Getty Amani Oruwariye misses a tackle for the Lions in 2022.
The Detroit Lions have gotten the reputation as one of the most undisciplined NFL teams over the years, and it’s a reputation that they have more than earned.
During their loss to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, October 30, another example surfaced of that, and it was perhaps one of the funniest examples in the history of their organization.
With Miami driving in the second half, Detroit was beginning to break on defense. With the Dolphins on the goal line, the Lions were flagged for an offside call. Cameras caught just how offside the play actually was.
Cornerback Amani Oruwaryie didn’t even look like he made an attempt to be onside on the play. As Ben Baldwin of The Athletic pointed out, it was almost comical how offside the play was.
Dying at how far offsides the Lions defender at the top of the screen lined up
Balwin’s tweet racked up 6,652 likes at the time of this story, including 442 retweets and 90 quote tweets. Clearly, people were responding to the hilarity of this play in a big way. It might have been the most offside play in the history of the NFL.
Oruwariye is having a rough season, and this play only added to his misery when all was said and done.
Lions Struggled With Penalties During Miami Loss
The play may have turned out to exemplify the Lions on the day. Detroit, as per usual, lacked discipline in the game in both big ways and small.
On the afternoon, the Lions would rack up six penalties for 30 yards on the day. In one stretch in the second half, Detroit’s offense had three critical penalties in a row that stunted one of their important drives.
Defensively, the team didn’t make any sort of string of mistakes like that, but this was the ugliest penalty the Lions picked up on the day. If the team wants to take the next step forward, they have to eliminate the obvious and silly penalties such as this.
Simply lining up onside would have made the difference for the Lions in this situation, but that was not in the cards for the defense on this play.
Oruwariye Having Tough 2022 Season With Lions
Coming into the 2022 season, there was a hope that Oruwariye could be a breakout player for Detroit given a solid six interception season in 2021. That hasn’t played out whatsoever.
Oruwariye has struggled in a major way this season, and has been victimized by both the opposition as well as penalties. His struggles led him to the bench during Week 5 of the season, but given the injuries that have played out on his defense, he has returned to the lineup.
In 2021, Oruwariye put up a solid 57 tackles and six interceptions. This year, he has just 23 tackles to his credit through the first eight weeks with no picks. It’s a troubling step backward for a player most assumed would be one of Detroit’s key defenders during this season.
This penalty isn’t the best moment for Oruwariye this season, but it’s par for the course for the kind of year he is currently enduring.
Comments