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Lions Are Worst NFL Team In This Offensive Passing Category

Detroit Lions do not currently have an explosive passing attack.
John Maakaron|
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) and New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson (3) meet for a coin toss
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) and New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson (3) meet for a coin toss | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Detroit Lions

Despite having one of the speediest wide receivers in the National Football League, the Detroit Lions rank 32nd in the NFL in pass attempts that travel over 20 or more air yards.

As The Athletic pointed out, only 6.8 percent of the team's pass attempts have traveled 20 more air yards, which is the worst in the entire league.

Also, this mark also represents the fourth-lowest rate over the course of a single season in the last decade.

Detroit's offense features Amon-Ra St. Brown, who still has yet to become a player that is targeted deep in the passing game and Williams, who has not experienced the breakout season many had expected.

With the struggles of the offensive line, Jared Goff has less and less time to survey the field and long developing plays have not been successful the last month of the season.

Rookie wideout Isaac TeSlaa has deep threat potential, but he also has not been targeted that much his rookie season.

With the Packers defense playing well and the Lions utilizing a short passing game, head coach Dan Campbell was asked this week how difficult it is to live in the world of a short passing game when playing a defense like the Packers.

“Well, you’ve got to be patient. You do. That’s what this defense forces you to do," said Campbell. "They’re going to force you to be patient. And really the teams that have had trouble are the ones that don’t stay patient, and they start trying to do things that get out of the norm. Or that offense takes off on you and you feel like you’ve got to play catch up and you start trying to force the ball down the field. That’s when the sack-fumbles, the turnovers, the picks, the fumbles, that’s where a lot of teams have gotten in trouble.

"You’ve got to be careful, you’ve got to stay efficient," Campbell added. "There’s nothing easy about it. But it’s also, look, you play some of that game, at some point when that opportunity arises, we’ve got to hit on that. And you don’t know when it’s going to be, but you’ve got to be able to hit. And then you’ve got to get some YAC. Some of these underneath throws, you’ve got to get some YAC. And that’s what our guys will be charged with. Our players on this team, our playmakers, they’re going to have to put it in their hands, tuck it away and go make something happen and then get ready to get in the huddle and let’s do it again.”

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John Maakaron
JOHN MAAKARON

John Maakaron has covered Detroit Sports since 2013. Brings a vast array of experience covering the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Lions, Michigan Wolverines, Michigan State Spartans, Detroit Mercy Titans, and Oakland University Golden Grizzlies. John brings a wealth of sports broadcast experience. In 2013, John had the vision to establish the Detroit Sports Podcast Network. Has recorded over 3000 podcasts analyzing Detroit Sports. In 2019, Sports Illustrated Media Group, a historical sports media outlet, partnered with Detroit Sports Podcast to provide daily Lions content for their growing and expanding digital media outlet. Our Lions content can also be read in the newspaper at The Oakland  Passionate about Detroit Sports and it is reflected in his coverage of the local teams!

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