The Detroit Lions secondary was bad in Week 8 against the Miami Dolphins, and advanced data has revealed just how bad it was.
The Detroit Lions pass defense was so bad in Week 8 against the Miami Dolphins, it was the tipping point that got defensive backs coach Aubrey Pleasant fired.
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa went 29-for-36 for 382 yards and three touchdowns last Sunday. The majority of that production went to wide receivers Tyreek Hill (12 catches for 188 yards–14 targets) and Jaylen Waddle (eight catches for 106 yards and two touchdowns–nine targets).
The Lions aren’t the first, and they won’t be the last, secondary to struggle against Hill and Waddle this season. But, based on yards of separation, they put up little if any resistance to almost any Dolphins’ pass catcher last Sunday.
This is wild: the average amount of separation in the NFL is 2.92 yards. The Dolphins had FIVE receivers average over three yards today; Tyreek *averaged* 3.72 yards of separation. Just unstoppable pic.twitter.com/uR7JxviuNk
— Ollie Connolly (@OllieConnolly) October 30, 2022
Detroit Lions secondary was simply awful against the Dolphins in Week 8
It gets worse.
This, from @ZebraTechnology, on Tua's game in Detroit is absurd, even by Lions standards (and helps explain why Dan Campbell fired his DBs coach). pic.twitter.com/LiNvZlqtM5
— Chris Burke (@ChrisBurkeNFL) November 2, 2022
Here’s a better view of the data passed along by Zebra Technologies via Next Gen Stats (h/t to Lions Wire).
"-Tua Tagovailoa carved up the Lions’ defense on Sunday, going 29/36 for 382 yards (most among QBs this week) and 3 TDs. His 95 NGS passing score was tied for the highest this season (with Jacoby Brissett, also Week 8).-Tagovailoa had an expected completion percentage of 66.9% – with his 13.6% completion percentage over expected clocking in at 2nd highest among QBs this week. He also did not record a single ‘aggressive’ passing attempt, meaning not a single one of his attempts was made into tight coverage, where there was a defender within 1 yard or less of the receiver at the time of completion or incompletion.-Tagovailoa also led the league with an average completed air yards of 11."
According to Pro Football Focus, the Dolphins only targeted the receiver covered by Lions cornerback Jeff Okudah once all day last Sunday. But when targeting AJ Parker and Amani Oruwariye is so profitable and you can set up those matchups, why go away from it?
The Lions got home with pressure by bringing extra blitzers on Tagovailoa a few times, and rendered the Miami passing game less effective on those occassions. But that’s a double-edged sword against the Dolphins, as Tagovailoa is in the top-five of the league in quickest time from snap to throw and air yards per attempt. If that blitz doesn’t get home, and do it quickly, Hill and Waddle are left to roam in more room on the back end. Play-action also slows down the reaction of second-level defenders, and the Dolphins use that a lot.
The Lions’ secondary obviously has a lot of work to do, starting with personnel shifts over the rest of this season. There’s no hiding from how bad the pass defense was against Miami, and more data further proved it.