DETROIT — Jameson Williams has back-to-back games with a career-high seven catches, as he continues to carve out a more consistent and explosive role in the offense.

Williams turned those seven receptions into 96 yards against the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night, helping lead the Detroit Lions to a crucial 44-30 victory.

He saw nine targets against the Cowboys after drawing a season-high 10 looks on Thanksgiving. Sure, Amon-Ra St. Brown suffered an ankle injury last week, leading to Williams getting some run as WR1. But each wide receiver played 57 offensive snaps in the win over the Cowboys, with Jared Goff looking their way over and over again to great success.

Goff didn’t hold back in his praise for Williams’ latest performance when speaking with reporters after the big win. He pointed to the trust being at an all-time high, and how the offense feeds off Williams’ energy.

“He’s becoming that player we always knew he could be over the course of the season,” the Lions quarterback said. “He’s as reliable of a guy as I’ve ever played with at this point. Third down, fourth down, don’t matter. He’ll make the play. He’ll show up.

“He’s an energy guy. He’s a juice guy. He’s confident right now. He’s on his details. He’s doing everything right. It’s awesome.”

Goff has used those same words to describe his trust in Amon-Ra St. Brown over the years. That’s really saying something about the electric wide receiver’s growth in this offense and as an all-around player.

The quarterback took some downfield shots against Dallas, more than we had seen in quite some time. And that’s what happens when Williams is getting chances and operating as one of the no-doubt main options. The former first-round receiver also leads the NFL in yards on the crossing route, and that’s very good news for this offense, because he can take those looks all the way in the blink of an eye.

Williams has had two games without a reception this year. He’s had four outings with just three or fewer targets. There is always going to be an element of boom-or-bust with his style of play, but to see him turn this corner and handle a high-volume induces optimism.

But he’s had some big games this year, with a touchdown in four out of the last six. He’s had at least 66 receiving yards in five out of the previous six games, with at least one 40-yard reception three times in that same span. Since the bye, Williams leads the team with 417 receiving yards, impressive considering that it includes a no-catch outing.

For an offense missing Sam LaPorta from the passing attack, Williams has to do more, especially on third and fourth downs. Yes, he had the fourth-down drop that everyone is quick to mention on Thanksgiving.

But Goff doesn’t throw around empty, high-end praise around like that. He’s looking Williams’ way early and often in the five games with Dan Campbell calling the offense. Williams had the one shutout showing two weeks ago against the New York Giants. But he still had three targets, and one 30-plus yard reception called back due to an offensive line penalty.

“High confidence. High confidence,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said earlier in the week. “He’s really growing. I mean, he just continues to grow and get better. He’s fearless. He’s fearless, and he’s just — his fundamentals. For the speed and quickness he has, the ability for him to drop his weight now and there’s really some detail to his routes.

“He’s becoming a hard cover. And then you see the run after catch ability, he’s had it. So, his confidence is growing, our confidence is growing, and he’s doing well. And I mean, he came back out this week again, I mean, he’s full-tilt. You should’ve seen him running yesterday. I mean, this guy, he works now. He works in practice every day. So, love where he’s at.”

The Philadelphia Eagles are now dealing with a three-game losing skid, and the vibes around the team are certainly less than ideal. Left tackle Jordan Mailata is a leader for the offense, and as of now, that unit is a blunder waiting to happen on a weekly basis.

During Philly’s Week 14 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, the veteran offensive lineman was called for a costly holding penalty that negated an A.J. Brown touchdown. It was during a second quarter drive that spanned eleven plays but ended in a successful field goal for the Eagles. That four-point swing became quite important as the game unwound.

Mailata was asked about the holding penalty, which drew the ire of plenty of Eagles fans during the game for being “soft” or simply not a penalty by the tackle. In any case, the lineman also disagreed with the call, but his reasoning does not necessarily prove him innocent of committing a hold.

“I just don’t think that was a penalty. I don’t want I don’t ever get into officiating and I’m always going to be the first one to put my hand up and say, I just think it was a little ticky tacky because as I’m lying on the ground looking behind me, I’m just looking at Khalil Mack b-lining straight for Jalen and I’m sitting there like, oh my God, he’s going to get killed. I see the flag. I’m like, man, I wonder who’s who’s that on? And they call my number. I’m like, how do I get a holding call? The guy has a straight line to Jalen Hurts.” — Mailata via 94WIP

Mentioning that Mack had a clear shot on the Eagles QB and how Mailata reacted to that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a penalty. In fact, that may actually make it seem like Mailata was willing to do anything to stop the pass rusher from getting to Hurts, including committing a foul.

I chatted with Rob Gregson a bit about the call and Mailata’s reaction to it. Simply put, it is a 50/50 call that went against the Eagles and their key offensive tackle. With how Mailata played the snap, there was risk involved, and he fell victim to the officiating on a call that made sense.

“The bottom line here is that when an official sees any grab of cloth, you can be certain that the flag is coming out. Was it ticky-tack the way Mailata introduces? Probably. But here is where the words fall short for me. There were plays in that game where Mailata could have been called for holding and wasn’t. The same way they are every game. It’s just how the NFL works. Now, if you want to say the call in that high-pressure moment in those areas of the field is a lot worse than in the 2nd quarter at midfield, I can understand that. 

But the Eagles had a chance to win that game well before the hold and even after. One call has never won or lost a football game, and it didn’t happen on Monday Night either.” — Rob Gregson, A to Z Sports