Full Recap of Lions’ 30-14, Preseason loss to Bengals
By Matt Urben
The Lions out-gained, but still lost to the Cincinnati Bengals, 30-14, in the second game of the Preseason. A slow start and finish capped off a poor showing from Detroit earlier tonight at Ford Field. Here are my notes from each position group on the team.
Offense
1st-team Offense
The Lions came out in a spread formation, aggressively attacking. A good looking first drive ended with a field-goal. Couldn’t get much push against the Bengals’ stout defensive front, but Lions moved the ball at will through the air. Stafford came out strong again, going 5-5 to start the opening drive. He began with a nice completion to Anquan Boldin. His first incompletion came on a drop by Tate in the end zone that killed the drive.Stafford zipped a couple nice passes to Tate. What stood out most was the beautiful passes from Stafford to Marvin Jones, including a deep ball down right sideline where he got both feet in. Jones then caught a pretty back-shoulder ball. The two had some brilliant moments. The Lions’ starters failed to score more than a field goal despite three drives.
Quarterbacks
Stafford looked to be in strong command of the offense. He made several audibles to the offensive line and receivers in the three offensive series he played. The Lions can still move the ball through the air. There is definitely good chemistry between Stafford and Marvin Jones. He completed a few really sharp throws but showed poor touch on 3rd and short, causing a Riddick drop. Stafford played three series, scoring 3 points. He finished 8-11, for 113 yards and a 105.5 quarterback rating. Again, no touchdowns or interceptions and one recovered fumble. Dan Orlovski picked up where he left off last week with another pick six. He continues to make some really bad reads. You’d like to see him make better decisions with as much experience as he has. His performance picked up in the second half against the reserves. He’s capable when he plays within himself. Jake Rudock came in to start the 4th-quarter. After Orlovski failed to do much, Rudock threw a few bullets to start his first drive. But, then he forced a ball down the field and got intercepted. It was a poor decision and Orlovski surely breathed a sigh of relief.
Running Backs
Riddick looked average at best running the ball. There weren’t great holes but he doesn’t always get what is there. He’s explosive in space but not a very good option between the tackles. Fullback Michael Burton had a nice block on an Andre Roberts end-around. Zenner showed an ability to get a couple when nothing was there. Dwayne Washington had another good night with a few powerful carries, including a touchdown and two-point conversion. It was a below average showing from the halfback group in particular. None of the Lions’ runners really stood out other than late carries from Washington. Ameer Abdullah should get most of Riddick’s carries in the regular season.
Wide Receivers
Golden Tate got his first few catches of the Preseason. Former Bengal, Marvin Jones, had three big catches on the first drive. He finished with 4 grabs for 65 yards against his old team. Roberts continues to look like a quality signing and is making his case for the roster. T.J. Jones had a nice catch on a roll-out from Orlovski. Jace Billingsley continues to show really good acceleration and elusiveness. Quinshad Davis had an effective night. He has some size and speed, finishing with 4 catches for 40 yards. Jay Lee had a couple of grabs for 15 yards.
Tight Ends
Cole Wick got beat in pass-protection by Carlos Dunlap, giving up a huge hit to Stafford. He responded though, and made a nice grab. Orlovski hung him out to dry and he made the catch while absorbing a big hit. Wick then got open later on a seam route and converted a big 3rd-down.
Offensive Line
The starters looked really solid in pass protection. Didn’t generate many holes in the run game, but the group is definitely improving. I thought Taylor Decker looked more comfortable in his second start. No major gaffes but he still was a little rough around the edges. The Bengals have an elite front-seven so it was a great test for the young group. Reiff had another decent showing on the right side. The middle of the line isn’t getting great penetration, but they’re holding up against the pass. Joe Dahl played right guard after playing left guard last week. So they are either looking to find a place he can play or just getting him utility-man experience for his likely role as a backup.
Defense
1st-Team Defense
Bengals starters looked very good. They started things with an 8-play, 74-yard drive for a TD on their first drive. Wide receiver A.J. Green made a great catch over the middle. Lions defense looked a step slow in the secondary while attempting to match up with Bengals receivers. They drove right down and Hill ran the ball up the middle, nearly untouched for a TD. It was a bad showing on first drive. They rebounded to get good pressure, only allowing one scoring drive in three chances. Had couple effective blitzes but really lacked that consistency.
Defensive line
Without question, the starters were getting great push up the middle. They had a big run-stuff on an early 3rd and short. The starters flashed elite ability but not as regularly as you’d hope to see. The line blew up a few plays and looked lost on some others. Overall, the defensive line was poor against the run. On a few plays, the runner would be untouched 5 yards down the field with gigantic holes to run through. They did get good pressure on the quarterback, even when they didn’t get home. A’Shawn Robinson looks really strong and can be a difference-maker when he plays within the scheme. His pure size and ability are impressive to watch. The effort was strong from this group I felt. They weren’t always effective but the intensity was there.
Linebackers
Tahir Whitehead started things with a great read and tackle on 2nd down. He followed it up when he sniffed out a short pass to Jeremy Hill and made another huge tackle. Kyle Van Noy got a good pass-rush to force an errand pass by Dalton on an early third down. While they got beat a few times and were late in reacting to a couple plays, they flew around the ball for the most part. Van Noy blew up a a run play on the goal-line before the end of the first half. It was another good showing from Van Noy. Overall, some of the reserves weren’t able to get off blocks and stop some big plays throughout the game. It sounds like DeAndre Levy will be ready for the season opener. He — along with Whitehead and Van Noy — could be a really good group of linebackers. They will need it as the defensive line still hasn’t fully recovered from the loss of Ndamukong Suh.
Defensive Backs
Nevin Lawson got his second consecutive start at corner but it wasn’t his best game. Quandre Diggs got burned by Tyler Boyd despite holding him and gave up a nice completion. The starting secondary looks to be team’s biggest weakness on defense. The corners looked small outside of Slay. Safeties Glover Quin and Rafael Bush don’t have great chemistry. Their struggles should be expected but they need to get used to each other or the team should consider a different strong safety to pair with Quin. The Bengals exposed Detroit’s secondary when they were out of place, including a touchdown pass before halftime. Diggs came up and stuffed the run like a linebacker then got beat on the very next play. He looks like tough corner, however, with good upside as the starting nickel. This group needs to improve. It was definitely a Preseason game.
Special Teams
T.J. Jones got the start and got nothing on his first return. Roberts had a decent return. Kerley showed some speed and vision on his return. Kickoff coverage looked really leaky and the group almost gave up a couple huge runs. Kicker Matt Prater was 2-2 on field goals.