Pride of Detroit
Football in August looks better than in July for the Detroit Lions. Coming off a blowout 34-7 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in the NFL Hall of Fame Game last Thursday, the Lions went on the road again to play the Atlanta Falcons on Friday night. While the game didn’t end the way anyone expected, three quarters of football were still played.
The Lions defense showed up to play, holding the Falcons to just 10 points, making life hard for Atlanta to move the ball. The Lions offense was slow to move at first, only getting seven points in the first half with two turnovers. The third quarter was more exciting with a big kick by kicker Jake Bates and another touchdown by the Lions offense, and the defense held up strong by only allowing the 10 points in the first half alone.
There’s plenty to discuss after the Lions win on Friday night, let me give you my main takeaways from the win as the Lions improve to 1-1.
Only one starting defensive player played on Friday night, rookie defensive tackle Tyleik Williams, and the depth alongside and behind him showed up to play. On the first drive, the Lions got a lot of pressure on Falcons quarterback Easton Stick. EDGE Al-Quadin Muhammad had a good game, finishing with three tackles, two tackles for loss, and a sack. He almost forced a fumble as he reached his arm towards Stick as he was throwing, but he missed it.
Muhammad wasn’t the only one making some plays. Linebacker Zach Cunningham had some good run fits, finishing with three tackles, linebacker Trevor Nowaske had three tackles, one for a loss, and EDGE Nate Lynn got a sack. The depth by the front seven was putting some pressure on the Falcons offensive line and made Stick bounce around in the pocket in the first quarter. The front seven’s strong performance held the Falcons to just one third down conversion all game, going 1-for-7 and they failed on their only fourth down attempt.
This week, quarterback Hendon Hooker got the start over Kyle Allen to give him a chance with the backups instead of the third and fourth string guys. Hooker had an up-and-down night, as his job as the backup is now in jeopardy. In the first series, he would fumble on a scramble where the play was looking to be over, but Hooker kept trying to get as many yards as possible and coughed up the ball. He would rebound well with some nice passes and scrambling runs.
On his best drive of the night, one where the Lions converted a fourth-down pass to wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa, Hooker would fumble the ball again. Right tackle Mason Miller got beaten quickly off the snap, and Hooker was pressured and lost the ball instantly. Hooker finished the night going 7-for-10 for 37 yards with three carries...
