The Detroit Lions finally snagged a win in preseason, defeating the Washington Commanders 17-13 in a defensively-driven victory. Detroit has now only allowed an average of 13.5 points over their first two preseason contests, which is a great sign for their depth on defense. Specifically, we've seen a marked improvement from their defensive line.
On Saturday, it was evident that that unit has a ton of players set to make the teams' roster math very difficult at the end of this month, whereas maybe the team will have an easier time shaving down their roster in their secondary, and on their offensive line.
Four obvious winners stood out amongst the pack from the game, while three losers might be watching their opportunity to snag a roster spot slip away.
4 winners and 3 losers from Lions' win over Commanders
Winner: Skyler Gill-Howard
The Lions' 6th round pick probably wasn't expected to shine the way he has in training camp or in the preseason, but he has burst onto the scene as an ideal backup tackle to one of Alim McNeill or Tyleik Williams headed into the year.
He finished up with a PFF grade of 80.8 on the day, and he looked like the perfect plug and play interior defensive lineman that the Lions have needed healthy for a few seasons now. His ability to pressure the pocket and force turnovers is obvious. If he was on the roster bubble at all to start this week, he shouldn't be, now.
Loser: Keith Abney II
Abney had a golden opportunity in Week 2 of the preseason as he was a starter in the Lions' secondary for this game. He was the teams' nickel, which is a positional competition he's been in against Roger McCreary throughout this summer. Unfortunately, Abney looked like a rookie in his first start: he gave up three catches for 56 yards and had a silly holding penalty in coverage.
Obviously, this is a part of the growing pains when you're plugging a rookie into your starting secondary unit, and it looks like Detroit might be going full send on this decision with McCreary getting majority of his snaps in this game at outside corner. But, you want a bit more out of Abney in Week 3 if he wants to build upon Detroit's goodwill.
Winner: Jackson Meeks
The wide receiver turned tight end had a great game on Saturday, and he endeared himself to head coach Dan Campbell by being impactful in more ways than one: on offense, and as a gunner for their special teams unit.
"He gives our guys fits on special teams, too. Some of these looks, whether he's on that team or he's opposite of the ball. We're really talking about on punt rush. He gives our guys fits. That was good to see. I thought he did some some really good things. Made some critical plays."
Meeks finished up with four receptions for 33 yards, and he was helpful to backup quarterback Luke Altmyer, who found him on a late game scramble to keep a Lions drive alive in the 4th quarter.
He was reliable with his hands, and generating a clutch turnover on special teams. While it's unlikely that Meeks jumps folks like Tyler Conklin or Brock Wright for TE2, he's still an important piece on the Lions' roster amid a potential injury to Sam LaPorta.
Loser: Josh Dobbs
Dobbs was given the reins to the Lions' "starting" offense in Week 2, which is to say, he got the benefit of starting offensive line protection in this one. He did not look like he could handle that responsibility to start the game, though. He had a quick fumble and eventual interception in this one, somewhat negated by his 50-yard quarterback keeper touchdown.
Dobbs still needs some time to gel with the Lions' offense, to be sure, but it's not the kind of showing you want out of your likely QB2. Detroit continues to seemingly struggle to identify reliable backup quarterback depth, or they just seem to continue to overthink it, especially with Altmyer having a better day than Dobbs.
Winner: Luke Altmyer
Speaking of Altmyer, he finished up with a PFF grade of 73.2, along with 86 passing yards on 9-13 passing. He had no touchdowns on the day, but he was a great game manager throughout the contest and helped keep Detroit alive on drives, one of which ended with a rushing touchdown from Trayveon Williams.
Altmyer is still in a battle to be the backup to Jared Goff, and it's understandable that the Lions might be uncomfortable with the prospect of a UDFA being next in line at quarterback if something were to happen to Goff in-game. But, Altmyer's been showing a lot of confidence in the pocket despite playing behind Detroit's third string offensive line throughout preseason.
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Loser: Seth McLaughlin
McLaughlin was one of the Lions' lowest-graded players on offense in this contest, finishing up with a grade of 50.9. He had to have a great showing in this game to combat Juice Scruggs' ascension at the position in recent days, and it just doesn't feel like he did enough to do so.
Scruggs looked really solid in his limited snaps at center, whereas McLaughlin began giving up a ton of pressure up the middle and throwing Altmyer off kilter.
McLaughlin might be the only remaining "true" center on the Lions' roster with Michael Niese having hurt his knee in this game, but that might not be enough for the undersized lineman to either win the starting job while Cade Mays is out, or to even make the roster. If Scruggs continues to improve in training camp.
Winner: Lions' running back room
With Isiah Pacheco still out with an MCL sprain, and the team obviously not letting Jahmyr Gibbs touch the field, Detroit's remaining available running back room had to step up to test the teams' run blocking in this one.
They did just that, with Raheem Blackshear, Williams, and Jacob Saylors all shining in this contest. Williams, specifically, really took advantage of his snaps in this one with one rushing touchdown and 60 total yards on offense on the ground and in the air.
It's a strength for the Lions, which is a great thing considering they traded away their huge punch behind Gibbs, David Montgomery. It's likely the team just runs with Pacheco at RB2, but if he doesn't improve upon a down year in 2025, expect players like Saylors, Williams, or Blackshear to get the call to step up behind Gibbs, instead.
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