Lions vs. Steelers Report Card: Grading Detroit’s preseason loss in Pittsburgh
By Zach Payne
Defense- 2/5 Stars
As mentioned above, the Lions rested a lot of their starters in this one. The Steelers did not, and that led to a first-half that saw Ben Rothlisberger toss a pair of touchdowns.
However, like the offense, Detroit’s defense settled down in the second half and managed to hold Pittsburgh to just six second-half points.
A lot of that has to do with the Steelers finally giving their first team a rest but it’s still nice to see the Lions’ backups battle like they did.
Best defensive player: Derrick Barnes
Plain and simple, the Lions coaching staff needs to give this kid more opportunity. Because he is far and away the best player when playing against second and third-stringers.
Barnes shined for the second straight week, showing even more of his coverage ability with a couple of pass breakups. And he made several plays in the run game and even picked up a sack on a delayed blitz. No matter what his assignment is, Barnes always ends up around the ball.
Worst defensive player: Jalen Reeves-Maybin
This could have easily gone to Tavai again, but Reeves-Maybin was just a little worse in this one. That is a linebacker pair that should never be used again though.
He struggled in filling gaps in the run game, struggled in pass coverage, and gave up a touchdown pass. It was looking rough, but then the coup de grace; coming off a blitz unblocked with Mason Rudolph completely stationary, Reeves-Maybin completely whiffed on the tackle attempt.
Safe to say that’s a game he will want to forget.