Lions Week 10 Report Card: Detroit’s losing streak ends … with a tie

Defense-4/5 Stars

No matter how bad the Detroit offense played, this unit refused to quit. They played a bend-don’t-break style of defense to near-perfection in this game.

They allowed 387 yards to the Steelers and didn’t muster a single sack. But they only allowed 16 points, with three takeaways (an interception, and a pair of fumble recoveries). Both fumble recoveries came in overtime, with the second one clinching the tie as the Steelers approached field goal range.

Safety Tracy Walker, inarguably Detroit’s best defensive player, was knocked out of the game due to injury. Despite that, and some other injuries, the unit held up.

The Lions defense continues to show incredible tenacity as the season drags on. It has been the only reason Detroit has remained close in games this season.

Best defensive player: CB Amani Oruwariye 

He got beat a few times, but Oruwariye also made plays in this game. He nearly had a few interceptions, with pass breakups as the residual. Sprinkle in a few big tackles, and you have a very well-rounded performance.

Aaron Glenn trusted his secondary to hold up one-on-one with receivers, and it worked. Thanks to performances like Oruwariye’s.

Worst defensive player: LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin

Reeves-Maybin has been pretty good this year, but he had a rough day Sunday. A few missed tackles and a brutal late hit out of bounds penalty had fans clamoring for Derrick Barnes to get more snaps.

That being said, Reeves-Maybin was outstanding on special teams as he usually is. Hopefully, his performance on defense gets back on track next week.

Special Teams-3/5 Stars

This was going to be a slam dunk 5/5 star grade, and then Ryan Santoso attempted a game-winning kick in overtime.

And no, this kick was not blocked, he simply whiffed. He also missed an extra point earlier in the game. Four points left on the board from missed kicks. That quite literally cost the Lions the game.

Other than that, punter Jack Fox was fine but not his usual superhero form (46.4 yard average, one inside-the-20. Then again, when you punt 10 times there are bound to be a few kicks you want back.

What stood out the most was the fact that the returners in this game were really good. Kalif Raymind had a 48-yard punt return, and Igwebuike averaged a little over 24 yards per kickoff return.