Getty Alex Anzalone crushes Lamar Jackson with the Lions.
The Detroit Lions sustained a tough loss in Week 3 to drop their record to 0-3, and the team continues to battle through the early part of the 2021 season even though the results haven’t shown up in the win column.
Right now, the team is simply searching for some more consistency on the field in all phases of the game, and that was very evident during another tough defeat. Balance has not been achieved for the Lions thus far, but that doesn’t mean there has been failures on the field.
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How do the Lions grade out for this week on the field? Here’s a look at the grade sheet for another week on the field.
Grading Lions’ Offense vs. Ravens
C+
Detroit’s offense was sloppy most of the afternoon and struggled to get into proper rhythm early. From that aspect, it looked a lot like Week 1 where Detroit failed to score early and rallied in the second half for an exciting game. Week 2 was different story, with Detroit’s offense dominating early but falling apart after halftime. The team needs to find a way to find a vertical passing threat while also unlocking their running backs a bit earlier. Protection in this game was also suspect at times. All told, the Ravens have a good defense, so it wasn’t a surprise to see Detroit struggle a bit. Even though that was the case, the team could have used a bit more than 285 total yards on the day in order to score a big win. Stringing together a solid pair of halves needs to be the goal for Anthony Lynn at this point. The team is doing well, but not well enough to result in any wins.
Grading Lions’ Defense vs. Ravens
B+
After a pair of miserable performances, the Lions defense stepped up in a huge way against the Ravens, limiting Lamar Jackson to just 287 yards passing and 58 yards rushing with 1 touchdown. Better yet, the Ravens’ complementary options couldn’t do much at all on the day to get loose. Detroit put pressure on and was able to generate 4 sacks on the afternoon. This was impressive given the team’s big changes at linebacker and injury problems within the secondary. Aaron Glenn’s game plan was also flawless. If the Lions can get more sustainable efforts like this moving forward, they will undoubtably find a way to win some big games.
Grading Lions Special Teams vs. Ravens
A-
Jack Fox was as solid as could be expected even though he had a shank early in the game after a great punt, while Ryan Santoso stepped up in emergency duty and drilled his extra points as well as a clutch 35 yard field goal to give the Lions the lead late in the fourth quarter. The Lions nearly generated a sudden change with a fumble recovery on a punt return, but an untimely out of bounds penalty prevented that from happening, which docks Detroit a bit. As a whole, though, it was a good day for Detroit on special teams, a group that went toe to toe with the Ravens, who are typically superb on that side of the ball.
Grading Lions’ Coaches vs. Ravens
B+
The Lions, even in losses, have looked more connected and engaged so far this season which is a credit to Dan Campbell. While there’s been execution errors, the offense and defense have also played well for Anthony Lynn and Aaron Glenn. This game could have been a massive letdown considering the fact that the team struggled on Monday night and then fell behind quickly early on. As a credit to Campbell, the Lions just keep battling for their head coach and his staff. That’s good news early on for the regime.
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