Pride of Detroit
For several years now, so much of the Detroit Lions’ identity as a team has come from how they run the football. It is a philosophy that has been etched into the minds of everyone around the organization since the first days of the Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes era. Both in 2023 and 2024, their ability to hand the ball off to running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery has been essential to their success. However, for the majority of the 2025 season, that has not been the case.
Don’t get me wrong—there are still explosive outings from this group. They have eclipsed the 200-yard mark three times this season, and unsurprisingly, they are 3-0 in those games. On the other side of things, there have been five games where they have been held under 100 rushing yards as a team. Their record in those five matchups? 0-5, with the most recent of those being the Week 15 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on the road.
And if you are like me, you have a tough time understanding how a team as dynamic as Detroit can be so inefficient at times. For instance, when you look at some of the counting numbers for Gibbs (1,100 rushing yards, 13 touchdowns, and a 5.5 average) you wouldn’t think they would have so many inconsistencies. That is, until you turn on the tape and take a closer look at what is affecting the Lions on a down-to-down basis.
So for this week’s film study, I took a look at what went wrong during the aforementioned loss to the Rams, and how small mistakes added up to another underwhelming performance for the Lions’ offensive line.
First up in this breakdown is a first quarter hand off to Gibbs out of the shotgun. Keep your eyes on Rams defensive tackle Braden Fiske (#55), who is lined up on the right shoulder of Lions center Graham Glasgow. The Lions attempt to work a double team on Fiske with Glasgow and rookie right guard Tate Ratledge, but Fiske is able to toss Glasgow to the side, while also simultaneously removing Ratledge from the hole, allowing him to help make the stop on running back David Montgomery.
Next up in the clip below we are jumping to the second quarter, where the Lions have the ball on the Rams’ 7-yard line in a second-and-7 situation. The play-design calls for Ratledge to pull from his right guard spot to the left of the formation in an effort to clear a path for Gibbs. Unfortunately, Lions tight end Shane Zylstra gets driven so far off the ball by Rams defensive end Jared Verse that it causes a pileup once Ratledge arrives. The result is there is nowhere to run for Gibbs, and the play is stopped for a short gain.
Verse is obviously extremely talented, and would be an issue for just about any tight end in the league to block one-on-one. Still, when coaches talk about executing...
