Detroit Lions Week 2 report card: Commanders comeback attempt falls short

The Detroit Lions held off a second-half comeback from the Washington Commanders to win a thrilling game by a score of 36-27 on Sunday. 

What a difference a week makes. Scratch that, what a difference a half makes. The Detroit Lions  kicked the Washington Commanders up and down Ford Field for the entire first half on Sunday. The defense allowed just one first down on the way to a commanding 22-0 lead at the break.

In the second half things came unwound a bit, but Detroit was able to hold on for a 36-27 win to move to 1-1 on the season.

The stark contrast in the two halves of this game serves as a reminder of how far this team still has to go. But the Lions’ resilience showed, while their young core delivered big plays necessary to secure the win.

Let’s get into some grades for a Lions win in Week 2.

Detroit Lions Week 2 report card

Run offense: 4/5 stars

In Week 1, the run game started off hot with a huge D’Andre Swift run en route to 181 yards on the ground. That trend continued against Washington but in a slightly less efficient way.

Detroit ended up with 191 yards on 8.0 yards a carry, which sounds super efficient. But over 100 of those yards came on just two plays. A  50-yard run by Swift, and an Amon-Ra St. Brown 58-yard run off a jet sweep.

Without those two huge plays, Detroit had 83 yards while averaging just 3.7 yards per carry otherwise. That can be excused with  all three interior offensive line starters being out due to injury. So while the run game was very good, it wasn’t quite what it was in Week 1.

Pass offense: 3/5 stars

The stats are a little receiving looking at the Lions passing attack on Sunday. Jared Goff threw for 256 yards with four touchdowns as he posted a 121.7 QBR. However, there were also a number of throws Goff missed in this one when he had someone open.

The biggest example was early on, whuch let to a turnover on downs in the red zone. On third-and-goal Goff missed an open St. Brown by pushing the throw too far. On the next play he overthrew DJ Chark, who had his defender boxed out. There were also a few notable misses when targeting T.J. Hockenson, as that connection seems a bit shaky early in the season.

But credit where credit is due, the pass offense as a whole was very solid in this game. Some critical plays late in the game helped Detroit maintain the lead.

Best offensive player: WR Amon-Ra St. Brown

Yet another incredible game for St. Brown in his young career, and this one put his name into the record books.

Nine receptions, 116 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns. Just for fun he added two rushes for 68 yards. Put simply, that is absolutely incredible production from St. Brown.

St. Brown clearly stated how he wanted to improve after he got the ball in his hands this season. His improved ability in the open field was certainly on display against Washington.

Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson had some creative ways to get St. Brown the ball, which we got a taste of when Johnson took on a bigger role in the offense’s construction late last season. Between jet sweeps, motion and route concepts, St. Brown is being used everywhere in this offense. He is a Swiss Army knife and has continued to be the most reliable weapon Goff has.

Worst offensive player: WR DJ Chark

Chark wasn’t necessarily bad, as he had a few opportunities for big plays. It just wasn’t his week, and that’s going to happen sometimes in this offense when everyone’s healthy.

But any time you have zero catches, it stands out. And Chark was a non-factor as the Lions offense scored 34 points and put 425 yards.

Run defense: 4/5 stars

The Lions’ defensive front came to play on Sunday. Not having to play against a super-athletic quarterback like Jalen Hurts certainly helped. For a majority of the game Washington couldn’t do anything on the ground, which led to a lot more passing and pass rush situations.

Even later in the game it wasn’t like Washington started gashing the Lions on the ground, they just started getting a few more decent gains. Their longest run of the game 21 yards gain on a trick play by Curtis Samuel.

Without that 21-yard rush, Washington had just 67 yards on the ground while averaging 3.4 yards a carry on their other attempts.

There were still a few tackling issues that need to be addressed, but overall a very strong day for the Lions defending the run.

Pass defense: 3/5 stars

If there was a single part of the Lions game that changed in the second half to be pointed to as a turning point, it would have to be the pass rush. This game proved that when Detroit is getting after the quarterback, they can hold up defensively as well as anyone. But when the pass rush doesn’t get home, the secondary just cannot hold up.

In the first half, Carson Wentz had no time in the pocket. Mostly because of a certain someone we will talk about momentarily. Alim McNeill was also pretty disruptive and Charles Harris flashed with a big play to force a safety.

In the second half, as the pass rush was slowed, the cracks started to show. Jahan Dotson, Terry McLaurin, and Curtis Samuel all started to make plays and Washington started scoring.

But when push came to shove, the pass rush reignited, and the secondary held strong when it needed to the most.

Best defensive player: DE Aidan Hutchinson

If Billie Jean is going to be played every time Hutchinson makes a play, everyone in Detroit will get sick of that song rather quickly.

The first half Hutchinson put together was more than anyone could have hoped for–he was flat-out phenomenal. In the second half he was hampered by a leg injury, but still got pressure despite being double-teamed often. Hutchinson putting together a good game in Week 2 was a critical component to the success of the defense.

It seems the leg injury is nothing serious. Hutchinson entrenched his name in Lions’ history.

Worst defensive player: CB Mike Hughes

As mentioned earlier, the Lions’ secondary simply could not hold up when the pass rush was stymied. Hughes was especially guilty, as he struggled against Samuel in the second half and gave up at least one big play to McLaurin.

He was pretty good against the run, but like everyone else on the defense there were some tackling issues that need to get fixed quickly.

Coaching Staff: 4/5 stars

We already talked about Ben Johnson earlier in regard to how creatively he uses St. Brown. It was that type of creativity which allowed Detroit to maintain its grip on the lead throughout the second half. When Washington got close, Johnson dialed up some money plays and Detroit would extend the lead again.

Aaron Glenn’s defense certainly flashed in the first half, and he showed again how good he is at scheming pressure. Looking at Hutchinson’s third sack, Glenn dialed up a stunt that the defensive line executed to perfection.

Glenn’s expertise in designing blitzes is also really impressive, and so important as his young secondary continues to develop.

Play of the game: D’Andre Swift’s 22-yard touchdown catch

At a pivotal moment in the game, Detroit had gotten into scoring range after St. Brown’s long run. The Lions were up seven after the Commanders had just scored another touchdown and added a two-point conversion. Momentum was swinging the wrong direction, and the Lions were faced with a third-and-long.

When it was needed most, Swift delivered a big play.

Running backs coach Duce Staley has said multiple times he thinks Swift can be among the best backs in the league. Plays like that are why. Swift has special ability to create plays in space by making people miss, and he did it with a bad ankle on Sunday.

Final Thoughts

The Lions offense accomplished a feat it hasn’t done in a long, long time.

The best part about that stat is Detroit is nowhere near full strength offensively. The Lions starting left guard, center and right guard were all out of this game, and Detroit still put up 34 points.

There is a missing piece we haven’t had the pleasure of seeing yet…

This offense is already a ton of fun, it’s only going to be moreso when Jameson Williams is able to play.