Detroit Lions lose close one to Raiders in preseason opener, 16-10
Take a look below to see how the Detroit Lions fared on the field against the Oakland Raiders in their first preseason contest of 2018.
Before the Detroit Lions‘ kickoff their first preseason matchup on 2018 against the Oakland Raiders late Friday night, it was already known that star Oakland’s pass rusher, Khalil Mack, was not going to appear for the Raiders. That was no doubt music to the ears of Lion quarterbacks! On the flip side of that same coin, there was no Ezekiel Ansah on the playing field for Detroit.
The game began with Detroit winning the coin toss and deferring to receive until the second half, a common tactic employed by the New England Patriots. Thank you new Lions head coach Matt Patricia.
First Quarter
Free agent acquisition, DeShawn Shead got the first tackle of this young preseason for the Lions on kickoff coverage and from there, Detroit’s first-team defense took the field against Oakland’s starting quarterback, Derek Carr. Carr completed his first two passes but that was it as he was held to 11 yards on 2 for 4 passing. He was replaced after only one series by Connor Cook.
Raider running back Marshawn Lynch showed that he still possesses enough speed to get to and beyond the second level of the defense as he gashed the Lions on the ground for a 60-yard score that was ultimately negated by a holding penalty by a rookie lineman.
Matt Cassel got the start at quarterback for the Lions and first-round draft pick, Frank Ragnow, got the start at left guard.
LeGarrette Blount got the nod with two consecutive carries on Detroit’s first two offensive snaps, but Cassel was sacked on third down during a three and out for the Lions.
During Oakland’s second series, the Lions gave up big chunk plays on the ground and via the air which got the Raiders into Detroit’s red zone. On second and goal, Glover Quin had a nice touchdown-saving tackle and on the ensuing play, Darius Slay was all over Johnny Holton with sticky coverage. Detroit’s defense bent but didn’t break by limiting the Raiders to a 21-yard field goal by their rookie kicker.
During Detroit’s second possession, Golden Tate was worked into the offense with a nice 11 yard gain and after two consecutive incompletions to Kenny Golladay, a holding call against former Lion Tahir Whitehead kept Detroit alive offensively but it ended in a 39-yard punt by Sam Martin.