceiling: 50/50. A negative play also caps a perfect grade at 49.

LB · 36 snaps

Trevor Nowaske

Starts at 25. Earned +1.5 and lost −1 points.

Snap ceiling: 50/50. A negative play also caps a perfect grade at 49.

LB · 28 snaps

Malcolm Rodriguez

Starts at 25. Earned +2.5 and lost −2 points.

Snap ceiling: 45/50. A negative play also caps a perfect grade at 49.

CB · 75 snaps

Roger McCreary

Starts at 25. Earned +7 and lost −7 points.

Snap ceiling: 50/50. A negative play also caps a perfect grade at 49.

DB · 4 snaps

Jalen Mills

Starts at 25. Earned +1 and lost −1 points.

Snap ceiling: 27/50. A negative play also caps a perfect grade at 49.

DL · 10 snaps

Levi Onwuzurike

Starts at 25. Earned +1 and lost −3 points.

Snap ceiling: 32.1/50. A negative play also caps a perfect grade at 49.

DB · 73 snaps

Christian Izien

Starts at 25. Earned +11 and lost −15 points.

Snap ceiling: 50/50. A negative play also caps a perfect grade at 49.

CB · 31 snaps

Starts at 25. Earned +3 and lost −10 points.

Snap ceiling: 40.5/50. A negative play also caps a perfect grade at 49.

LB · 45 snaps

Derrick Barnes

Starts at 25. Earned +1.5 and lost −10 points.

Snap ceiling: 50/50. A negative play also caps a perfect grade at 49.

CB · 75 snaps

Starts at 25. Earned +5.5 and lost −16 points.

Snap ceiling: 50/50. A negative play also caps a perfect grade at 49.

On the other side of the ball, defensive tackle Alim McNeill led the way with a 43.5. He had four pressures, a sack, a tackle for loss, and 2.5 tackles. He didn’t have a single negative play. He just didn’t have quite enough positive ones, like a forced fumble, a pass breakup, or an interception, to reach 50.

Defensive end Aidan Hutchinson was right behind him with 42. He racked up seven pressures and three tackles, but he never got home for the sack.

Here’s where it gets ugly. There was some hope that cornerback Ennis Rakestraw would see more playing time. He did. We thought things might be better against the Panthers. They weren’t.

Rakestraw earned three points for three tackles, but he lost 10 points by allowing two completions. He also gave up an explosive play and missed a tackle. That added up to an 18 out of 50.

The worst grade of anyone in this game belonged to cornerback D.J. Reed. He earned 5.5 points for tackles, but he lost 16 points for allowing five completions, an explosive play, and a touchdown. That’s a tough day at the office.

Check out the full M.O.O.N. grades tables

That’s the rundown for this week. But you should really dig into the tables. You can click on every single player and see exactly how he earned his grade, why he landed where he did, and what kept him from 50.

Next week, we’ll see whether anyone finally breaks through to 50.