Detroit Lions Week 7 report card: Offensive regression overshadows defensive progression

Run offense: 2.5/5 stars 

It took a bit for the run game to get going in this one. Dallas did a good job at stopping the Lions at the line, which forced Detroit away from the ground game. It took until the latter half of the second quarter for the Lions to start gaining traction.

The momentum on the ground carried over into the second half. Detroit’s most productive drives were a direct result of the ground game. Unfortunately, when the Lions pushed their way down to the Cowboys’ one-yard line, Jamaal Williams put the ball on the ground.

The usually sure-handed Williams had two fumbles in the game. The one the Lions lost was an absolute back-breaker though. On a day in which the Lions were not able to generate much offensively, self-inflicted wounds were much more pronounced.

Pass offense: 1/5 stars

From start to finish it was not a very good game for the passing game. The protection was very hit-or-miss, as the Cowboys’ aggressive pass rush broke through multiple times. That resulted in a lot more quick-strike plays, which didn’t succeed much.

A big part of that was the lack of separation from the receivers. Dallas played a lot of man-coverage and it worked wonders. Even when receivers did get open there were other issues (Jared Goff) that prevented plays from being made.

Sunday simply reaffirmed how important St. Brown and Swift are in the passing game. Their ability to get open consistently and pick up yards after the catch were sorely missed against Dallas.

Best offensive player: WR Kalif Raymond

Raymond was the one consistent Lions’ offensive player on Sunday. From start to finish he was effective both as a receiver and a rusher on end-around plays. Five catches on six targets for 75 yards along with a pair of rushes for 20 yards.

With all the injuries at receiver, the Lions needed someone to step up. Raymond did that on Sunday, which is all anyone could have asked for.

Worst offensive player: QB Jared Goff

Back-to-back games where the worst version of Goff has shown up. Two absolutely brutal interceptions off of terrible decisions are bad enough. It was the two fumbles though that were indicative of a larger issue.

That would be Goff’s pocket awareness or lack thereof, which is not new. Whether it’s spinning into pressure, not sensing pressure altogether, or failing to step up in clean pockets, it was and will always be incredibly frustrating to watch.

Again, the injuries are not an excuse. Would Goff have played better with St. Brown healthy all game? Perhaps. But he needs to be able to make it work with the weapons he does have. We’ve seen it before, in the Seattle game, how Goff has the ability to make it work. Unfortunately, the Cowboys pulled all the right strings to expose Goff’s deficiencies.