Standing Room Only Crowd Expected for Lions' Season Opener
The Detroit Lions are expecting a capacity crowd on Sunday, as the team will take the field in its 2022 season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles.
The team will have a standing room-only, capacity crowd to witness head coach Dan Campbell lead his team against a solid NFC East foe. It will be the first time since 2017 that such is the case for the Lions in a non-Thanksgiving game.
"The first thing I turned on was their defense, their defensive tape. And so, just their -- man, they’re disruptive upfront," Campbell told reporters this week, when asked about what jumped out on film. "I mean, this D-line now is the real deal, and they’ve got enough juice off the edge right now with (linebacker Haason) Reddick, and then they still got (defensive tackle Fletcher) Cox to push the middle, among others.
"They’ve got a whole crew in there. So, that to me is the first thing that shows up. They’ve added (cornerback James) Bradberry on the edge, they’ve got (Darius) Slay, so they can certainly play on the perimeter. So, that’s the first thing that shows up for you. And then, certainly offense is running the ball. The ability to run the ball, because if they can do that, (Jalen) Hurts is a very effective quarterback, he’s very dangerous. So, those two things really show up.”
The team is looking to avenge an embarrassing, blowout defeat in last year's contest.
A 44-6 thrashing, in what was a rare non-competitive game for Campbell and Co., was an eye-opening experience.
The season opener will be Detroit's first opportunity to showcase what adjustments have been made since the conclusion of last season.
