The Detroit Lions have played 877 regular-season and playoff games in the Super Bowl era, and on Sunday, they allowed an opponent to score 50 points for just the seventh time.
The Seattle Seahawks, who came into the game averaging a tick more than 20 per game, scored on nine consecutive possessions, including six touchdowns, in the 51-29 pummeling of the hapless Lions on Sunday.
Amazingly, it could have been worse had the Seahawks not been stopped at the 1-yard line in the closing minutes and opted to end the game by taking a knee.
For our final film review of a game from the 2021 season, we’re going to deconstruct each of Detroit’s 11 defensive drives to pinpoint exactly what went wrong with each.
► Possession 1 (Three plays, 3 yards, punt)
OK, things weren’t all bad. The Lions did manage to force a three-and-out on the game’s opening possession. On first down, good coverage and pressure from safety Dean Marlowe forced quarterback Russell Wilson to throw it away. On second, defensive tackle Nick Williams did a nice job controlling his blocker and stretching a Rashaad Penny run to the perimeter where it was cleaned up by cornerback Will Harris after a short gain. And on third down, Detroit’s back end coverage was excellent again as Julian Okwara used a swim move to quickly get by Seattle’s right guard to pressure Wilson into a hurried throw that sailed well beyond the intended target.
► Possession 2 (Nine plays, 66 yards, touchdown)
Lions coach Dan Campbell pointed to a failed fourth-and-one that turned the ball back over to Seattle as an early tipping point for the game’s momentum, but the Lions twice had the Seahawks in third-down situations early in this series and couldn’t get the stop.
After two successful run stops, the Seahawks faced a third-and-10 from their own 29-yard line. The Lions came out in a dime package and showed pre-snap pressure with six at the line of scrimmage, but only brought four, dropping into a Cover-3.
Failing to generate pressure, Wilson operated from a clean pocket and found Gerald Everett, who hooked behind shallow safety C.J. Moore on an in-breaking route to a soft spot in the middle of the field for 12 yards and the conversion.
Two plays later, with third-and-three, Wilson ran play-action before firing the ball to Penny in the right flat 5 yards short of the sticks. The back was Jessie Lemonier’s coverage responsibility, but the outside linebacker got caught cheating a step inside on the run fake and couldn’t recover quickly enough to prevent Penny from earning a fresh set of downs.
After a strong start to the contest, here’s where Detroit’s run defense began to fall apart. On second-and-10, following a Wilson throwaway, Penny took an inside handoff and ran through a tackle attempt by Austin Bryant in the backfield. From there, the back cut behind guard Gabe Jackson and picked up a second-level block from offensive tackle Jake Curhan, who erased linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin, creating a massive lane for a 20-yard gain.
Two snaps later, Penny was in the end zone. With Seattle’s line zone blocking with a right slide, Reeves-Maybin and Levi Onwuzurike overcommitted and were sealed inside, leaving a cutback lane to the left. Backside defender Charles Harris had a shot, but tried to shoulder tackle instead of wrapping up, bouncing off Penny as he accelerated into the second level where he made safety Tracy Walker miss on his way to a 15-yard score.
► Possession 3 (Seven plays, 41 yards, field goal)
Penny went right back to work the next series, taking handoffs on the first and third plays of the drive, gaining 13 and 23 yards.
On the first, defensive tackle Nick Williams and linebacker Derrick Barnes are both moved well out of their gap responsibilities, while Okwara was rocked by the pulling block of a tight end, opening a wide lane for Penny, who wasn’t touched until he was 10 yards downfield.
Following a 9-yard pickup on a play-action rollout pass to Everett in the flat, Penny found another lane as Seattle’s offensive line was able to seal open the hole with single blocks on Williams and John Penisini, while guard Phil Haynes used Barnes’ lateral momentum against him, driving him well past his gap. This time the running back gained 16 yards before being touched by a defender.
Detroit managed to clamp down, thanks to a couple nice plays by Reeves-Maybin, who shot a gap and stopped Penny for a 1-yard gain before reading a misdirection pass to Tyler Lockett and dropping the receiver for a loss of 5 yards. A third-down blitz led to another hurried throw by Wilson, forcing Seattle to settle for a long field goal.
► Possession 4 (Two plays, 64 yards, touchdown)
Following a shanked punt by Jack Fox, the Seahawks wasted little time testing Detroit downfield. Running a sneak route similar to the one Amon-Ra St. Brown scored on against the Cardinals a couple weeks back, Seahawks receiver Freddie Swain motioned into the right slot, feigned a block on a play-action handoff before continuing a crossing pattern that transitioned into a vertical route up the left sideline.
It’s unclear whether the Lions are in Cover-2 or Cover-3, but the deep defenders get preoccupied with two other vertical routes, drawing them away from the left sideline and leaving Swain wide open. The receiver had to slow down to wait for Wilson’s throw at the 43-yard line but has enough green grass to get down to Detroit’s 6 before being forced out of bounds.
Penny finishes things from there, taking advantage of Onwuzurike getting blown out of his gap by a double-team on the 6-yard touchdown run.
► Possession 5 (11 plays, 69 yards, touchdown)
This drive, like the second, showcased the Lions’ inability to get off the field when opportunities presented themselves. On third-and-six, Detroit attempted to disguise its defensive look, putting seven defenders along the line of scrimmage, covering up just one of Seattle’s three receivers to the left.
On the snap, nickel corner A.J. Parker, the widest defender along that seven-man front, immediately turned and ran at a 45-degree angle to pick up Lockett in man coverage. But the rookie defender was never able to close the steps he conceded with his pre-snap alignment as Wilson made a quick decision to trigger deep, hitting his target over the shoulder in stride for 28 yards.
The Lions got cute with Parker a few plays later, sending him on a third-down blitz that gave Wilson a hot read to slot receiver Dee Eskridge, who gained enough to set up a fourth-and-one. The Seahawks converted that easily with a QB sneak against Detroit’s undersized front that had Bryant playing defensive tackle and Reeves-Maybin and Moore in the second level.
The defense had one more shot to limit the damage to three, getting a pass breakup and short run stop to set up third-and-eight in the red zone. The Lions sent the house on the snap, rushing with seven, but the Seahawks had a good counter. Star receiver D.K. Metcalf essentially ran a double move from the left slot, causing Will Harris to bite on a slant while Wilson lofted the ball into the end zone where his receiver was waiting after stemming his route vertically.
► Possession 6 (11 plays, 90 yards, touchdown)
With Detroit countering with a four-play drive that used fewer than 30 seconds of game clock, Seattle went to work against an already tiring defense, running it four straight times with Penny to open the possession.
After gains of 5, 5, and 2, the back broke free for another big run, picking up 37 up the gut. Onwuzurike fired into the backfield on the snap, but was easily avoided as Penny ran through the vacated gap. Linebacker Antony Pittman, trying to maintain extension and read the run direction, was ultimately overwhelmed by guard Ethan Pocic, clearing a cutback lane for Penny, who shot into the second level before bouncing the run outside, where he picked up a perimeter block from Lockett on Harris.
The Seahawks never saw a third down on the series as they methodically marched the rest of the field to the score.
Backup running back Travis Homer had a 13-yard carry to the 1, after Williams lost his gap due to bad eyes, and Lockett polished things off with a tap pass around the right edge of the formation for the short touchdown.
► Possession 7 (Two plays, 21 yards, touchdown)
Seattle started with a short field early in the third quarter after an interception. Needing two plays to capitalize, they opened with an 8-yard Penny carry. Running behind a pair of combo blocks, the back dragged Marlowe the final 5 yards.
Metcalf followed that up with his second touchdown, easily converting a fade route against cornerback Ifeatu Melifonwu. The rookie defender seemed to recognize the route, but failed to locate the ball, resulting in the score.
► Possession 8 (13 plays, 80 yards, touchdown)
Two third-and-seven conversions fueled this lengthy scoring drive. The first was emblematic of Detroit’s overall defensive performance as Seattle tight end Cody Parkinson caught a pass 2 yards shy of the stick and powered through a joint tackle attempt by Reeves-Maybin and Harris.
A few players later, Metcalf schooled Melifonwu again, using physicality to gain easy separation out of the break on a post pattern.
Soon after, Wilson would gain 17 yards on a scramble up the middle when Barnes lost eyes on the backfield while in a shallow zone. That set up Metcalf’s third touchdown of the day.
The Lions actually did a good job covering Wilson’s initial reads on the play-action rollout, particularly Parker in the right flat, but Metcalf adjusted his route to help his quarterback, reversing field in the back of the end zone and shaking Melifonwu to come open.
► Possession 9 (Five plays, 22 yards, field goal)
After recovering an onside kick, Seattle opened with a play-action pass, running a zone-beating route combination that got Everett clear near the right sideline for a 15-yard gain and put the Seahawks in field-goal range.
Penny followed that up with a 7-yard rush up the middle when Reeves-Maybin overcommitted, but the linebacker rebounded with a no-gain stop on second down, while a third-down blitz rushed Wilson into an incompletion.
► Possession 10 (Four plays, -2 yards, field goal)
Starting deep in Lions territory following an interception, Reeves-Maybin came up with a tackle for a loss on the Seahawks’ first play of the series, shooting a gap and dropping Penny for a 2-yard loss.
Barnes chipped in with a no-gain stop on second down, while Melifonwu played physical downfield coverage on an end zone shot to Eskridge on third down, leaving Seattle to settle for a second straight field goal.
► Possession 11 (Seven plays, 43 yards, end of game)
The Seahawks were able to run out the remaining 4:23 on the clock, starting with Wilson converting a third-and-two with a zone-read keeper. Two plays later, Eskridge put the finishing touches on the day with a 30-yard gain on an end around to the 1-yard line.
The Lions collapsed hard on a fake handoff to Homer, clearing the right edge for the receiver. Seemingly cornered at the 20, he was able to hesitate and pick up a convoy, weaving through traffic before being tackled from behind just short of the goal line.
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers