Bottom drops out of Detroit Lions defense Monday night
The Detroit Lions hired a defensive-minded head coach bringing high expectations, but the performance on Monday night fell well short.
The game started well for the Detroit Lions defense. They intercepted New York Jets rookie quarterback Sam Darnold on the first play from scrimmage. More specifically, Lions defensive back Quandre Diggs returned the pass for a touchdown that electrified Ford Field on Monday night.
It didn’t last long as the Jets answered to tie the game. Sure, the Lions held strong and tied the game on the first drive of the second half, but then the bottom dropped out. Quarterback Matthew Stafford launched four interceptions throughout the game, one returned for a touchdown. But the bigger story is the defense.
Similar to last year, the Lions didn’t show much ability to stop the running game. It didn’t help that star defensive end Ziggy Ansah injured his shoulder early in the game. He’s a fantastic pass rusher and an underrated run defender. His absence throughout the game was certainly felt after tallying an early sack. The team can only hope his injury isn’t serious, because this team certainly needs him in the game.
Without Ansah, the defense gave up two rushing touchdowns to Jets running back Isaiah Crowell, allowed Darnold to throw for 198 yards and two touchdowns, and gave up two field goals. Throw in Stafford’s pick-six and a punt return for a touchdown and there wasn’t much chance of the Lions coming back in this one. There were just too many points allowed on defense.
Lions head coach Matt Patricia‘s “multiple” or “sub” defense was shredded last night. The team was still in the game after one half of football, but the adjustments at halftime, or lack thereof, came to light in the third quarter. Chalk it up to the injury bug attacking key players, the offense not giving them great field position or the Jets ability to figure out the defense, whichever way you want to slice it, this defense still didn’t perform.
The defense has some issues to figure out. And the former defensive coordinator got a rude welcome to the new gig of head coach. Here’s hoping this is an awakening for this Detroit Lions team.
Since there have been many comparisons and hopes of the Lions being closer to the New England Patriots, let’s throw out another comparison. To start the 2017 season, the Patriots were throttled by the Kansas City Chiefs, 42-27. The Patriots then rebounded to go13-3 on the season.
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Now, there’s a difference in talent on the roster between last year’s Patriots and this year’s Lions, but let’s hope the Motor City team follows close to those footsteps and turns things around. So far, the offense isn’t showing the ability to win shootouts and the ground game is still idle. The defense is going to be the answer to how far this team can go in 2018.