How the Detroit Lions Defeat San Francisco 49ers

Here are the keys to victory for the Detroit Lions in their season opener against the San Francisco 49ers.

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell is aware of the challenge ahead of his team in its season opener against the San Francisco 49ers.

"It’s an attacking style defense, and they’ve certainly got some pieces up front. They’ve got a damn good middle linebacker and a pretty good secondary," Campbell told reporters on Monday. "That’s just on the defensive front. Obviously, offensively, I think that there are very few that do a better job than (head coach Kyle) Shanahan offensively. He’s got weapons, starts with (George) Kittle. The things they’re able to do, mix up the run game, play pass, and a lot of eye candy to try to get your defense on its heels. This is a huge test for us. This is a good team, and it’s a well-coached team.”

Here are some keys to victory for the Lions in their season opener from Ford Field.

Clock management

Detroit's offense will be looking to control the pace of the game, with a balance of run and pass plays. 

A successful run game is important for every NFL team, but none more than the Lions. 

With an investment in the offensive line, the Lions will be looking to win the time of possession battle -- and by a wide margin.

If D'Andre Swift, Jamaal Williams and Jermar Jefferson can eat up the clock, that would keep Shanahan's offense off the field, and it would be a bonus for the Lions' defense.

Avoid falling for the eye candy

Campbell mentioned the challenges the offense of the 49ers can pose to opposing defenses. 

The Lions will prepare for both quarterbacks in Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance.

The 49ers feature high-end talent at a couple of positions on their offense, and it will be important for the Lions' defense to remain disciplined for all four quarters.

"I mentioned eye candy, they’re going to give you some eye candy. They’ll do the fake sweeps, the fake jet sweep motion, try to pull your eyes or see if you’re undisciplined, ‘Are your eyes going to follow him, instead of following your run key or your description is in the pass?’ I think they do that, and then, they know how to cut the defense," Campbell said. "They can get you moving one way, and then, they bring the fullback back. They bring (Kyle Juszczyk) No. 44 back, and they’ll slice you on the backside of some of these runs. They’ll bring that turbo motion, get your eyes moving this way and they’ll toss the ball to the ball-carrier moving the same way, with the casper motion. And, then he puts his foot in the ground, brings it back, and here comes the fullback back and he’s cutting the defense."

He added, "I think they are as good as anybody with some of this downhill run. But, then, they’ll stretch, stretch, stretch, and then they’ll stretch and bring misdirection, whether it’s with toss or some of the other things they do. Then, on top of all of that, they build their play-action pass game, their run-action pass game off of all of the same stuff. It’s easy to say, if you can stop the run game, then, it’s going to make your life a lot easier. It’ll make it a lot easier, but that’s easier said than done."

Feed T.J. Hockenson early and often

If there is one player that is going to move the chains consistently for the Lions' offense, it will be the third-year tight end, who is poised to emerge as one of the game's top tight ends. 

Quarterback Jared Goff has quickly developed rapport with what should be his No. 1 option in the passing attack. 

Hockenson can no question help his team win, and in order for the Lions to leave Ford Field with the victory, Goff must target him with very high frequency. 

“It will be good. I’m hoping that our guy has a lot better game then his guy does, I know that. I’ve had a lot of respect for Kittle just from afar. Watching him, I think he’s one of the rare tight ends that can do everything and does it well," Campbell said. "He does the dirty work, he’s not afraid to block, he can do all of that stuff on the perimeter, pass block, but yet, he’s a dynamic receiver. He’s big, strong, physical. Our guy’s pretty dang good, too. He can do a lot of the things that Kittle does, and I think that for us, he can -- we’ve got to find ways to get him the football and let him do what he does, because I know this, he can help us win.”