Enemy Confidential: Dan Campbell, Gritty Lions Looking to Spoil Seahawks' Home Finale
For most of his first season on the sidelines, coach Dan Campbell's Lions have been on the wrong side of the scoreboard. In fact, they didn't have a victory until the calendar flipped to December, spawning fear the franchise may match its own record of ineptitude going winless.
But despite having just two wins with two games left to play, Detroit has been far more competitive than its 2008 predecessors. Campbell's squad has lost six one-score games, including a tough 20-16 defeat to Atlanta last weekend while missing starting quarterback Jared Goff. The team has also won two of its past four games, upsetting Minnesota and Arizona in a three-week span, building positive momentum towards the tail end of the season.
As Russell Wilson and the Seahawks get set to play in front of their home fans for the final time in the 2021 season, the star quarterback certainly isn't taking the gritty Lions lightly, as he shouldn't given his own team's dismal 5-10 record.
"We have a really good football team that is coming in, their record may not show it, but they are playing really tough football, they are playing really good football," Wilson told reporters on Wednesday. "They have played it in the past four weeks in particular. They have been battling, battling, and battling and they beat some good teams in terms of Arizona and Minnesota."
Closing in on their home finale at Lumen Field, here’s a closer look at the Seahawks' Week 17 opponent, including series history, additions/departures, schematic insight, key numbers, and Carroll’s evaluation of the Lions.
Series History
15th regular season meeting. Seattle leads the all-time series 10-5 and has won each of the past three games between the two franchises, including beating Detroit 26-6 in the wild card round in the 2016 postseason.
The Lions won the first game in the series, beating the Seahawks 41-14 during their inaugural 1976 season. Since then, Seattle has posted three winning streaks of three or more games, including winning six of the past seven games between the two teams. Detroit's longest win streak in the series came from 1993 to 1999 when Barry Sanders and company won three consecutive games.
What's New
Departures: Once again undergoing a dramatic roster overhaul with a new coaching staff in tow, the Lions dealt Stafford to the Rams for Goff and a haul of draft picks to accelerate their latest rebuilding efforts. Along with changing quarterbacks, Detroit lost its top two receivers in free agency when Kenny Golladay left to sign with the New York Giants and Marvin Jones bolted for Jacksonville. Several starters on defense also departed in free agency with linebacker Jarrad Davis going to the Jets, slot cornerback Justin Coleman signing with the Dolphins, and defensive end Everson Griffen returning to the Vikings.
Additions: Aside from the arrivals of Campbell and Goff, the Lions didn't make any other splashy moves in free agency. However, the decision to sign former Dolphins first-round pick Charles Harris paid much bigger dividends than expected, as he currently leads the team with 7.5 sacks. The midseason addition of veteran receiver Josh Reynolds, who reunited with Goff after they spent the past four seasons together in Los Angeles, also bolstered the passing game. In the draft, Detroit hopes to have landed a foundational piece for its offensive line in first-round pick Penei Sewell, who has started all 15 games so far at right tackle. Mid-round pick Amon-Ra St. Brown has been a revelation, leading the team in receptions and receiving yards as a rookie.
Injury Report
Despite being activated from the COVID-19 list, Goff wasn't able to practice all week due to a knee issue and has been listed as doubtful on Detroit's final injury report. Fullback Jason Cabinda has already been ruled out with his own knee injury, while linebacker Curtis Bolton is questionable with a back injury. Running back D'Andre Swift and linebacker Julian Okwara should be back in action after missing multiple games with shoulder and ankle injuries respectively.
Inside The Scheme
While much of the NFL has trended towards using more 11 personnel with three receivers, one running back, and one tight end, the Lions have deployed a more traditional offensive approach under Dan Campbell. Per TruMedia, Detroit has used 21 personnel with two running backs, two receivers, and a tight end on 10.6 percent of its snaps, the sixth-highest rate in the league, compared to using 11 personnel 60 percent of the time, which ranks 17th.
In the passing game, the Lions have been one of the least-frequent play action using teams in the NFL, calling play fakes on just 122 snaps this year, which ranks 30th in the league. On the ground, per PFF, they've had a near even split dialing up zone and gap schemes and will utilize both.
Coached by first-year defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, who ironically was Carroll's first draft pick when he coached the Jets in 1994, the Lions have leaned a bit more heavily on zone than man coverage. Specifically, Detroit ranks sixth in the NFL in Cover 2 usage (17.4 percent) and 11th in Cover 6 usage (9.9 percent). They haven't used Cover 3 as much as most teams, ranking 21st in the league at 31.1 percent.
While Campbell has been known for his fourth down aggressiveness on offense, Glenn has also sent extra defenders after the quarterback slightly above the league average. Per Pro Football Reference, the Lions have blitzed 25.5 percent of their defensive snaps, tied for 14th most in the NFL. This propensity for bringing extra blitzers hasn't paid off pressuring quarterbacks, however, as they rank 29th in pressure rate at 20.1 percent.
By The Numbers
168: Plays of 10-plus yards by Detroit's offense, sixth-fewest in the NFL
67.2: Completion percentage by Lions' quarterbacks, seventh-best in the league
33.9: Third down conversion rate by Detroit, second-worst ahead of only Seattle
4: Consecutive games Amon-Ra St. Brown has eight or more catches, a franchise rookie record
45: Pre-snap penalties by the Lions, by far the most in the NFL
40: Touchdowns allowed defensively by Detroit, eighth-most in the league
3.03: Yards after contact per rush by opposing runners, 30th in the NFL
69.4: Red zone touchdown percentage, 31st in the league
9: Combined interceptions by the Lions defense, fourth-fewest in the league
47: Quarterback pressures by Charles Harris, 24th most among NFL defenders
Carroll's Thoughts
--On Detroit's fourth down aggressiveness under Dan Campbell: “I’m very aware of it, and I’m aware that he’s going to try to get the record. I don’t blame him, he should. He’s a made a commitment to it and that means that he is going to go for it again in our game and the next one as well. There was a play in their game last week where it was 4th and 1 and I’m not sure if they didn’t jump offsides on purpose to go ahead and back it up and fake it on the punt on the next play and make it. I don’t know if he was that cagey about it, but it kind of looked like it and I give him a lot of credit for competing in that manner. He should take it that because it was a cool thing to do. He has a real attitude, and his football team has an attitude that is obvious. They are tough, physical, and they are going for it. That’s an illustration of that mentality, how they are approaching fourth down.”
--On Lions running back D'Andre Swift: "He's really good. He's an all-around all-purpose guy. He runs fast, he runs hard, he's got a nice shake and bake to him. He's a really good receiver - I think he's got 56 balls or something - he's a big factor in the offense. He's the whole show, so I'm sure they're really pleased to get him back and that's a big plus for them."
--On preparing to face Lions backup quarterback Tim Boyle: “I've looked extensively at Boyle to make sure we know what he's done and how he plays and what it looks like and all that to try to see the carryover and the concepts and the principles. We've looked extensively, we had already done that and so we just jumped on it when we got the news he [Jared Goff] was not able to practice."
