Grades: Strong Defensive Effort Helps Lions Prevail Over Commanders

The Detroit Lions finished up their second of three preseason games Saturday against the Washington Commanders.

Head coach Dan Campbell got some of his starters a portion of the action, holding out some of the stars but playing many of the players atop their depth chart. It resulted in a (RESULT)

Here are grades for each position group based on performance in Saturday's preseason game.

Quarterbacks: B-

It was a tough start to the day for Josh Dobbs, who got the start with Jared Goff sidelined. On his first dropback, he was blindsided by a corner blitz from former Lion Amik Robertson resulting in a sack fumble that was recovered for a Commanders touchdown.

On the ensuing drive, Dobbs airmailed a receiver and was picked off by Quan Martin. However, he then settled in and had two nice completions to Cedrick Wilson Jr. on his third drive before taking a zone-read 50 yards for a touchdown.

Altmyer took the field for the remainder of the first half and led two series. The first was a 13-play drive that started backed up but stalled out when he was sacked on third-down. His second series saw him move the offense once again, but emerged without points after Jake Bates missed a 55-yard field goal.

Dobbs would re-enter in the third quarter and lead two drives, the second of which ending in a touchdown. He finished 7-of-12 for 74 yards and an interception.

Altmyer finished the game with the final two drives. He led a field goal drive to start the fourth quarter, then led the game-icing drive that featured two fourth-down conversions. One of those came when he extended the play by scrambling before hitting Jackson Meeks to move the chains.

For Altmyer, the final line featured nine completions on 13 attempts for 86 yards, but he did take four sacks.

Running backs: B

The Lions' run game continued to be solid for most of Saturday's game. Sione Vaki did not play, with Jahmyr Gibbs and Isiah Pacheco both also being out. As a result, the work was divided up between Jacob Saylors, Jabari Small, Trayveon Williams and Raheem Blackshear.

Saylors didn't have the same impact that he did in the preseason opener, as he got leveled in pass-protection on one play-action rep. Williams stood out amongst the crowd, with his most notable stretch being a third-quarter drive during which he had a 24-yard reception on a screen and capped it off with a 1-yard touchdown run.

Williams led the group with 36 yards on 10 carries, while Saylors had 32 yards on six carries. It was Blackshear who converted the game-winning fourth-down, as he plunged forward for the 3-yard conversion to ice the game.

Wide receivers: B

Cedrick Wilson Jr. helped steady the offense with two catches on the team's third drive, but he unfortunately left with an injury shortly after the second catch. It was a mostly quiet day otherwise out wide, with a majority of the targets going to the tight ends.

Tay Martin had a big block on Dobbs' touchdown run, and also notched an 11-yard catch. However, he missed a major opportunity at a big play when he dropped a crossing route that would've gone for a big gain.

Elsewhere, Lucky Jackson contributed two catches for 15 yards while Malik Cunningham, Tom Kennedy and Dominic Lovett each had one grab apiece.

Tight ends: B+

The Lions got production from both Jackson Meeks and Tyler Conklin throughout Saturday's game. Meeks was a favorite target of Altmyer's catching four passes for 33 yards including the critical fourth-down conversion in the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, Conklin hauled in two passes for 21 yards and also contributed to the Dobbs touchdown run with a nice block.

Brock Wright had one catch for three yards, but his day got off to a rough start when his chip on Amik Robertson couldn't derail the blitz, leading to the strip sack touchdown for the Commanders.

Offensive line: C-

The Lions started four of the five they anticipate rolling out in the regular season, with Penei Sewell being the only one out of action. In addition to Wright's failed chip attempt, Larry Borom was beat inside on the disastrous second snap for the offense.

Unfortunately, the second-string offensive line struggled to protect Altmyer throughout Saturday's game. Altmyer was sacked a total of four times, with Colby Sorsdal and Seth McLaughlin being among the linemen who were beaten for sacks.

There were also multiple procedural penalties on the Lions' offensive line throughout the game. Miles Frazier and McLaughlin were both whistled for false starts.

Defensive line: A

For as poor as the game started offensively, the defense was much better. D.J. Wonnum set the tone with a sack on the first drive on Jayden Daniels, and notched another one in tandem with rookie Skyler Gill-Howard that was negated by penalty.

Rookie Derrick Moore had a big showing in his debut after missing the preseason opener. He notched a strip-sack to end the half, showcasing the explosiveness that the Lions liked about him coming out of college.

Eric O'Neill also continued his strong week, as he had a solid final defensive series. He pushed the pocket on multiple dropbacks, and had the hurry that forced Sam Hartman's incompletion on fourth-down.

Gill-Howard and Levi Onwuzurike both had good showings on the interior. Onwuzurike had three tackles, while Gill-Howard had multiple clean wins leading to hurries to go along with a tackle for loss. Mekhi Wingo also showcased good hustle chasing down a screen pass at the line of scrimmage.

Linebackers: B

Devin White made an immediate impact with a pressure of Jayden Daniels on the first defensive snap of the game. Malcolm Rodriguez also had a nice pass-rush on a well-timed blitz, as he smothered Athan Kaliakmanis to force a hurried throw.

White and Trevor Nowaske paced the group with three tackles each, while Rodriguez and Erick Hunter each had two. Hunter was in coverage on the final fourth-down incompletion by the Commanders.

Secondary: B

D.J. Reed, who is expected to be the team's top cornerback, looked the part in Saturday's game. He had multiple stops and showcased great technique, which helped him tally two tackles for loss in his half of action.

Avonte Maddox blew up a screen pass for a tackle for loss. There were some struggles in coverage, as rookie Keith Abney II was whistled for two penalties including a defensive pass interference where Commanders wideout Jaden Bradley made an outstanding catch.

However, Abney bounced back to help with Rodriguez on the pressure that hurried Kaliakmanis. He also had good coverage on a third-down to force a punt later in the game.

Special teams: A-

It was a solid day for the Lions' special teams units, with the exception of a missed 55-yard field goal that Jake Bates pushed wide right. The biggest play came late after the Lions connected on a field goal to push their lead to four, when Jackson Meeks punched out a ball that Erick Hunter recovered on the ensuing kickoff.

Coaching: B

The Lions balanced the workload between Dobbs and Altmyer, splitting each half to ensure that they got similar workloads. It was a solid gameplan defensively, however, that helped the team rebound after a tough start offensively.

Ultimately, Detroit gained some clarity in key spots that will help with roster decisions moving forward. Coordinator Kelvin Sheppard's efforts were key to the victory, as he dialed up a number of interesting stunts and blitzes to keep the Commanders off balance offensively.

Detroit is facing some tough roster choices heading into their final week of preseason play. However, it's clear that there are strengths along the defensive line and potential issues along the offensive line. As a result, it should be an intriguing final round of training camp practices leading up to the preseason finale and ensuing final cuts.

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