Lions vs. Steelers Report Card: Grading Detroit’s preseason loss in Pittsburgh

Special Teams-3/5 Stars

This was a very up and down game for Detroit’s special teams unit, especially when it came to kick/punt coverage. A few returns went a little too long for comfort, including a huge 47-yard return. The Lions certainly need to clean that up going forward.

However, there were some clear positives. Randy Bullock executed a perfect onside kick which Detroit recovered to keep the game alive.

And of course, the Detroit Lions 2020, and probable 2021 MVP Jack Fox sent a punt into orbit. It eventually bounced out of bounds at the Steelers three-yard line, 70 yards later. He also added a couple of 60+ yarders in this game as well.

Coaching Staff- 3/5 Stars

There’s not much to say about a coaching staff that sat a majority of its starters. There’s even less to say about a staff that sits its starters and is calling a very vanilla playbook because it’s the preseason.

What can be said is the Lions for the second straight week had a rough start, except this week that rough stretch lasted the entire first half, not five minutes. There needs to be a larger emphasis on starting the game well.

Final Thoughts

The score may have been different but the theme of the game stayed similar, the Lions had an extended stretch of poor play that was almost salvaged in the end by the third team.

We know that the 2021 Detroit Lions aren’t going to be world-beaters, but it would be infinitely more exciting for these games to be competitive.  While it’s nice to see guys like Blough or Reynolds perform well, you want to see some of the starters make plays too.

Hopefully, we will see some more of that next week as the Lions head home to close out the preseason against the Indianapolis Colts.