Getty Jameis Winston celebrates a score.
The Detroit Lions are a team walking wounded, but even that hasn’t stopped them from moving the ball and making a few plays in recent weeks.
All of that seemed to end in a big way early on against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In the first half, led by David Blough at quarterback, the Lions got next to nothing done, managing just 1 yard in the quarter. The team was hurt most by a lack of explosive plays. Even though they didn’t turn the ball over, the Lions simply didn’t move the ball at all with urgency.
Here’s a look at the numbers the Lions put up, or lack thereof:
Yards after one quarter here in Detroit:
Bucs: 236.
Lions: 1. As in ONE.
Interestingly, the Lions were set up early with great field position following an interception, but the team did nothing to move the ball after that fact early on. From there, the Lions went only backwards and continued to fail to put up numbers the rest of the quarter.
In fact, Detroit had collected only two yards well into the middle of the second quarter until a drive into Tampa Bay territory near the end of the second quarter which ended up resulting in a field goal, showing just what a bad day the team was enduring on all sides of things.
The Lions would finish with just 56 yards in the first half in total.
Why Lions Offense is Struggling
This is a far cry from the offense which was piling up the yards and impact plays early in the season. Obviously, the team has had tons of injuries to endure, and being forced to start a third string backup quarterback isn’t a great recipe for success whatsoever. Beyond that, the Lions haven’t been able to fool defenses with their one-dimensional approach.
It’s hard to expect the Lions to be consistent given the personnel they are running out there, but it appears as if the team is simply poorly coached and does not have the right mindset in order to have success no matter what they deal with otherwise.
Jahlani Tavai Interception Helps Lions
Early in the game, Detroit got Tampa Bay backed up after some penalties and Jameis Winston fired an ill-advised pass right over the middle of the field to Tavai. The linebacker gobbled it up and secured his first career interception in Detroit.
Here’s a look at the great play:
This is far from the first impact play Tavai has made this season. Detroit’s young linebacker has been everywhere and done everything and has been a tackling machine for Detroit. The former second round pick didn’t have a whole lot of folks knowing who he was, but with this being his first start given the absence of Jarrad Davis, the chance was there for the Lions’ youngster to announce himself.
Consider that done with this nice play. The Lions didn’t score on the subsequent drive, but the nice play for Tavai was just as notable in the end for Detroit.
At the very least, Tavai tried to help things out from the Detroit perspective, even as pathetic as the Lions’ offense has been on the afternoon.
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