For all intents and purposes, new Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Drew Petzing is doing a great job in his first season with the team.
The Lions are 2-1, have scored 31 points exact in all three games, and offensive stars like running back Jahmyr Gibbs, quarterback Jared Goff, and wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown are playing elite ball.
Sunday's win against the New York Jets was especially impressive as, statistically at least, the Jets entered as arguably the best defense in the league in terms of yards per game and points allowed. And when the Lions needed a score after the Jets tied the game at 24, Petzing called a four play touchdown drive to take back the lead.
Which makes the offense's slow starts this season all the more bizarre.
Through three weeks, the Lions average nine points in the first half and 22 points in the second half plus overtime. They've been shutout in two consecutive first quarters, and scored only seven first quarter points in their Week 1 win against the New Orleans Saints.
That TD against the Saints came on the Lions' second drive of the game, with 3:39 left in the first quarter. They didn't score until their third drive in the following two weeks, with those scores coming with 5:03 and 9:35 left in the second quarter. Against the Jets, their first TD didn't come until eight minutes later in game time.
Week 3 did bring some progress. The win against the Jets marked the first time this season the Lions did not go three-and-out on their first drive of the game. Entering this past Sunday, the Lions had one cumulative yard on their first drive between the Saints and Buffalo Bills games.
But much like the other two games, that drive against the Jets ended in a negative play -- a sack. The first drive against Bills ended the same way, while the first drive against the Saints ended Gibbs three-yard loss on 3rd and 1.
Offense needs to play a full four quarters
31 points each week is amazing. As Cem Yolbulan points out on Detroit Jock City, it's the first time in franchise history the Lions have scored 30 or more points in their first three games.
The problem is they needed 31 points or more in those three games. The defense is still struggling to keep teams off the board, particularly in the second half. The Bills game between the exception. Take those 27 first half points for the Bills away, and the Lions have only given up seven points in the first half.
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That's where the slow starts truly hurt the team. When the defense is playing unexpectedly well, the offense should be able to back that up and build up a comfortable lead. That's exactly what the Bills did, quickly getting up to a 21-0 lead before the Lions outscored them the remainder of the game.
The Lions are back on the national stage this week on Sunday Night Football, going up against a high-powered Carolina Panthers passing game led by QB Bryce Young, who leads the league in passing yards (939). However, the Panthers have had their injury woes this past week, including losing to star cornerback Jaycee Horn, who has been one of the anchors on the Panthers' elite pass defense.
That huge blow for the Panthers' defense creates an opportunity for Petzing to get the Lions off to a hot start themselves, and in a game primed to be a primetime shootout, every drive is going to matter.
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