Getty Aaron Glenn coaching for the Lions in a 2021 preseason game.
The Detroit Lions may be struggling to find wins consistently this season, but the team has managed to come together in a big way down the stretch and fight their opposition tooth and nail for 60 minutes on the field.
That happened once again in Week 16 as the Lions battled the Atlanta Falcons to the end, but managed to come up short in terms of the final score. Even though that was the case, the Lions did not earn poor grades this week, and actually managed to see the continued positive trajectory continue in most cases on the grade ledger after Week 15.
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How do the grades look this week? Here’s what marks the team earned for their work in Week 16’s narrow defeat in Atlanta.
Lions’ Offensive Grade vs. Falcons
C-
Detroit’s offense was solid in terms of being able to move the ball at times, but did nothing consistently well, which played out because Tim Boyle was struggling at quarterback. Detroit’s offense put up over 300 yards and did a decent job to see the continued emergence of Amon-Ra St. Brown, who’s touchdown ended up as the top highlight of the day for the team’s offense:
A holly, jolly touchdown!
#DETvsATL | 📺 FOX
The Lions didn’t run the ball that great and bogged down in the red zone far too often, so there was a feeling that the team didn’t accomplish as much as they could have on the offensive side. The team also had far too many false starts on offense. Without Jared Goff, this was generally expected. Still, a below-average day for the Lions on offense.
Lions’ Defensive Grade vs. Falcons
B+
While the Lions gave up 20 points, they only allowed 254 yards of total offense on the day, which was an outstanding total for the team given some of the players they have out. The Lions also collected 3 sacks on the day and one key fumble recovery turnover, which came at a very opportune time for the team late in the fourth quarter:
Our ball❗️
#DETvsATL | 📺 FOX
As the season has pressed on, the Lions have only seemed to get hungrier and better on the defensive side as they have learned their responsibilities and grown. This applies to players in the trenches as well as on the back end of the defense. No matter who has played, the Lions have gotten better. That’s notable as the team finishes out the season.
Lions’ Special Teams Grade vs. Falcons
A
Riley Patterson is a stud in the making at kicker, and he was a perfect 3-3 on the day while hitting all of his extra points to continue an impressive streak. Kalif Raymond had a nice punt return early in the game to set up Detroit’s first scoring drive. Perhaps the best play of the day was made by Jack Fox, who uncorked a solid pass on a surprising fake punt that helped the team get the ball in the end zone:
IT’S A FAKE!
@MrJackFox ➡️ @ItsKhaDarel for the first down!
#DETvsATL | 📺 FOX
Detroit’s special teams group keeps helping them be in position to win games late in the season, and that has proven to be great news for the team. It isn’t a stretch to say that the Lions will continue to get elite play from special teams the rest of the way as this week showed.
Lions’ Coaching Staff Grade vs. Falcons
A-
Aaron Glenn remains a defensive rock star given his game plan frustrated the Falcons most of the day. It will be downright interesting to see what he can do in 2022 with a much deeper roster and more talent on that side of the ball. Dan Campbell made a few gutsy fourth down calls and generally came out on the good end in this game, and overall, the team was prepared looking and wasn’t completely sloppy on the day. If the staff is docked for anything, it’s a few of the breakdowns on offense Campbell mentioned postgame where he admitted to wanting to have calls back that could have helped Boyle on the team’s final drive.
Even such, the Lions staff continues to put their team in great position to win games. Considering some of the struggles of the last few years, that in of itself is notable and worth highlighting.
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