49ers 41, Lions 33 : Game 1 (2021 )

[D6]

Thoughts in ****

www.mlive.com/lions/2021/09/instant-observations-late-comeback-attempt-not-enough-for-mistake-prone-detroit-lions-in-loss.html


Instant observations: Late comeback attempt not enough for mistake-prone Detroit Lions in loss
Updated: 6:21 p.m. | Published: 4:33 p.m.




Detroit Lions vs. San Francisco 49ers – September 12, 2021

By Kyle Meinke | [e-mail]
DETROIT -- They started eight new players on offense and another four new players on defense, not to mention playing two others in new positions. They have a new head coach and an almost entirely new coaching staff. They have a new quarterback. They have a new general manager.

They’ve replaced more than half the roster in a single offseason. Good luck finding another team in the league that has undergone more substantial change than the Detroit Lions.



And as those new-look Detroit Lions ran up the tunnel after their first half of the new era, they were showered with boos by the home crowd at Ford Field.



And to be perfectly clear, they deserved every decibel.

**** People that buy tickets or even invest time at a game have every right to voice displeasure, providing it doesn't go beyond that. But knowing that the Lions are in the early stages of a necessary long term building process, I think the people that booed the Lions at halftime were off-base. ****

They allowed nearly a first down every time San Francisco ran a play in the first half (9.3 yards). They didn’t so much as force an incompletion until 35 seconds remained before intermission, didn’t force a punt until the fourth quarter, and allowed a 31-7 run en route to a 41-33 loss on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers.


But they showed resilience down the stretch in Dan Campbell’s debut as head coach as well. With Detroit trailing 41-17 on the other side of the 2-minute warning, Jamaal Williams plowed into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown run to make it 41-25. Then Godwin Igwebuike recovered an onside kick to help set up a 2-yard touchdown catch by Quintez Cephus. After Cephus caught the 2-point conversion, Detroit trailed by just seven points.


Of course, they still needed a stop on defense. And finally, a unit so bereft of stops all day got a big one when Trey Flowers stripped top receiver Deebo Samuel over the middle of the field. Rookie Ifeati Melifonwu pounced on the ball, giving Detroit 52 seconds to go 70 yards for a stunning comeback.

****It was a tremendous job by the Lions even to get this close from the standpoint of what occurred after the 49ers led 41-17. ****

Jared Goff, so shaky in his Lions debut, hit rookie receiver Amon Ra. St. Brown for 20 yards along the left sideline, then Kalif Ramond for 25 yards over the middle, giving Detroit a couple shots at the end zone from 25 yards out.


But Goff threw incomplete, scrambled for a yard, then threw incomplete twice more to seal a fate that was a long time coming.

**** The Lions lost the battle up front on the final series of downs for the Lions. The domino effect of not having Taylor Decker, which was a primary reason the 49ers built a 28 point lead in the game, caught up to the Lions again on the final series of downs for the Offense. ****


After watching San Francisco fumble on the first play of the game, the Lions allowed three straight touchdown drives and a field goal during a decisive 31-7 scoring run. Amani Oruwariye was beaten for a 5-yard touchdown pass. Jeff Okudah and Will Harris were beaten for a 38-yard run by Elijiah Mitchell -- a play where Mitchell wasn’t even touched because Okudah got sucked to the sideline while Harris took a poor route to the football.


“DO YOUR JOB,” defensive backs coach Aubrey Pleasant screamed at Okudah on the bench after the play. “DO YOUR JOB. DO YOUR JOB. DO YOUR JOB.”

**** It was a long day for the Lions Secondary, even before Jeff Okudah suffered a very concerning foot related injury. IMHO, the Lions Secondary was by far the unit on the Lions Defense that had by far the worst performance vs. the 49ers. The Lions coaches certainly showed more patience with Will Harris than most other coaches would have. This game reinforced my opinion that it's not likely that Harris will be a long term solution as a starter at Safety or anything close. His tackling by itself is enough of a reason to replace him at least as a starter. ****

There might have been some other, more colorful language mixed in there, but you get the point. Okudah didn’t do his job -- and then he was later toasted for a 79-yard touchdown catch by Deebo Samuel. The safety over the top on the play? Will Harris, of course. And you’re never going to believe this, but Will Harris took a route to the football that led to him not getting to the football.

**** The issues with Jeff Okuhah in this game weren't physical ( excluding the injury that ended his day and maybe much more. ). Mental and technical facets of Okudah's performance were problematic. To his credit, he did break up a pass on a crossing pattern sometime after the 79 yard TD to Deebo Samuel. But not long after, he went down with the injury. ****

That made it 38-10, and the wheels were coming off. Dropped passes. Missed tackles. A pick-six from Goff in his Lions debut. You name it, they probably blew it, and it all proved to be too much to overcome.


Welcome back, Detroit Lions football. Let’s get to some observations:


-- Jeff Okudah’s rough debut ended in disaster, getting carted to the locker room after sustaining a foot injury in the fourth quarter. That’s such a tough blow for a young player who is still trying to build confidence and find his way. He matched the NFL record for highest-drafted cornerback ever last year, and then was one of the worst cornerbacks in the NFL before shutting things down after Thanksgiving because of injuries. His health wasn’t helping him, but neither was the dysfunction. His confidence was so low that one of Dan Campbell’s first objectives after taking the job in January was to rebuild Okudah’s confidence. And they did, thanks to a new, easier-to-understand defensive system that had Okudah playing pretty well in training camp. Then one week into the season, and Okudah played a role in two long touchdowns before heading for the locker room because of yet another injury. Rough, rough start from a player Detroit badly needs to pan out, both in the short and long term. This second is thin and young. And now it’s a little thinner.

**** An MRI is scheduled for tomorrow. A huge concern is it could be an Achilles Injury ****

-- The Lions also lost top receiver Tyrell Williams after he took a helmet-to-helmet hit in the third quarter. That was a blow for a team not especially deep at receiver. I know what the Lions say -- that they love their depth there -- but I was at training camp too and can’t help but disagree. Then they got a little thinner in the third quarter, when Williams went to the locker room after getting clocked on a deep pass up the left seam. He was open too, but the ball was a little late and Williams got rocked. Detroit picked up 15 free yards because of the helmet-to-helmet contact, but lost a receiver from a corps that was already among the thinnest in the league. Jared Goff wasn’t good against San Francisco, but he sure doesn’t have a lot to work with either.

**** Losing Tyrell Williams for the rest of the game made the pretty near comeback from 24 down that much more impressive. Jared Goff and Trinity Benson didn't seem to be on the same page on at least 3 passes. Also, Benson is much smaller than Williams, which made it more difficult to get completions along the sideline. ****

-- There’s a reason the Los Angeles Rams gave Detroit Jared Goff and three draft picks, including two first-rounders, for Matthew Stafford. And it’s not because Jared Goff is a comparable quarterback to Matthew Stafford. That doesn’t make sense, does it? Yet every time I wrote about the downgrade at quarterback, my inbox was flooded with folks screaming at me to give Jared Goff a chance. Listen, Goff has his chance, and it’s on him to make the most of it. But it’s my job to analyze what I see on the field every day, and what I saw every day on the field in training camp was a downgrade at quarterback throwing to a downgrade at receiver. That never seemed like a recipe for success. And sure enough, their debut against San Francisco was rough. Goff missed a wide-open Amon-Ra St. Brown early in the game, when, you know, it was still a game. He later through an ill-advised pick-six during San Francisco’s big run, making it 28-10. He missed guys long, and he missed them short too. He finished 38 of 57 passing for 338 yards, three touchdowns and the pick-six.

**** Jared Goff doesn't have Matthew Stafford's ability. But if Stafford was playing today with the Lions WR situation, Offensive Tackle situation ( even factoring in Penei Sewell showed plenty of promise and played as well as anyone could have realistically hoped for ), and the Lions Defense failing throughout the first half and on the 79 yard TD pass to Samuel, I doubt Stafford would have been the winning QB. The Lions long term QB more likely than not isn't on the current roster. But to Goff's credit, he was a huge factor in the Lions having a chance to send the game to OT until around 10 seconds remaining in the game. Goff has intangible elements that are underrated. ****


-- If you’re looking for a silver lining, here’s a palate cleanser for you. Detroit’s rebuilt running game showed some real promise. The Lions ran for 116 yards on 24 carries, which might not sound like much, but that had a lot to do with the lopsided score forcing Detroit to pass the football in the second half. I mean, 57 pass attempts by Goff speaks for itself. But when the game was still competitive, they were effective on the ground. Jamaal Williams started over D’Andre Swift, picked up a key fourth-down at one point and finished with a team-high 54 yards and one touchdown on nine carries. Swift was effective off the bench too, adding 39 yards on the ground and another 65 yards on a team-high eight catches through the air, 43 of which came on a brilliant catch-and-run for a touchdown. He had one man to beat, and boy did he beat that man. Really promising stuff from the running backs, not to mention some massive holes paved by Frank Ragnow. Now they just got to figure out how to get some stops, so they don’t have to park that rushing attack in the garage for quarters at a time.

**** The only noticeable negative regarding D'Andre Swift's performance is he dropped a pass that would have at least come close to a 1st Down. Tbe Lions have so little margin of error that every mistake is compounded.

The Lions running game was especially good, when considering that most of the game, the 49ers had an extra Defender in or near the box. The 49ers had very little respect for the Lions passing game. Whether it's because of Goff, the Lions Offensive Tackle situation, and / or the Lions WR situation, this was the antithesis of how most Defenses played against Matthew Stafford. With Stafford at QB, most Defenses dared the Lions to run the ball. ****



-- Penei Sewell won the starting left tackle job as a 17-year-old at Oregon. And on his first official day at work in Detroit, he became the youngest player ever to start a game at left tackle in the NFL. Sewell, 20, was taken with the seventh overall pick to start on the right side, and repped there exclusively throughout training camp. But the Taylor Decker finger injury left Detroit without any good options on how to proceed. The club chose to move the rookie back to left tackle, the position he played in college, even though he hadn’t repped there since 2019 and would be facing feared 49ers pass rusher Nick Bosa. More will be known on how Sewell fared after the tape comes out, but he certainly had some struggles in pass protection, including allowing one sack.

**** Penei Sewell played noticeably better at LT than Matt Nelson did at RT. Both had more than their share of chip blocking and other blocking help in pass protection. Nelson has regressed this season. With Tyrell Crosby, who was ahead of Nelson in the pecking order last season, no longer an option because of the hamstring injury that landed him on IR, the Lions situation at RT while Decker is out has already proven costly. Whether Nelson can even get back to his play level from last season ( though in limited action ) is one of the Lions key questions in the weeks ahead? With contracts for vested veterans no longer automatically guaranteed for the 2021 season ( now that a game was played ), it will be interesting to see if Brad Holmes decides to sign a vested veteran T? *****

-- Needless to say, Dan Campbell’s debut as head coach was a rough one. The game wasn’t even competitive for long enough to get a great feel for how he’ll manage games, although if how he managed this game early is any indication, he’ll be unafraid to be aggressive. Campbell went for it on fourth-and-short twice in the first quarter alone, despite being in field-goal range both times. That might have something to say about Detroit’s faith in its kicking game as well -- Austin Seibert was claimed off waivers, and would go on to miss his first attempt in the game -- but also speaks to Campbell’s willingness to buck conventiality as well.

**** The Lions are a long way from being even a contender for a 7th seed Wildcard. I supported all of Dan Campbell's aggressive decisions to go for 1st Downs on this game. Each game will present different circumstances. ****


-- New defensive backs coach Aubrey Pleasant has earned a lot of ink this offseason for his unique brand of coaching. He’s hands-on, and extremely high energy. He’s positive, but unafraid to get in a player’s face too. Those watching the game on TV got a chance to see what we’ve been talking about for weeks. After a 41-yard touchdown run by Elijah Mitchell gave San Francisco a 14-7 lead in the second quarter, Pleasant was caught by the TV broadcast yelling repeatedly at Jeff Okudah, seeming telling him over and over to “do your job” while putting a finger in the first-round pick’s face. Okudah lost containment on the play, going to the right sideline, then getting caught in traffic as Mitchell cut upfield and ran untouched to the end zone. And Pleasant was irate about the breakdown. You don’t usually see that kind of emotion out of an assistant coach, and certainly not directed at a first-round pick. But Pleasant has the respect and trust of his players, and they’ve really taken to his fiery style. Okudah has come a long way since last year, but obviously made an early mistake that cost Detroit six easy points.

**** Will Harris is also highly responsible for the Elijah Mitchell TD run.****


-- Godwin Igwebuike had a rough debut as Detroit’s kick returner. That job was expected to go to Kalif Raymond, but Breshad Perriman’s release coming out of camp forced Raymond into a starting role at receiver, and the Lions opted to take him off special teams to protect his health. So Igwebuike, who moved from safety to running back a couple weeks before the start of camp, got the nod at kick returner. Then he slipped on his first touch, before fumbling two others in the first half alone, the second of which came as the first half expired. And the fans let him have it, booing the Lions as they headed for the tunnel..


**** Unless Kalif Raymond proves otherwise as a WR, it seems worth the risk on using him on Returns, as long as he's relatively healthy.****


-- We all know the Lions are in a period of transition, but I’m not sure we appreciate just how truly seismic those winds have been. With Matthew Stafford in Los Angeles, Don Muhlbach in an advisory role with the team and Taylor Decker on injured reserve, Detroit’s longest-tenured player on the field against San Francisco was ... can you name him? Don’t feel bad if you can’t, because I had to double-check my math that Jalen Reeves-Maybin was really the guy too. Reeves-Maybin, a fourth-round pick in 2017, is a special teams captain. The longest-tenured player to start on offense or defense for Detroit: Frank Ragnow, a first-round pick in 2018. The NFL is a fast-moving league with massive player turnover, but even by those standards, it’s remarkable just how much has changed so quickly in Detroit.

**** Jalen Reeves-Maybin and the overall Lions Coverage units were a bright spot in this game. Anthony Pittman looked especially impressive on Special Teams Coverage, with Jerry Jacobs not too far behind. ****.

.......


This new thread is a continuation of the following thread:

Lions vs. 49ers preview: Game # 1 ( 2021 )

detroit-lions-forum.proboards.com/thread/1170/lions-49ers-preview-game-2021

[D6]

Lions vs 49ers: Studs and Duds for Week 1

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In addition to the impressive receiving performance by T.J. Hockenson, I thought this was his best all around blocking game since coming to the Lions. Of the Lions starters on either side of the ball, I thought Hockenson clearly had the best game vs. the 49ers.


Both RBs that carried the ball had plus all around performances. If both stay relatively healthy, they each could end up with 100 or more receptions. I'm not looking at this as a positive. It's more of a reflection of the overall Lions Offense. That much more without Taylor Decker.

Trey Flowers looked like the best Lions starter on Defense in this game. The only Lions Defensive player who I believe had 10 or more snaps that I thought performed better on a per snap basis was Kevin Strong.

There's no question that Jared Goff was off target too often further down the field.

Overall, when factoring in the Lions Offensive Tackle and Wide Receiver situations, it felt like a mixed bag game for Goff.

When ( hopefully ) Jeff Okudah plays again, he needs to do a better job staying even keeled. CBs need to have short memories, other than correcting their mistakes. They can't dwell on their mistakes.

It was good to see Derrick Barnes get some ( though only a handful ) snaps on Defense late in the game. He made his presence felt on at least two Defensive snaps against the run. Though, it looked lime he should have been more conscious of where Deebo Samuels was on the 3rd and 12 reception in which Trey Flowers forced the fumble. Samuels was a much greater threat than Jimmy G. taking off running for a 1st Down.

[batchrules10]

Hello everyone! So glad Football is back! This was my first sporting event since February 2020 so I was definitely missing this! I was staying downtown since Thursday to celebrate my self imposed “Post Pandemic Party.” I could tell you all of what happened but I’ll just stick to football. There were more 49ers fans than expected! Glad that things are getting back to normal. I also saw no one kneeling for the Anthem so I hope that we have moved on from that. After 12 years of Stafford it was certainly a different offense with Jared Goff. He’s certainly not as accurate as Stafford nor does he have the arm strength. We could have scored on the opening drive if he were more accurate. De’Andre Swift shows he can elevate our running game but has shown he has terrible hands as a WR. Granted he got a receiving TD but that was his only bright spot as a WR. In my opinion Jeff Okudah is going to be a bust. I can’t blame the coaches for calling him out. The 79 yard TD pass should have never happened. He had horrible ball awareness and could have at least gotten a hand on the ball. If it is indeed an Achilles injury that is a career killer for a DB. Trey Flowers showed me his strengths and weaknesses in this game too. His strength is not his strongest suit. He was dominated a couple times. His speed, however, along with a good cut move and first step is how he can help this defense. Lastly, I left with 7 minutes to go. If Matt Patricia was coach I don’t see us coming back from such a deficit. That was different with Dan Campbell so that’s the only silver lining in this game. Well was a good weekend and glad to be interacting with all of you.

[D6]

Batchrules, I'm glad you had the opportunity to attend the game and stay downtown in the days leading up to the game. It's good to see much more normalcy after everything that has already transpired since March, 2020.

Jared Goff's accuracy wasn't as good as it needs to be. Though part of the problem was with Goff and Trinity Benson ( who was only with the Lions for 12 days) not being on the same page on a number of throws, he was off target with Amon St. Brown down the left sideline on the Lions 2nd drive. Then he overthrew Quintez Cephus on a deep pass down the Right Sideline. On those plays, he had good protection.

I'm not sure if it's a hands issue with D'Andre Swift or whether it's a focus issue.

Even though Jeff Okudah was still having technical issues with the ball in the air, had a mental lapse on Elijah Mitchell's 38 yd TD, and didn't react quick enough on JaMycal Hasty's 3 yd TD run, his overall coverage was noticeably improved from last season. The torn Achilles Tendon certainly severely clouds his NFL future.

I'm going to try to look back at Trey Flowers plays, as there were a number of plays that he did a good job coming off blocks.

It was great to see how the Lions fought back in this game. It's definitely a credit to Dan Canpbell, his staff, and the players. This shapes up as a long season for the Lions. The chances of the Lions even going 5-12, which was my prediction, are certainly less now that Okudah is out for the season. This season is going to be a huge test for everyone associated with the product on the field for the Lions and the fan base.

[frenchylions]

At least, they didn't quit, Dan Campbell has insufflated some mental toughness.

We had to wait for the 4th quarter to see Jared Goff be more aggressive and stretch the field vertically.  Half his attempts targeted RBs for (very) short gains, too many checkdowns.  We can assume that he was stressed and that he can only improve as the season goes on    
Hockenson has proven he will be a major target for Goff and Cephus has shown some improvement from last year.

The pick-six was a costly mental mistake, giving the niners an easy game... as some say, it was the (early) dagger !  

The future is not rosy, they were thin at receivers and cornerbacks and it's not getting better.

Let's note that Stafford played well with the Rams, doing what he does best, throwing lasers inside the numbers, a nice debut for him.

[D6]

One thing in particular I'm confident about is Dan Campbell earned the respect of 49ers HC Kyle Shanahan for the Lions making the 49ers battle to close out the game.

Opposing coaches with the Lions their next opponent now have Lions game tape to show their players that they need to come to play throughout the game. It won't just be words. Players that believe they can mail in a win against the Lions could be in for a big time reality check.

One aspect of the Lions Offensive Play calling that I disagreed with was play action passes when the Rams were way ahead in the latter part of the 3rd QTR and through the remainder of the game. This made it more difficult to protect Jared Goff.

With Tyrell Williams likely out with a concussion for the game in Green Bay, I'm expecting short passing / checkdowns to RBs to be a disproportional part of the Lions passing game. Especially as expected, the Packers will focus heavily on containing T. J Hockenson.

The pick six was indeed what you described. The pressure Goff was under on the play affected tbe throw but it was a pass that shouldn't have bern attempted.

Tying in with what you mentioned regarding Quintez Cephus, without Tyrrell Williams on the field, Cephus probably will be a starter. Even though Cephus went of bounds on a play yesterday and was the first to touch the ball ( resulting in essence the reception being negated and a loss of down ), I thought his overall play was at least as good as any Lions WR in this game. I know it's not saying much.

The Lions CB situation on the outside has many more questions than answers leading up to the game in Green Bay.

Matthew Stafford probably will get some mention for NFC Player of the Week.

It's fair to say that the Bears missed CB Kyle Fuller, who gave Stafford plenty of problems over the years.

[D6]

Snap counts: Lions RB Jamaal Williams gets the start, but D’Andre Swift nearly doubles his reps

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Both D'Andre Swift and Jaamal Williams will very likely be counted on heavily throughout this season as long as they are relatively healthy.

A 92 snap count number for a unit is extremely high in a non OT game. Thankfully, under the circumstance of a loss, the Lions Offense had the 92 snap count number, not the Defense.

The Lions trailing by 16 or more points most of the 2nd half contributed to the 49ers high pressure total.

Charles Harris didn't perform well enough. My guess is either Austin Bryant or Julian Okwara will get double digit Defensive snaps in Green Bay.

[D6]

Detroit Lions' Jamaal Williams, T.J. Hockenson two of few bright spots in loss

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The entire Lions Offensive Line pass blocked 57 times. I'm sure Matt Nelson realizes he must perform better if he's going to remain an NFL player beyond the short term.

[D6]

Justin Rogers’ Lions grades: Porous defense can’t stop 49ers’ attack

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I would give Jared Goff a C-.

Both D'Andre Swift and Jason Cabinda had a dropped pass. I probably would lower the Running Backs Grade slightly to B+.

I would drop the combined WR / TE grade to a C.

The circumstances were difficult but I probably would drop the Offensive Line grade slightly to a C+.

My Defensive Line grade is a C- but closer to a D+ than a C.

I agree with the D + LB Grade.

My Secondary grade is a D.

My Special Teams Grade is a D-.

I would give the Coaches a C.

[D6]

Lions' third-down defense a bright spot amid poor opening performance


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Considering the immense problems the Lions had last season in getting 3rd Down stops, tbe Lions play on 3rd Downs vs. SF is encouraging. Even on the plays the 49ers converted, including the long TD pass, there were positives.