Bleacher Report endorses Hendon Hooker after Lions' preseason finale

The Detroit Lions rallied to win their preseason finale over the Pittsburgh Steelers 24-17, and it was due in large part to the performance of quarterback Hendon Hooker.

Hooker ran the show most of the day for the Lions, and finished with 114 yards, one touchdown and one interception. In the battle to see who should become Detroit's backup quarterback, Hooker made a good impression for the second straight week.

Bleacher Report authored their top takeaways from Week 3 of the preseason. For the Lions, the focus was Hooker.

"The Lions took a long look at Hendon Hooker on Saturday. They kept him on the field up until early in the fourth quarter. He completed 12 out of 20 passes for 114 yards, a touchdown and an interception with 93 rushing yards and lost a fumble."

"Early in the game, Hooker held onto the ball a little too long, which resulted in multiple sacks, but after that, he started to make quicker decisions to either throw or tuck and run."

"On one hand, Hooker took five sacks. Yet he showed how his legs can compensate for poor pass protection. Also, note that Detroit didn't play its starting offensive line for this contest."

"Hooker needs more development, but he showed the playmaking ability and enough flashes to claim the primary backup position behind Jared Goff."

Nate Sudfeld seems to have the inside track to being Jared Goff's backup this season. Nevertheless, the Lions have a decision. Will they keep three quarterbacks again, or elect to release Sudfeld and have Hooker by himself as the backup? Should they find a new option all together? Bleacher Report leaves no doubt where they stand on the matter.

Hendon Hooker believes he made strides in first preseason

Last offseason, Hooker was rehabbing the knee injury which ended his college career, so he didn't get a chance to play in the 2023 preseason. This year, he showed growth in leading two straight wins and being able to bounce back from key mistakes in the clutch.

After the preseason finale, Hooker admitted to having some regrets. But he still felt good about what he was able to show.

"Definitely wish I had some plays back, but that's just the nature of the game. I felt like us as a team, we were very resilient moving forward. Started out slow and then got the ball rolling, then finished pretty strong."

Overall, Hooker feels as if he has been able to make plenty of important strides. He finished the preseason with 300 yards passing, one touchdown and one interception to go with 138 rushing yards and one touchdown.

"Took a lot of jumps just taking command of the huddle and running the offense fluently. Also, just getting through my progressions and getting to my check downs and moving in the pocket being smart with the ball. Just continuing to learn and progress every single day off of my mistakes."

Has Hooker done enough to be the Lions' backup quarterback, like Bleacher Report suggests? That remains to be seen, but at the very least he has gained plenty of confidence this preseason to put his development firmly in a positive direction.