By total yardage, the Detroit Lions have the second-best offense in the NFL through two weeks (413 yards per game). But they are also 16th in scoring offense (21 points per game), impacted by going 3-for-11 in the red zone and notably 1-for-7 in the red zone against the Buccaneers in Week 2.
The play calling of offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and the struggles of quarterback Jared Goff have been the headliners for the Lions' offense thus far. It's also fair to point to not playing starters during the preseason as a factor in things not looking smooth, but head coach Dan Campbell has made it clear that won't be changing. Ultimately, a few snaps in a preseason game won't make a difference.
Things will get better for the Lions' offense, and the slow start will then be forgotten. No one is pressing the panic button, but it's fine to be concerned.
Dan Campbell has interesting expectation for when Lions' offense will get fully on track
During his weekly appearance on 97.1 The Ticket Tuesday morning, Campbell was asked if he was surprised that the offense is "just a tick off."
"I’m not shocked. I’ll be honest, I wouldn’t be shocked if we’re not cooking by the time we get to the bye. Sometimes it takes a minute," Campbell said. "All those great offenses we’ve had in New Orleans, the great offenses we've had here over the last three years, man, it’s not always perfect early, so I’m not rattled or shaken by this at all. We are so much closer than a lot of people realize. Our players understand it, the coaches understand it. But we just have to correct, really, those issues that came up the other day. Just the small little details and the nuances of the game plan per the opponent, because we made so many improvements from the Rams game."
Campbell saying he wouldn't be surprised if the Lions' offense is not "cooking" before the Week 5 bye is a headline-maker. He noted the very narrow margins that have cost the offense in the red zone, but somehow it has felt like there's more to it than that.
No one wants to hear it may be a couple more weeks before the kinks are worked out for the Lions' offense. But Campbell (as usual) was candid with his thoughts, when it would have been easy to avoid saying anything of substance.