Allen Park — Here are four observations after having a night to ponder the Detroit Lions’ 36-27 victory over the Washington Commanders.
First Down
Throughout the offseason, a philosophical theme was consistently pushed by Detroit’s coaches, I just didn’t fully pick up on it. Well, that’s not entirely accurate. I heard what was being said, but without action to back it up, it was just words.
On Sunday, in all three phases, that theme emerged, to the point where we might be able to consider it an identity of this young Lions squad. This is a team about pressuring opponents, not only in the traditional sense of getting after the quarterback, but in all three phases.
So what does that look like?
Let’s start with the offense. The sample size is admittedly small, but the current approach feels different than anything we’ve seen here in recent years. In the times the Lions have built a lead in the past decade, previous play-callers have been content to take a conservative approach, looking to run the clock out and escape with the win. Not Dan Campbell and Ben Johnson. They keep the foot on the gas for 60 minutes.
Look at the end of the first half yesterday. The Lions were up 22 points and could have contentedly sat on that lead when taking possession at their own 20-yard line with 32 seconds remaining. Instead, the team threw the ball three times, including a deep shot to DJ Chark, looking to expand the advantage before the break. It didn’t work out, but the sentiment shouldn’t be lost.
Similarly, when Washington was orchestrating a comeback in the fourth quarter, the Lions didn’t turtle. Instead, they responded by continuing to attack downfield, putting an emphasis on counterpunching as opposed to burning the clock. In the second half, the Lions only ran the ball on back-to-back plays once, the team’s first two snaps of the second quarter. That’s a welcome embrace of modern football.
Defensively, coordinator Aaron Glenn has been more than happy to send an extra rusher after the quarterback. In the season opener, the Lions blitzed 21 times and Washington quarterback Carson Wentz noted after the game Detroit brought extra pressure more than expected for first and second down.
And it worked, because Glenn is sending the attack from every direction, with linebackers, corners and safeties all in the pass-rush mix. And while the strategy proved less effective against a mobile quarterback in that opener, it was a nightmare for Wentz.
And Detroit’s desire to put pressure on the opponent also showed up on special teams. While most teams happily blast kickoffs out of the end zone, the Lions are routinely kicking short, by design, forcing a return. That strategy has also been effective, with opponents averaging just 18.4 yards per return through two games. It might seem inconsequential, but it provides some immediate energy and momentum for the defense and a slight edge in field position.
All totaled, the Lions are attempting to put relentless mental and physical stress on their opponents. And while aggressiveness can obviously backfire at times, the percentages on even the basic concepts of going for it more frequently on fourth down and blitzing are proven.
Second Down
Among the playing-time adjustments between Weeks 1 and 2, the most notable not related to injury came at the linebacker position.
After drawing praise for his assignment-sound performance in Week 1, rookie Malcolm Rodriguez saw his workload increase from 60 to 73% of the defensive snaps. Meanwhile, Derrick Barnes went from logging 22 defensive reps in the opener to zero against the Commanders.
It’s been tough sledding for Barnes, a fourth-round draft pick last year. He entered the offseason in pole position for a starting job alongside Alex Anzalone, but was quickly leapfrogged on the depth chart by both Rodriguez and Chris Board.
Barnes flashes potential and closed training camp on a high note, but he had some alignment and assignment mistakes in the opener, which has knocked him out of the rotation. There’s no other way to view it since his downhill skill set would have made him a logical part of the game plan against an opponent with a pocket passer and bigger running back.
Barnes will obviously continue to be a valuable contributor on special teams, where he saw 13 snaps on Sunday, but for now, Detroit will smartly roll with a reduced rotation at linebacker.
Third Down
It’s been remarkable watching the transformation of Detroit’s offense from one of the league’s worst a year ago to one of the NFL’s most explosive units through the first two weeks of the season.
Heading into the Monday-night games, the Lions are one of five teams averaging more than 400 yards per game, and their 35.5 points per contest are only exceeded by the Eagles, who put up 38 against the Lions in the opener and play the Vikings on Monday.
There’s nothing fluky about the way the Lions are getting it done, averaging 6.4 yards per play, compared to 5.2 a year ago, led by 11 gains of 20-plus yards. And those red-zone woes from a year ago have been put to bed, with the Lions scoring eight touchdowns on 10 trips inside the 20.
And, as we’ve noted a couple of times in previous stories, the Lions are leaving plenty of points on the table. In this last one, they turned it over on downs at the 3-yard line and quarterback Jared Goff missed Chark on a pair of deep shots in the first half.
But if there’s a primary concern for Johnson to focus on moving forward, it’s how to get Goff and the offense into a rhythm earlier in the game. In the opener, the Lions pummeled their way to a game-opening touchdown drive, doing most of the damage on the ground. But after that, they went through a long lull, gaining 11 yards, without a first down, in the next four possessions.
And against the Commanders, the Lions came away with just three points on the first three drives, failing to net a first down on the first and spoiling a couple of big plays — a 49-yard pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown and a 50-yard run by D’Andre Swift — without scoring a touchdown the next two series.
Through those three possessions, Goff was 3-of-7 for 58 yards, with nearly all the damage coming on the busted-coverage toss to St. Brown, where the receiver gained 38 after the catch. It was Goff’s second straight slow start, before settling into a groove in the second half. If Johnson can find a way to get the quarterback comfortable earlier in the contest, it could make the offense even more lethal.
Fourth Down
Shout out to Quintez Cephus, who was on the cusp of a breakout season last year before suffering a broken collarbone, and is currently buried on the depth chart behind Detroit’s starting trio of receivers.
Instead of sulking about his evaporated opportunities, the third-year receiver is carving out new ones, developing a role on special teams where he’s serving as one of two lead blockers on kickoffs, while covering punts as a gunner. Against the Commanders, he recorded a pair of tackles on kick coverage and also was in the return man’s face on another punt, forcing a fair catch.
Offensively, there’s been little need for Cephus to start the year. He’s drawn just eight snaps and zero targets through two games, but on St. Brown’s 58-yard end-around in the third quarter, Cephus played a key role with a block to seal a defender inside his teammate’s path to the sideline.
That didn’t go unnoticed by coach Campbell.
“Cephus made a hell of a block now,” Campbell said after the game. “That was one of those you circle and say, ‘Hey, Q, this is your play.’ And he went in there and — I mean it — was outstanding to get a traveler, he blocks a traveler. Now we’re off to the races and St. Brown does the rest.”
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers