Lions' Week 2 Grades: Offense Slows, Defense Breaks Down in Second Half
It was a good first half for the Detroit Lions' offense, but then a bad second half all around.
The magic captured by Lions head coach Dan Campbell and company escaped in the final 30:00 of game time. After the offense moved at will for the better part of the first two quarters, it was stymied in the final two.
The defense struggled as a whole, lessening the team’s margin for error.
Here are the position groups' grades, following the Lions' 35-17 loss to the Green Bay Packers.
Quarterback: C+
Jared Goff was very good in the first half. The gameplan was perfectly tailored to his strengths, and he put forth a nearly flawless first half. He connected with Quintez Cephus on two huge passes -- one a long completion and the other a touchdown.
Goff continued his strong play in the second quarter, hitting T.J. Hockenson in the corner on a perfect ball for his second touchdown pass of the night. He led a strong two-minute drill that put the team in field-goal range, giving the Lions the lead heading into the break.
The second half was much worse. Goff turned the ball over twice, including an inexcusable fumbled snap and an interception.
He did help his cause on a couple of occasions, though, as the Packers deployed defensive backs in man coverage and subsequently gave him room to run.
The former Los Angeles Rams signal-caller is very limited in terms of downfield passing, and that was on full display Monday night. He doesn’t have the ability to win many games with his arm, meaning his margin for error is very low. He simply must be better if the Lions are going to win games.
Running backs: B-
The Lions were led in rushing by Goff, not exactly a testament to the skill set of either Jamaal Williams or D’Andre Swift. This wasn’t entirely their fault, however, as the Lions essentially abandoned the run game in the second half.
With Detroit playing from behind, it was tough for both Swift and Williams to make much of an impact on the game. Swift made a couple of nice plays in the passing game, but outside of that, it’s tough to mark them any higher because of a lack of opportunity.
Wide receivers/tight ends: B+
Hockenson once again showed why he’s among the best young tight ends in the game. He led the Lions in receptions, yards and caught another touchdown pass. He’s going to be an integral part of the gameplan each and every week.
Cephus had another good game, catching a touchdown on the game’s first series. However, he had another drop. The receivers struggled to separate as the game went on.
Amon-Ra St. Brown and Trinity Benson each flashed potential, as well, as Brown caught three passes for 18 yards and Benson dashed across the field on a 24-yard catch late in the game. Expect both to see more action as the season goes on.
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Offensive line: A-
A big reason why the Lions were in this game at halftime was the play of the offensive line. The front five did a spectacular job, essentially building a wall around Goff. The California product had all day to throw.
Penei Sewell had another strong outing in his second career game. Frank Ragnow was Frank Ragnow. There were bumps and bruises with the performance, but a lot of good to go around with this position group.
Defensive line: D+
The Lions did a better job of stopping the run this time around after a ghastly performance against San Francisco in Week 1. Unfortunately, they were unable to put much pressure on the quarterback.
Nick Williams was the best of the bunch Monday night, splitting a sack with Trey Flowers and getting a tackle for loss. Flowers, on the other hand, had a tough night.
If the goal was to make Green Bay one dimensional, that much was accomplished. However, it was more about the Packers' gameplan than the performance of the Lions.
Linebackers: F
Green Bay established running back Aaron Jones as a threat in the passing game early, and Detroit had no answer. Time and time again, Jones sprinted open past a Lions linebacker for a big gain.
Jones caught three touchdown passes, all three of which required him to ditch a linebacker on his route. Alex Anzalone and Jamie Collins were the two who struggled the most, as each took turns running after Jones in space.
Anzalone was also beat on a pair of completions to Robert Tonyan -- one of which went for six points.
Defensive backs: C-
In the first half, the Lions employed a soft-shell defensive scheme, featuring a lot of zone coverage that aided the defensive backs. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers couldn’t take many deep shots against the look.
Yet, the Lions went away from this look in the second half, which opened up the deep ball. Rookie cornerback Ifeatu Melifonwu suffered what is believed to be a significant injury covering a deep ball, and his replacements didn’t fare any better.
Amani Oruwariye performed well, save for a questionable pass interference call in the end zone in the second half. Bobby Price and AJ Parker made good plays in space against screen plays. It wasn’t an awful night for the secondary, but it needs to be much better moving forward.
Special teams: B+
Jack Fox launched two booming punts into the rainy sky. He averaged 53.5 yards per punt, building off the momentum he created last season. New kicker Austin Seibert benefited from an ill-timed timeout by the Packers, to hit his only field-goal attempt of the night. Had Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur not iced him, it would’ve been a miss.
Godwin Igwebuike reeled off a nice kick return on the Lions' final drive of the half. On the punt return side of things, Kalif Raymond made an interesting decision to catch a ball off a hop inside the 20-yard line.
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