Allen Park — We all understand only one stat matters in football — a team’s record. No matter how many points you score or how many yards you allow, everything boils down to whether it’s good enough to win consistently. And for the 2022 Detroit Lions, five games into the season, it definitely hasn’t been good enough.
Coming out of the team’s bye, the team holds a 1-4 record, putting them in the cellar of the NFC North division, where they’ve held permanent residence since 2017.
But all those other stats, they add up to the final results. So, we thought we’d take a deeper look, beyond the most obvious metrics, to see what is defining Detroit’s dismal start, what they need to fix to climb out of the hole and areas for optimism going forward.
6.5 yards
We all know the defense has been really bad, but maybe not how bad. At this early stage in the season, the Lions are allowing opponents to average a staggering 6.5 yards per play. That’s not just currently the worst rate in the NFL, it’s on pace to be the second-worst in NFL history, trailing only the 2015 New Orleans Saints (6.6).
Explosive plays have been killer for the Lions. They have allowed 16 pass plays to gain 20 or more yards and 23 runs to net at least 10 yards.
47.3% / 2.76 points
Two more punishing stats where Detroit’s defense ranks last are the percentage of drives ending in a score and how many points opponents are averaging per possession. League average for the latter is closer to 2.0.
18 points
Of course, given the above numbers, Detroit is leading the NFL in points allowed. But it hasn’t been entirely the fault of the defense. The Lions are one of just three teams — along with the Rams and Saints — to allow three or more non-defensive scores. They’ve all come as the result of Goff blunders, a pair of pick-sixes and a fumble that was scooped and returned for a score in the team’s last game, against New England.
Amazingly, even if you remove those 18 points, or 21 if you want to count the PATs, the Lions would still be giving up more points than anyone this season, at 29.8 per contest.
30.0%
A significant part of Detroit’s defensive struggles has been the ineffectiveness of its pass rush. According to ESPN, the team ranks dead last in pass-rush win rate, which measures the ability for any defender to beat his block in 2.5 seconds or less.
Detroit is generating marginally more quarterback pressure this season — 22.9% to 20.5% — but it’s still well below league average. Additionally, they’re blitzing more than ever, sending an extra rusher 31.3% of the time to manufacture that pressure. That blitz rate is fifth-highest this season.
7.8 yards / 6.2 yards
The above numbers represent the average depth of target and completion for the Lions, which are up 21.6% and 37.8% from a year ago. And while neither is at the top of league, it represents the team successfully opening up the passing attack after looking incapable of doing so for much of the 2021 campaign. That’s all without sacrificing yards after the catch, which is also up 13.2%.
Without question, the passing attack is far more dynamic in 2022, with Ben Johnson in his first year coordinating the offense and calling the plays.
8.5%
Despite a roster of historically sure-handed pass-catchers, the Lions have struggled to hold on to the football. The team has put 8.5% of passes on the ground, the fourth-highest drop rate in the league, with five different players responsible for at least two drops.
3.5 yards / 53%
Without question, Detroit’s ground game is the best it has been in more than two decades, averaging 5.4 yards per carry. Much of the credit goes to the blocking, which is allowing the backs to gain an impressive 3.5 yards before they’re even drawing contact.
But, for whatever reason, the team has been inexplicably bad in gotta-have-it, short-yardage situations. When needing two or fewer yards on third or fourth down, the Lions are converting just 53% of the time. Only the Miami Dolphins have been worse.
3.3%
Here’s a little more love for blocking, which is keeping the heat off quarterback Jared Goff. He has been sacked, or forced into an intentional-grounding infraction, on fewer than 4% of his dropbacks. It’s the best rate in the league. Obviously, most of the credit goes to the offensive line, but it’s a team stat, given the contributions of the tight ends and backs within the blocking schemes, the receivers winning early in their routes and Goff making quick reads and decisions with the ball.
66.7%
This is admittedly a bit deceptive because of sample size, but the Lions are tied for last in field-goal percentage, converting just 4 of 6 attempts. Somewhat surprisingly, two teams have attempted fewer field goals, while the Lions are one of six teams to not have a 50-yard make to their name.
It’s no secret the team has struggled to find a replacement for Matt Prater, following his departure in free agency last season, and while the numbers could and should improve as the season progresses, it still highlights the need to go back to the drawing board at the position next offseason.
75% / 68.4%
Another feather in the cap of Johnson and the offense has been the improvement in the red zone. After scoring a touchdown just 46.7% of the time in 2021, the Lions are working across the goal line three out of every four trips inside the 20 this year.
Unfortunately, defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn hasn’t been able to match that turnaround. His unit allowed a 70% conversion rate in 2021 and has improved by an insignificant margin this year, sitting at 68.4% coming out of the bye. The good news is the team is coming off a game where they held the Patriots without a touchdown on four red-zone trips, so there’s some positive momentum toward moving closer to league average.
3.02 seconds
The Lions put an emphasis on tempo this offseason, shortening the verbiage of the offensive play calls to get out of the huddle faster. That’s led to the team being tied with Tampa Bay for the fewest seconds between snaps at 26.2.
Of course, that number doesn’t account for situations that require increased pace of play, such as trailing late in the game. So, we compared snap time in neutral situations to last year and found the Lions have managed to trim three seconds per play, meeting an offseason goal.
61
The Lions hold the NFL record with 41 fourth-down attempts last season, but they are on pace to smash that total this year. At their current rate, they’ll blow past the mark in early December and finish with more than 60. Some of that is reflective of coach Dan Campbell’s aggressiveness, but it also represents the faith the coach has in his offense, or, perhaps more accurately, the lack of faith in the defense.
Regardless, coupled with the struggles to convert short-yardage runs, it’s troubling.
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers