Detroit Lions: Damon Harrison shines in Motown debut
Despite the Detroit Lions losing to the Seattle Seahawks in Week Eight, the debut of All-Pro defensive tackle Damon Harrison was a big win.
The Detroit Lions pulled off a potentially season-altering trade last week, landing All-Pro defensive tackle Damon Harrison in exchange for a 2019 fifth round selection in a trade with the New York Giants. And the Lions desperately need the man affectionately known as “Snacks”, as Detroit’s run defense is among the worst in the NFL.
Unfortunately, Harrison’s presence against the Seattle Seahawks wasn’t enough to overcome the Birds on the ground on Sunday. The Seahawks were easily able to defeat the surging Lions in their Week Eight matchup, 28-14, in a dominating offensive performance.
Not only was Seattle able to rush for 176 total yards on the ground against Detroit’s retooled defense, Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson was also able to pass for 248 yards and three touchdowns despite only throwing 17 total passes.
As for Harrison, he posted a stellar first game for Detroit. He racked up seven total tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack in his debut. And that’s despite the fact he wasn’t officially traded to the Motor City until Wednesday.
Here’s what the staff over at Pro Football Focus had to say about Harrison’s debut on Sunday.
"“Damon ‘Snacks’ Harrison was unbelievable in his first game for the Lions. He continually gave the interior offensive line of the Seahawks problems, as they seemingly could not block him in the run game all game long. The only problem was that he couldn’t cover the Seahawks receivers.”"
The 6-foot-3, 355 pound run-stuffer posted his best game of the season in his first contest for Detroit, recording his first sack since last November. You have to believe the more time Harrison spends within this new defensive scheme, the better he’ll become.
Next. Lions suddenly being run like championship franchise. dark
Unfortunately, the Detroit Lions aren’t simply one player away from playoff success. With Sunday’s loss, Detroit sits at 3-4 and is in last place in the NFC North. As it’s their biggest weakness, the Lions have to figure out a way to stop opposing offenses on the ground. The presence of a player like Snacks Harrison will surely help, but so will further learning and implementing head coach Matt Patricia’s multiple defensive scheme.