Detroit Lions would not have beaten Atlanta Falcons without stellar rookies

Where would the Detroit Lions be without the rookies?

Winless, perhaps?

That’s how good Brian Branch and Sam LaPorta have been, and continued to be in the Lions' 20-6 win over the Falcons.

Branch’s pick-six swung the game in Kansas City. LaPorta’s 45-yard, double-move touchdown catch gave the Lions the lead against the Falcons.

And while the game-swinging plays are nice – even critical – it's their steady, often stealthy ability to show up in the middle of the action that either keeps the chains moving or keeps the chains from moving.

For a stretch in the second half, every play seemed to end with the P.A. announcer saying Branch’s name. In the first half, it was LaPorta’s name.

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Branch and LaPorta are part of a promising rookie class that included two picks in each of the first two rounds. So far, the two second-rounders – LaPorta and Branch – are outperforming the two first-rounders – Jahmyr Gibbs and Jack Campbell.

Campbell got his first sack of his career late in the second quarter, and made a couple of nice plays on special teams. But he’s mostly platooning at linebacker. He had an impressive diving pass breakup against the Chiefs but didn’t play – or do much – against Seattle.

Of the four, Campbell’s got the steepest learning curve in the middle of the defense. And while Gibbs, who was the main back against the Falcons, showed some toughness between the tackles and finally got loose a little in the fourth quarter, his role is a bit shapeless at the moment.

He was drafted to take handoffs, yes, but not as a straight-up bruiser back all game long. The Lions intend to get creative with him.

That will take some time. Without David Montgomery in the lineup, it could take even more time.

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Ben Johnson will eventually use both at the same time, and when he does, he’ll have the freedom to line Gibbs up in all sorts of ways, in all sorts of places. As Gibbs showed in the second half against Atlanta, when he has even the slimmest of space, he sizzles.

Finding that space hasn’t been easy. For one, the Lions have been deliberate in Gibb’s rollout, both in snap count and in how they use him. For another, Gibbs is trying to adjust to the speed and physicality at the NFL level.

It's different for different players, obviously. It’s also different for different position groups.

That makes Branch’s all-field play and presence darn near astonishing. Coaches love to toss around the phrase “he’s a football player,” and Dan Campbell – and Brad Holmes – are hardly exceptions.

The phrase can mean many things, but fundamentally it’s used to describe a player’s sense for the game, for his ability to quickly process information and then react physically.   

Branch plays like he’s got a microprocessor whirring in his brain when he’s on a football field. He is faster than he clocks in a race and has decent size for a hybrid defensive back, but what gets him where he needs to be is that computer in his brain.

It’s why he had three tackles for losses against the Falcons. Think about that for a moment, think about how a defensive back ends up tackling the runner behind the line of scrimmage.

This doesn’t happen without seeing the play before it happens, without intuition, yes, but also lots of film study. Then again, some players can spend all their waking hours in a film room and still not learn the kind of sense Branch possesses.

Whatever the combination, and however he’s earned, or learned it, or just came into the world with, he may well be the Lions' best defensive player right now. He’s at least tied for their most valuable, and not because he led the team in tackles, or knocked down a couple of passes.

No, it’s the trust he’s gained from the coaching staff, and how that helps them game plan, and how that gives them more options. Aidan Hutchinson may be the most physically gifted of the Lions defenders, but I’m not sure Branch isn’t showing just as much overall value.

LaPorta, meanwhile, offers options as well, and in a league that’s so often decided by a few plays, LaPorta has shown he can make them, from all sorts of formations, in all kinds of situations.

He scored his first touchdown against the Falcons and when he did, he tossed the ball and started running back toward the sideline. A teammate flagged him down and told him to get the ball so it could be saved.

This isn’t to romanticize his humility on the field. But to remind you how young he is, and how focused he is on his job.

Yes, he is still learning as a blocker, just as Branch is still learning about positioning and coverage and leverage. Branch, for example, was called for two personal foul penalties, the first a horse-collar.

Chalk it up to aggressiveness, if you like. He’ll learn the balance. As LaPorta will continue to improve as a blocker.

But as a pass catcher? And a difference-maker?

He’s quickly become Jared Goff’s No. 2 target, as he should. Not only does he get open, but he’s slippery after the catch.

Tough, too.

His loudest cheers came when he snagged a ball in traffic and dragged a couple of defenders with him. You know, a football play, from a football player.

It’s hard to ask for much more from a couple of rookies, and from a rookie class in general. Against Atlanta, the Lions don’t win without them.

Contact Shawn Windsor: 313-222-6487 or swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him @shawnwindsor.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions would not have beaten Atlanta Falcons without rookies