Getty D'Onta Foreman runs over the Lions in a 2022 game.
The Detroit Lions endured what may have been their worst week on defense against the Carolina Panthers in Week 16, and ever since, people have been searching for answers why.
Detroit didn’t play nearly as well in run defense as they had, and allowed Carolina to rush for 320 yards on the day and gash them for multiple big plays. From the start of the game, the Lions never looked comfortable on defense.
ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky watched closely and as he said, it was very shocking to see the Lions struggling as much as they did on the field. What was the reason for the struggle as he saw it? A poor defensive game plan combined with terrible execution by the team.
Orlovsky explained in a tweet what he saw as the biggest problems, and didn’t mince words that the Lions were bad not only in terms of a game plan but mostly execution. The good news? Their problems are also fixable as he sees it.
1) The Lions defensive game plan this past week was awful
2) Their run fit’s defensively we’re worse
3) They tackled worse than all that
All that is fixable. Was shocking to see them so unprepared. Very unlike them under DC
“1) The Lions defensive game plan this past week was awful. 2) Their run fit’s defensively were worse. 3) They tackled worse than all that. All that is fixable. Was shocking to see them so unprepared. Very unlike them under DC,” Orlovsky tweeted.
It’s a good point by Orlovsky, especially to say that this is uncharacteristic for the Lions under their coaching staff. Rarely has the team been pushed around from start to finish and not ready to play while looking sloppy, but this was certainly the case.
Improving the tackling as well as finding a way to have a better game plan are the new challenges for Detroit this week. Seeing if they can meet them is going to be the biggest challenge, but already, their coaches are optimistic.
Lions Were Gashed By Panthers’ Offense
Putting on the tape of the game shows exactly what Orlovsky is talking about. The Lions were bad most of the afternoon, and it wasn’t just because the team allowed 320 yards on the day.
On the first drive of the game, the Panthers ran right up the middle against Detroit, and the drive culminated in an option touchdown pitch that the Lions just didn’t look ready for at all.
Now that’s a start!
As the day wore on, things got no better for the Lions. They even allowed Sam Darnold to rush for a touchdown in the red zone early in the game, which got things on the wrong track for the team.
A souvenir on Christmas eve 🎁
It wasn’t just Darnold causing them havoc though. The Lions allowed the Panthers to have a pair of 100 yard rushers in D’Onta Foreman (165 yards) and Chuba Hubbard (125 yards). Safe to say, this cannot happen again in Week 17 if the Lions want to survive again.
Dan Campbell Promises Lions Will Improve
Naturally, the problems that the Lions sustained were easy to identify and spot, and as a result, head coach Dan Campbell seemed to understand the team had some big problems as well.
Heading into a matchup against Chicago, Campbell spoke to the media on Monday, December 26 and admitted that the challenge for the team now was getting ready for a new game. As he said, that is a challenge the Lions plan to accept at this point, and will meet head on.
“We’re going to do everything we can in our power to correct everything that came up. We’re going to make sure that we’re ready, 100% ready. Our guys, they come in Wednesday, they’re going to be ready to go and we’ll prepare for every look that Chicago has,” Campbell told the media. “We know what they’re going to do with (Justin) Fields, we know these two running backs, this offensive line will come off the ball. We’re going to have everybody top to bottom, our front seven and our defensive backs, we’re going to be ready to roll. Those guys are gonna be ready. They got a good plan over there, what they do and this quarterback can run. We know exactly what he is. He’s dangerous, so we know everything starts with a run game with them. ”
With Chicago poised to bring a rush offense that is ranked tops in the league into the game piling up over 179 yards per-game on average, the task isn’t going to be easy. Campbell, however, knows that attention to detail could provide the biggest advantage to the Lions in the end.
“We have to improve our area like we have to improve every little thing, all the details that got us to this point in the first place that we did before this week. We have to get back to the basics and we’re going to get back to the basics,” the coach said.
Getting back to the basics include filling the proper gaps and tackling much better. This week, the challenge for Detroit is to figure out these problems and make sure they don’t happen again.
The issues were glaring as Orlovsky points out, but also fixable. Soon, everyone will get to see how well the Lions bounce back following a major hit of adversity.
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