Vikings 28, Lions 24: Game # 3 ( 2022)

[D6]

Instant observations: Lions cough up two double-digit leads, stunned by Vikings


Instant observations: Lions cough up two double-digit leads, stunned by Vikings
Updated: Sep. 25, 2022, 6:31 p.m.|Published: Sep. 25, 2022, 4:26 p.m.


By Kyle Meinke | [e-mail]

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Detroit Lions beat up Washington last week. They were beating up on Minnesota this week. In Minnesota too, a place they hadn’t won since the Jim Caldwell administration so many years ago. Heck, they hadn’t a road game anywhere at all in 10 straight games, the longest active drought in the league.

Then they raced to a 24-14 lead in the fourth quarter on Sunday against the Vikings, and it seemed like that drought was about to finally die.


It did not.

**** Even with all of the injury adversity the Lions were dealing with during yesterday's game, the Lions had many chances to either close the game or put the Vikings in a noticeably more difficult situation than they were already in. The Lions failed to do the former and didn't do the latter enough times. The end result was one of the most mentally painful losses the Lions have experienced. There's plenty of blame to go around and misfortune played in a role in the loss. The Lions now have to learn from this, try to compensate for the season ending loss of S Tracy Walker & the shorter term injuries, and face a Seattle Seahawks team despite a two game losing streak is more than capable of beating the Lions on the road. ****

Quarterback Kirk Cousins found another broken coverage in Detroit’s defense, and connected with a wide-open K.J. Osborn for a 28-yard touchdown pass with 50 seconds left that sent the Lions to a heart-wrenching 28-24 loss at U.S. Bank Stadium. They came back the other way in the final seconds thanks to a 25-yard pass to Josh Reynolds that got them to midfield, but Jared Goff missed Reynolds over the middle on the next play, which set up one last desperation heave in the final seconds. That was intercepted, and so was Detroit’s hope of flying back home with a share of the NFC North lead.

**** Jared Goff could have made some better throws in the game. But he played well enough to win the game if he would have had more help from all 3 of the Lions units and HC Dan Campbell.****

That’s their fifth straight loss here, and their 11th straight road loss overall heading back home for a game against Seattle. That is such a disappointment for a team that led by double digits twice and by as many as 14 points, thanks to mega-aggression by head coach Dan Campbell.

**** The Lions tied the Steelers in Pittsburgh last November, during this 11 game road span the Lions don't have a win on the road. Most of Dan Campbell's aggressive decisions paid off but at least a couple didn't. In a way, attempting a 54 yard FG with around 1:15 remaining in the 4th QTR was a mega-aggressive decision as well. Austin Seibert never made longer than a 53 yard FG in an NFL game, missed a 48 yard FG at the end of the Lions first possession of the game, and Vikings K Greg Joseph missed two 56 yard FGs far to the right in the same direction that Seibert was asked to attempt a 54 yard FG. A missed FG was even more costly than an incompletion on a 4th and 4 from the Vikings 36 would have been, being that the Vikings got the ball in the spot the FG was attempted. A punt would have been the least aggressive decision but probably the safest decision the Lions could have chosen. ****

Campbell dialed up six fourth-down attempts, four of which were successful, including the first three in a row. That led to a 2-yard touchdown run by Jamaal Williams and a 5-yard touchdown pass to T.J. Hockenson, as the Lions raced to a 14-0 lead while putting a second straight opponent on the ropes in the first half.

But Campbell backed off the pedal at the game’s most important moment, sending out his kicking unit for a fourth-and-4 from Minnesota’s 36-yard line with 74 seconds left. Detroit’s win probability was higher by going for it a seventh time, or just by pinning Minnesota back with a pooch punt.

Instead, Austin Seibert -- who banged his first attempt off the right upright -- trotted onto the field for a 54-yard attempt while leading 24-21. Seibert pushed the ball well right, and Minnesota took over at its own 44-yard line. Three players later, a miscommunication between slot cornerback Mike Hughes and fill-in safety JuJu Hughes -- playing for the injured Tracy Walker -- left Osborn all alone on a corner route behind the defense.


Osborn was left alone on a broken coverage earlier in the game too, but a heavily-pressured Cousins threw long. This time, he did not. Osborn caught the ball in stride, stunning Detroit with another loss.

**** A miscommunication on the play right after a Timeout was called by the Lions especially shouldn't happen.****

Let’s get to some more observations.

-- Might as well talk about The decision first. You know the one. Dan Campbell is one of the most aggressive head coaches in NFL history, and this year he has the offense to back it up. Detroit flew to Minnesota scoring the second-most points in the league, and Campbell treated the whole game like it was four-down territory, going for it on four straight fourth downs at one point and six times for the game. It was a successful strategy too. The Lions built their 14-0 lead thanks to three straight conversions to open the game. Yes, Minnesota used a failed fourth down to cut into that lead. But the aggressiveness fits who Campbell is and how this team is built. There will be setbacks along the way, but hard to argue with an approach that helps build double-digit leads. And the Lions built a second such lead in the second half with more success on fourth down.

So the question, of course, is why would Campbell abandon that approach when it mattered most? Of course fourth-and-4 is tough. But the reward of converting fourth-and-4 -- and getting to drain most of the clock, if not all of it -- far outweighed the turning a three-point lead into a six-point lead. Even if Campbell didn’t want to go for it there, why not pooch the football -- or even pooch it out of the field-goal formation -- and just pin Minnesota way back with 70-whatever seconds left? Second-guessing playcalling is so easy with hindsight, but even in the moment, sending Austin Seibert out there for a 54-yard field goal -- after he already missed one earlier in the day, and has never been consistent beyond 50 -- just seemed like the worst option on the menu. Yet Campbell ordered it anyway. It backfired.


Dollars to doughnuts, he doesn’t do it again.

**** To Dan Campbell's credit, he regrets the decision to attempt the FG. My concern moving forward is there will be situations in which a FG makes the most sense but Campbell decides to go for the 1st Down, on 4th Down. ****

-- Amon-Ra St. Brown’s streak of eight-catch games has come to an end at eight, matching the NFL record set by Antonio Brown and Michael Thomas. His six-game streak with a touchdown catch also ended, matching a franchise record. But while it might not have been another explosive game from the second-year wideout, he still was good enough to catch a team-high six passes for 73 yards. He also briefly left the game with a right ankle injury, but returned to the field after getting another tape job.

**** The ankle injury Amon-Ra St. Brown was dealing with, coupled with Craig Reynolds suffering an injury on the previous drive when he collided with Kalif Raymond, probably contributed to Campbell deciding not to go for the 1st Down on 4th and 4 from the Vikings 36 yard line. If not for the collision on the previous drive, the Lions would have probably had a completed pass to a wide open Reynolds, with the ball somewhere inside the Vikings 15 yard line. That misfortune proved costly. ****

-- Aidan Hutchinson earned a third straight start despite a thigh injury that limited him to one partial practice all week. Good thing, too. He wracked Kirk Cousins on a second-quarter play where Osborn -- who would go on to catch the game-winner -- was left free on yet another miscommunication in the back end of the defense. But Hutchinson got to Cousins so fast that the former Michigan State star had to heave the football early. The ball sailed long, and Osborn couldn’t catch up to it. Hutchinson didn’t do much today, but that play saved a touchdown.

**** Aidan Hutchinson also got penetration in the backfield on a Dalvin Cook run in the game, in which Cook got back to around the line of scrimmage. This put the Lions in a favorable down and distance situation. Hutchinson got plenty of attention from the Vikings pass blockers. While Hutch didn't make enough tangible plays, his pass rushing teammates didn't take enough on one on one blocking matchups that Hutch helped create. How much the thigh injury Hutch was dealing with during the week limited him, is another question. ****




-- The Lions’ streak of 35-point games ended at three, matching a franchise high. Their streak of quarters with a touchdown also was snapped, that one at 18 in a row, which was just one off the NFL record. Dan Campbell’s aggressiveness was the biggest reason for the streak continuing through three quarters on Sunday, giving the offense opportunities to punch in touchdowns that other more conservative teams -- and let’s be honest, every team is more conservative than Detroit these days -- would never even have a chance to convert.

**** The streaks are accomplishments that reinforce the Lions have improved greatly, especially on Offense. ****

Having said that, give coordinator Ben Johnson his due too. He schemed up two really nice plays that led to touchdowns in the first half. On fourth-and-5 in the first quarter, Amon-Ra St. Brown got a subtle rub from DJ Chark off the snap. That gave St. Brown a step of separation on a short crosser over the middle of the field, and that’s all that man needs to work his magic. St. Brown didn’t stop running until he was 30 yards downfield, and spiraling through the air toward the goal line. He came up short, but Jamaal Williams finished off the drive with a 2-yard plunge two plays later. Then after another fourth-down conversion late in the half, Johnson schemed up another rub, this one for tight end T.J. Hockenson. It set up an easy 5-yard touchdown, and gave Detroit a 14-0 lead.


Johnson wasn’t perfect. I really didn’t like his play call on fourth-and-1 late in the second quarter, where Jared Goff couldn’t connect with T.J. Hockenson. That play wasn’t going to move the chains even if Hockenson caught the football -- and he didn’t come close to catching the football. But otherwise it was yet another good game for Detroit’s promising young playcaller.

**** Overall, Ben Johnson has a very good track record with play calling, including on 4th Downs. The two 4th Down plays that didn't work out though are at the very least play calls that Johnson probably would like back. ****

-- While the world is fixated on D’Andre Swift’s every step -- which is understandable, given how electric those steps are -- Jamaal Williams has quietly excelled in the complementary role. He ranked third in the league in rushing touchdowns heading into the weekend, then added two more in Minnesota, from 2 and 13 yards. He’s just been so unforgiving in the red zone. He now has three touchdowns on four runs from the goal line, and four touchdowns from inside the red zone overall -- a league high. That’s the thing about this Lions rushing attack. It wasn’t just leading the galaxy in yards per carry heading into the weekend, although it was doing that too. It has also just been so good situationally, including on fourth down and in scoring situations. Huge reason why this team had the league’s second-highest scoring offense through three weeks.

On a day when Swift was playing through an ankle injury and also left the game with another injury, Williams proved capable of leading the way. He finished with 87 yards on 20 carries and two touchdowns.

**** Jaamal Williams has been effective for the most part in the complementary role. But not having the explosiveness playmaking abilities of D'Andre Swift more often because of the ankle injury he's dealing with, proved costly in this game.****

-- Lions killer Dalvin Cook left the game in the second half with a shoulder injury. He finished with 97 yards on 17 carries, yet another huge day against this defense, although he also fumbled on his final play -- and did so when he collided with the, ahem, posterior of one of his teammates. (Kids, if you don’t know what that means, ask a grownup.) That led to another Jamaal Williams touchdown run, and a commanding 24-14 lead. Butt fumbles are back, baby.

-- Frank Ragnow was born about 27 miles from U.S. Bank Stadium. On Sunday, with his 77 dotting the crowd. the Pro Bowl center made his return to the field after missing last week’s game with toe and groin injuries. That helped Detroit get better at not just one position, but two. Evan Brown, the backup center, moved over to right guard and replaced the struggling Logan Stenberg -- and his league-worst pass protection grade according to ProFootballFocus. Dan Skipper remained at left guard.

**** Frank Ragnow wasn't as consistent as a run blocker in this game as he usually is. My guess is one or more injuries are limiting him to some extent. Dan Skipper gave up some pressures again, including on the final Lions Offensive play of the game (game sealing interception by S Josh Metellus. Stunts seem to give Skipper most of his difficulties with pass blocking. His lack of overall experience at Guard is very likely the reason for this. As a run blocker, Skipper more than held his own. Evan Brown was a major upgrade over Logan Stenberg as a pass blocker but as expected had some problems against bulk power as a run blocker. ****

This new thread is a continuation of the following thread:

Lions at Vikings preview: Game # 3 ( 2022 )

detroit-lions-forum.proboards.com/thread/1548/lions-vikings-preview-game-2022

[D6]

3 things we learned: The Lions’ options behind Tracy Walker aren’t very good
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Tracy Walker went down much earlier than the 2nd half.

I'm not assuming that Jo Jo Hughes is the player who made the assignment mistake that enabled WR K.J. Osborn to get wide open for what became the game winning TD for the Vikings. One thing in particular that has been evident in the two games JoJo Hughes took over for Tracy Walker at Safety is Walker is a much better tackler.

Even if Hughes starts against the Seahawks and is in for every Defensive Snap in the game, it's far from a given that Hughes will be a starter all season. My guess is he won't for non-injury reasons.

I also think that most likely way the Lions will fill Tracy Walker's roster spot is re-signing LB Anthony Pittman from the P.S. Pittman can no longer be elevated from the P.S. for a game this season, as he has been elevated the NFL maximum 3 times already.

It's also likely that Dan Skipper is going to be elevated from the P.S., with a transaction on the Offensive Line taking place on the other end as well.****

Ifeatu Melifonwu and/ or Kerby Joseph will probably be given the opportunity to start at Safety at some point this season. Growing pains are but one or both could be good long term Safeties for the Lions. Injuries have slowed Melifonwu's progress. Joseph is a rookie. Malcolm Rodriquez became an opening day starter as a rookie LB and is one of the Lions better Defensive players already. He's a rare exception, not the norm, for a most rookies taken after Round 2. Most rookie non-RBs that are drafted in Round 3 or later are not close to being starters that coaches can feel relatively comfortable with at the beginning or early in their respective rookie seasons.

Being that Levi Onwuzurike and Josh Paschal had medical concerns going into their respective drafts, Brad Holmes made risk/reward assessments that so far haven't paid off.

Jeff Okudah has been the Lions best Defensive player through 3 games and arguably the Lions best overall player. Even with some help against Justin Jefferson, Okudah's performance yesterday was better than could have been imagined. The problems, in addition to the season ending injury to S Tracy Walker, are the play of the other CBs Amani Oruwariye and Mike Hughes. While Will Harris had some snaps in the game, it looked like it was as an additional DB more often than not, maybe even totally. Oruwariye was called for 5 Illegal Contact penalties in the game. A question is to what extent is Oruwariye's back injury adversely affecting his play? A strong case can be made that Aaron Glenn should have replaced Oruwariye with Harris as the Illegal Contact penalties were mounting.

[D6]

Inside the locker room: How the Vikings adjusted with Lions stifling WR Justin Jefferson
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Amani Oruwariye could have been called for more penalties. He needs to adjust to the NFL putting a greater emphasis on calling Illegal Contact penalties this season. The NFL wants high scoring games. I believe that's a reason why in the last two Lions games, the officials let the Lions and their respective opponents get away with numerous Offensive Holding calls.

The Vikings Defense stepped up big time in the 4th QTR on every Lions drive. LB Jordan Hicks was a difference maker in coverage as this game went on. LB Eric Hendricks got off a 2nd level block by Frank Ragnow on the 3rd and 14 play that resulted in Hendricks tackling RB Jaamal Williams for a 10 yard gain. If not for that play by Hendricks, Williams would have even had enough yardage for a game sealing first down or put the Lions in a more favorable 4th Down situation.


Aubrey Pleasant was interviewed for the Vikings Defensive Coordinator job back in the winter.

The Vikings had less chunk plays against the Lions and overall than in a typical game for them over the years and decades. Their RB game was efficient and effective for the most part, which helped open opportunities in their passing game.

[D6]

Lions vs Vikings: Studs and Duds for Week 3
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While I give Jeff Okudah and Lions coaches plenty of credit for his play in keeping Justin Jefferson in check beyond my wildest imagination, Okudah did have help from at least one other defender in coverage on a substantial number of plays. Hence, I don't agree that Okudah has proven he can shut down half the field week in and week out.


The good news is Josh Reynolds came back into the game for the Lions final drive and it looked like he didn't miss a beat. The inability for Reynolds to see the pass to him late in the 2nd QTR down the right sideline coming to him quickly enough likely cost the Lions at least 3 points. Huge, missed opportunity for Reynolds and the Lions. There were many positives from Reynolds in this game. But the lost opportunity late in the 2nd QTR and/or the collision with WR Kalif Raymond in the red zone, easily could have cost the Lions the game.

[D6]

Lions vs Vikings: Best and Worst PFF grades from Week 3

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While this was an improvement for D.J. Chark regarding his tangible production, there still seems to be timing/ communication problems between Jared Goff and Chark. To Chark's credit, he's making a major positive difference as a blocker.

Amon-Ra St. Brown's PFF Grade was higher than I thought, because of the ankle injury that was noticeably affecting his physical abilities. It's a credit to St. Brown that he was able to get as high of a PFF grade that he did.

It looked to me that Evan Brown had a better pass blocking game than his overall PFF grade indicates.

I'm surprised Alim McNeill received a low PFF Grade against the run. I thought an average Run Defense PFF grade was more reflective of his Run Defense.

Michael Brockers deflected a pass and caused at least one pressure. At this stage of Brockers NFL career, he's using his football experience and intelligence to try to offset his declined football physical abilities.

As much as Amani Oruwariye struggled in pass Defense, I thought he had 5 or 6 penalties called against him, not 8. It's something to look into.

DeShon Elliott has played well for the most part for the Lions. He's probably been the Lions 2nd best DB, with Jeff Okudah being the best by a wide margin.

Malcolm Rodriguez didn't have the run Defense game, especially compared to the Commanders game. But his run Defense performance didn't seem as low as what the PFF grade apparently is indicating.

[D6]

Detroit Lions stock watch: Jeff Okudah continues strong play; time for a new kicker?

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I hope someone in the media asks Dan Campbell (if the question hasn't been asked already), would you have gone for the 1st Down on the 4th and 4 situation from the Vikings 36 yard line, if the Lions injury situation on Offense was noticeably better than it was at that time?

[D6]

Snap counts, PFF grades: Lions’ Alim McNeill flashes pass-rush chops with increased role

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The 61.3 PFF Coverage Grade that Jeff Okudah received seems ridiculously low. An additional service that evaluates performances of all players in NFL games would be welcome for comparative purposes.

Being that Chris Board is amongst the Lions best and high volume Special Teams players, it probably would be best not to raise his Defensive Snap totals much. Finding the balance that enables Board to maximize his play & value on both Defense and Special Teams, should be the objective of the Lions coaches and additional support staff.


I think the coaches will continue to use Michael Brockers with a substantially reduced number of snaps, in order to try to maximize his play & value.

[D6]

Justin Rogers' Lions grades: Special teams helped pave way for Vikings' comeback

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I can't recall the specific play but I thought there was a time during the game that Jared Goff threw a pass that had a realistic chance of being intercepted.

Overall, I think the B+ Grade (B at the worst) is in the range of Goff's play in this game. With B+ being on the high end.
t
This wasn't one of Craig Reynolds best games. The grade for the Running Backs is probably around the grade for Goff.

I think the combined Lions WR/TE play in this game is probably a B-. The TE unit lowers the grade a little.
A
There were too many QB pressures given up for the Lions Offensive Line to be an A-. I think the grade is around the grade of Goff and the RBs.

Kalif Raymond did a good job on Punt Returns and that there was some good Special Teams Coverage, especially in the first half. I would raise the Special Teams Grade to a D+ (on the high end).

The loss and some of the highly questionable decisions by Dan Campbell and even Ben Johnson in this game put the Coaching Grade noticeably below average. But some of the decisions by Campbell and Johnson were calculated risks that turned out with good results that helped the Lions build a 14-0 lead. The assignment mistake on K.J. Osborn's eventual game winning TD reception, following a Lions Timeout on Defense, lower's Aaron Glenn's portion of the Coaches grade. My grade for the Coaches is a D (low end).