Football in August looks better than in July for the Detroit Lions.
Coming off a blowout 34-7 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in the NFL Hall of Fame Game last Thursday, the Lions went on the road again to play the Atlanta Falcons on Friday night.
While the game didn’t end the way anyone expected, three quarters of football were still played.
The Lions defense showed up to play, holding the Falcons to just 10 points, making life hard for Atlanta to move the ball.
The Lions offense was slow to move at first, only getting seven points in the first half with two turnovers.
The third quarter was more exciting with a big kick by kicker Jake Bates and another touchdown by the Lions offense, and the defense held up strong by only allowing the 10 points in the first half alone.
There’s plenty to discuss after the Lions win on Friday night, let me give you my main takeaways from the win as the Lions improve to 1-1.
Front seven depth showed up
Only one starting defensive player played on Friday night, rookie defensive tackle Tyleik Williams, and the depth alongside and behind him showed up to play.
On the first drive, the Lions got a lot of pressure on Falcons quarterback Easton Stick. EDGE Al-Quadin Muhammad had a good game, finishing with three tackles, two tackles for loss, and a sack.
He almost forced a fumble as he reached his arm towards Stick as he was throwing, but he missed it.
Muhammad wasn’t the only one making some plays.
Linebacker Zach Cunningham had some good run fits, finishing with three tackles, linebacker Trevor Nowaske had three tackles, one for a loss, and EDGE Nate Lynn got a sack.
The depth by the front seven was putting some pressure on the Falcons offensive line and made Stick bounce around in the pocket in the first quarter.
The front seven’s strong performance held the Falcons to just one third down conversion all game, going 1-for-7 and they failed on their only fourth down attempt.
The backup quarterback job still is a rollercoaster
This week, quarterback Hendon Hooker got the start over Kyle Allen to give him a chance with the backups instead of the third and fourth string guys.
Hooker had an up-and-down night, as his job as the backup is now in jeopardy.
In the first series, he would fumble on a scramble where the play was looking to be over, but Hooker kept trying to get as many yards as possible and coughed up the ball.
He would rebound well with some nice passes and scrambling runs.
On his best drive of the night, one where the Lions converted a fourth-down pass to wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa, Hooker would fumble the ball again.
Right tackle Mason Miller got beaten quickly off the snap, and Hooker was pressured and lost the ball instantly.
Hooker finished the night going 7-for-10 for 37 yards with three carries for 27 yards and two fumbles.
Hooker didn’t get to finish the half as he was replaced by Allen with five minutes left in the second quarter.
Allen had a better performance on Friday night, making some nice throws and using his legs too.
He found wide receiver Jackson Meeks on a deep 68-yard pass to give the offense a shot of energy.
A few plays later, Allen found TeSlaa for the first touchdown of the game, and the rookie’s first of what is many of his career.
Allen did suffer from the same fumble issues as Hooker, but Allen was able to recover from his mistake.
Allen finished the game going 7-for-8 for 120 yards and two touchdowns, with two carries for 10 yards.
The backup quarterback job is now truly neck and neck, as Allen’s strong performance now means Hooker has two games left to impress before he could be QB3 or possibly not make the 53-man roster.
Top rookies make their debut
For the first time this preseason, the Lions top two rookies saw the field.
Both Williams and right guard Tate Ratledge have practiced in training camp with the starters, but didn’t play against the Chargers last week.
Both played the first quarter and did well in their short stint.
Williams was helping the defensive line get some pressure against the Falcons offense.
He didn’t finish with any stats, but he was a reason why the Falcons offense struggled early, particularly in the run game.
Despite practicing with the starters in training camp, Ratledge did well playing next to guys who he hasn’t had many, if any, reps with. He held his own and didn’t get beat by a defender.
I am excited to see what he will look like next to Penei Sewell and Graham Glasgow.
Giovanni Manu has strong performance
One player I kept my eyes on Friday night was left tackle Giovanni Manu and he played pretty well overall.
He had some good and bad reps, but he didn’t allow a sack and he looked good in run blocking.
Before the game even started, the team was already down a tackle as it was reported that Justin Herron left warmups with an injury.
The Lions’ depth at offensive tackle has been getting thinner and thinner as the preseason has continued.
The Lions are just now getting starting left tackle Taylor Decker back in practice, and he won’t play in any of the preseason games.
Backup left tackle Dan Skipper was injured in the loss to the Chargers, and Jamarco Jones was injured in practice the week of the Falcons game.
Herron leaving forced the Lions to play Manu and Miller more with Colby Sorsdal as the only depth at tackle on the night.
Brad Holmes strikes with Ya-Sin and Stuard
Back at the start of the new NFL year, the Lions were quiet in free agency.
After signing cornerback D.J. Reed, people were wanting other big names and more help for the team to try to compete for the Super Bowl.
The same day Reed was signed, the Lions signed linebacker Grant Stuard, which was looked at as a strong special teams signing for the team.
After two games, I wouldn’t limit Stuard to just special teams.
While his return game could use some work, his defensive skills have been impressive.
He had two tackles, one tackle for loss and a pass deflection against the Falcons on Friday night.
He had good run fits and on his pass deflection he was step for step with the wide receiver before knocking it away.
He can certainly fill in for a starter if need be and help this defense out with his ability to play hard and gritty.
Another signing back in March was cornerback Rock Ya-Sin, who appeared to be a depth signing for the roster, has looked great in training camp and in preseason.
Friday night against the Falcons—playing safety for the first time—he had three tackles and was doing well again in coverage.
With the injuries piling up in the secondary— cornerback Khalil Dorsey still recovering from his leg injury last year, Ennis Rakestraw going to IR with rookie safety Dan Jackson, and safety Morice Norris suffering a scary neck injury that ended up being the final play of the game—Ya-Sin’s versatility and depth should come in handy.
Ending to the game
After the scary injury to Norris, both teams decided to end the game.
The Falcons and Lions came out and lined up and the Falcons hiked the ball and just stood there.
Players comforting one another, praying, on their knees, crying, just taking a stand that this game needs to end.
They ran the clock down roughly nine minutes before the officials said the game was suspended and ended early.
The Lions ended up winning this game, but never in a way I have seen before.
Both teams earned my respect with how this was handled.
If it were the regular season, I doubt the game would end like this, but in the preseason, when the games don’t matter who wins or loses, it’s about players’ performance and health and safety. This was the correct move.
