Pride of Detroit
The Detroit Lions blew a game they needed to have, and there’s plenty of blame to go around in their 29-24 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Let’s break it all down in Detroit’s Week 16 report card.
Without a run game and dealing with a patchwork offensive line, Jared Goff nearly helped pull off a miraculous comeback. He finished with 364 yards, three touchdowns, and a 101.2 passer rating. However, he also contributed to some of Detroit’s struggles. He turfed a couple of balls, invited pressure by holding onto the ball too long, and didn’t seem like he was on the same page with some of his receivers.
On a day with numerous problems, though, he seemed like the least of Detroit’s worries.
The offensive line didn’t help Jahmyr Gibbs or David Montgomery out much in this game, but Gibbs didn’t help himself with a fumble and a couple of runs he tried to do too much. That said, he did help out in the passing game, especially late, pulling in 10 catches for 66 yards and a touchdown.
Montgomery was fine, but the game situation limited his production to just four carries for 14 yards…. with a long of 17 yards.
Early in the game, Anthony Firkser provided some surprisingly impressive catches, and he finished with four for 40. Shane Zylstra even contributed three for 20 yards. However, the unit continues to be a liability when it comes to blocking, both in the run game and in terms of pass protection.
Amon-Ra St. Brown had a bad drop. Regardless of whether you agree with the calls or not, St. Brown and Isaac TeSlaa both did enough to warrant consideration for their devastating offensive pass interference calls on the potential game-winning drive.
That said, Jameson Williams came up with some big plays, TeSlaa had a fantastic catch in traffic, Kalif Raymond flashed his speed on his 27-yard touchdown, and St. Brown—despite a down day—still came up with some big-moment catches, including a 24-yard play that brought the Lions near the verge of victory.
Still, I wonder if all of those times that Goff held onto the ball too long, if that was because the receivers weren’t getting open enough.
The run game was a disaster all afternoon. Admittedly, the Lions coaching staff didn’t put them in the best spots (more on that later), but they also just weren’t winning at the point of attack enough.
The Steelers also finished with nine QB hits, three sacks, and a safety. Two false starts on the offensive line didn’t help, either.
While I don’t think the defensive line was the primary problem in the lack of run defense (more on that later, too), they certainly weren’t an asset. Alim McNeill and DJ Reader were getting moved off their spots more than I’ve seen all season. Reader added a defensive holding...
