Getty Aaron Donald sacks Matthew Stafford in 2018.
The Detroit Lions have had all kinds of trouble rushing the quarterback this season, so it probably wouldn’t be a shock to see plenty of teams outperforming them in terms of pocket pressure.
It would, however, be mildly stunning to see one player nearly equaling their pressure output, and that’s just what has happened with Los Angeles Rams lineman Aaron Donald. As Pro Football Focus recently explained, in 2020, Donald has 33 pressures of the pocket to his name. Detroit’s defense has just 43 total to theirs. It’s a 10 pressure difference, but still a very significant one in the grand scheme.
Aaron Donald pressures this season: 33
Detroit Lions pressures this season: 43
Detroit’s defense has been bad in a big way at rushing the passer, and their group can barely outrush Donald himself. In a season full of dubious stats so far for the Lions, this one might be the worst of them all considering the fact the team could have drafted Donald and also needs major help along their defensive front.
By the end of the season, Donald may be well behind Detroit’s statistical pressure output, but the fact he is keeping it this close is just more bad news for a scuffling Detroit defense in 2020.
Lions Defensive Statistics Lagging During 2020
This season, as part of Detroit’s tough 1-3 record, the Lions have seen both sides of the ball be on different pages at different times. That’s prevented the Lions from stringing together wins and achieving some much needed consistency. How bad have they been? A new graph provided by Over The Cap shows every team in the league’s scoring prowess relative to their defensive success. Detroit’s defense hasn’t exactly been successful.
Detroit, while they weren’t quite considered a team with a bad offense and a bad defense, were certainly close to the line. Instead, the team landed on the chart in the field of a decent offense and a bad defense. Anyone who has watched the team would certainly agree with that notion.
NFL scoring performance relative to their schedule through week 5
Top right= Good offense and defense
Top left= Bad offense, good defense
Bottom right= Good offense, bad defense
Bottom left= Bad offense, bad defense
The Lions defense has suffered mostly from a lack of a pass rush. With just 5 sacks and a miserable +1 turnover ratio, the team isn’t creating the kind of sudden change plays that winning defenses so often do. They need to find a way to pressure the pocket and create more chaos in order to generate turnovers. So far, opponents have scored 127 points against Detroit, which is way too many early in a season.
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The bad news? Defense has been Matt Patricia’s forte in his time in the NFL, so major improvements are needed considering the coach finds himself on thin ice perhaps as a direct result of his failing defense.
Safe to say the team’s defense needs to step up their game in a major way as these statistics only help prove in a bigger way.
Aaron Donald vs. Eric Ebron In Detroit
Why would this particular stat cut Lions fans just a little bit deeper than any other fanbase? Back in 2014, the team had the chance to draft Donald in the first round, and elected to select tight end Eric Ebron instead. Since, the duo has been compared at every turn, more often to Ebron’s detriment. Donald has been a perennial Pro Bowler and All-Pro type talent that could crack the Pro Football Hall of Fame one day, while Ebron is on his third team in his career and has been average at best with just one Pro Bowl nod to his credit.
If Donald manages to continue to keep up with the entire Detroit defense as he has in 2020, it will be simply another reason fans will be frustrated with missing out on drafting him.
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