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The defense of the Lions did not show itself in the key game against the Panthers. That’s why we gave not very good ratings.
Panthers Vs Lions
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Lions Vs. Panthers Report Card, Grades: Defense Gets Coal In Their Stockings
Detroit Lions fans were begging for a Christmas miracle last week. After starting the season 1-6, the Lions could find themselves in the playoffs by Dec. 25 on the calendar. Everyone did their job: Giants lost, Chiefs lost, Seahawks lost. Heck, even the Eagles lost!
But the lions did not mind their own business. In fact, they hardly showed up for work. The Carolina Panthers took it from the whistle to kick off after what Dan Campbell called a “hard hit.”
While there were some standout players on Saturday, I mostly agree with Campbell’s assessment. It was a complete hit. Let’s consider the report for the 16th week in more detail.
It’s hard to put too much blame for this on Jared Goff. With no running game to help relieve pressure, Goff completed 25 of 42 passes for 355 yards and three scores. He was able to effectively move the ball down the field and make several deep shots. His 8.45 yards per pass average was seventh-best for the week and third-best among backs who threw more than 25 times.
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However, an unsuccessful shot was very expensive. The Lions had a chance to take an early lead that could have changed the course of the game. Whether it was Goff’s mistake or halfback Frank Ragnow’s is up for debate, but Goff still has to make sure the ball doesn’t hit the ground.
All in all, though, it was a very good game from Goff, who showed resilience by taking some tough hits, continued to be solid in the pocket and accomplished it all while breaking his cold-weather narrative.
Jamal Williams and D’Andre Swift combined for 23 yards on 11 carries and both were essentially non-factors in receiving.
The Lions’ rushing attack has been more or less dead for a few weeks now, and while the offensive line certainly isn’t helping the situation, Detroit’s running backs are running with confidence and they’re not letting up.
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He heals. In fact, the Lions ranked 26th all season after contact per rush (1.4) in the running game.
Shane Zylstra is one of two or three players who can hold their heads high with their play on Saturday. In just 29 snaps, Zylstra caught five passes for 26 yards and three touchdowns — becoming just the second black man to ever score three points in a game (Joe Fauria). Rookie James Mitchell also threw for a career-high 31 yards, including an impressive 22-yard catch and run.
DJ Chark made some explosive plays, but Josh Reynolds’ touchdown (and pass interception) late in the game sealed the loss for the Lions. Amon-Ra str. Brown does his best, landing some hard shots while still holding onto the ball. Even Kalif Raymond had a loss in the Panthers’ secondary with a huge 56-yard gain.
However, one has to wonder when the Lions will actually allow Jameson Williams to be a first-round pick. He’s been active for a month but only played 11 snaps in this game, despite the Lions needing an explosive game to keep up with Carolina. I’m getting the hang of it little by little, but it’s big games right now. If he’s as good as the amount of capital spent on him suggests, start building a game plan around the guy. For this, it is probably worth going to the educational section.
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With all the obvious passes the Lions faced, I actually thought their pass defense was good despite the two sacks and seven quarterback hits (many of which came on the last drive of the game). However, the Panthers also committed four turnovers at the line.
Of course, the main failure of the Lions offensive line was another game where they dominated physically. Detroit’s longest running back was 4 yards.
For a unit that talked all week about being snubbed in the Pro Bowl and used it as motivation, it was a very disappointing result.
In the first half alone, the Panthers rushed for 240 yards and scored three touchdowns. By the end of the game, Carolina had set franchise records for total yards and rushing yards in a single contest with 570 yards and 320 rushing yards.
Carolina Panthers Defeat Detroit Lions In Week 16 Nfl Game
According to PFF, the Panthers had 139 yards of offense before contact, meaning the Lions’ defensive line didn’t even tackle these guys until it was too late.
The only reason it’s not an F is because things settled down a bit in the second half. The Panthers rushed for just 80 yards on 21 carries (3.8 YPC) over the final two quarters.
We’ll just lump those two together because they had to rush for 5-10 yards instead of allowing an explosive 15+ yard game on the ground. Mission failed. The Panthers had eight rushes of 15 or more yards in the game.
The back seven were constantly out of position due to poor orientation and on the rare occasions they played solid football, they lacked tackles left and right. Even players who are usually good players, like cornerback Jeff Okuda, were big culprits Saturday.
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PFF, D’Onta Foreman and Chuba Hubbard have combined for nine broken tackles on 39 carries — or one every 4.3 carries or so.
Coverage did not improve significantly. Sam Darnold chewed up the secondary for 250 yards on just 22 carries (11.4 yards per attempt). The Lions were again vulnerable on deep punts, allowing completions of 47, 43 and 36 yards.
Nothing much happened on special teams, which is good when it comes to punting and punt coverage.
Justin Jackson was a solid kicker, averaging 28.0 yards on four carries. Michael Badgley got both of his shots. But Kalif Raymond didn’t even get a chance to return the penalty because of how bad the Lions’ defense was.
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What the Panthers did on Saturday was no surprise. In fact, the coaching staff has been talking all week about what they need to do.
“They run the ball and attacking they have an identity. They want to rule football. They want to play a working pass. This left tackle (Panthers T. Ikem Ekwonu) came off the cliff. This O-line comes from a rock. They have a lot of aggressive running backs.” And the slope.
“That’s something we talk about every week in terms of stopping the race. I know it’s a cliché, everyone says it, but it’s true in terms of who we are and who we are. I’ve been talking about who we are at the beginning for the last couple of weeks, so we know what they want to do, and they’re like, “They know who we are and what we want to do. Man, it’s going to be a good fight, it’s going to be a good test of the guys’ will on this field. And our boys will cope with the challenge.”
It is fair to say that the lions were not up to the challenge. Obviously, some of the blame lies with the players themselves, because the coaches knew the Panthers were going to throw at them. But at the same time, that wasn’t the Lions’ game plan on defense.
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The Panthers took a lot of hard looks at the Lions, but Detroit stuck to many nickel packages, hoping their secondary would step up and help run support. But with Okuda not at his best, and DeSean Elliott being replaced by the inexperienced (and ineffective) Ifeata Melifonwa, this week clearly wasn’t there.
Offensively, I can make a few mistakes on play calls here and there, but the biggest problem facing that side of the ball is the unit’s inability to sustain the current play for two full months. Personnel shouldn’t be an issue with a decent offensive line and pretty capable running backs. However, Detroit has not seen any progress and the situation seems to be getting worse.
If this team really wants to compete in December and January, this kind of performance is completely unacceptable.
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