Detroit Lions Week 7 report card: Offensive regression overshadows defensive progression
By Zach Payne
Despite an improved showing from the defense, the Detroit Lions were unable to get the better of the Cowboys as they lost by a score of 24-6 on Sunday.
During the 2021 season, the Detroit Lions lost a lot of games. For the first 10 weeks or so, the main theme would be the defense playing a bend-don’t-break style successfully, while the offense failed to step up. Early in this season, it seemed the opposite would be true. The offense was flying high and carrying an otherwise inept defense to keep the Lions in games.
This week, however, the script reverted back to 2021 form as the offense sputtered while the defense fought tooth and nail to try to keep the game close.
The final score is slightly deceiving, as the offense put the defense in awful spots due to turnovers. Though the dam did break down the stretch. Nonetheless, this was a good enough defensive effort to win.
Unfortunately, the offense has regressed significantly over the past two games. Going from the top offense in the league to not scoring a touchdown in consecutive games. Health is a factor, as D’Andre Swift missed another game, DJ Chark was placed on IR on Saturday and Amon-Ra St. Brown left the game early due to a concussion.
Perhaps over the next few weeks as the offensive weapons get healthy the Lions see some positive progress. But pointing to injuries is a simply lousy excuse for the lack of execution on Sunday. While injuries are certainly a factor, that doesn’t let everyone off the hook.