Lions 26, Panthers 17: Pre-Season Game # 3 (2023)

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Thoughts in ****

Observations: Lions flex depth in win against Panthers in preseason finale

Observations: Lions flex depth in win against Panthers in preseason finale

Updated: Aug. 25, 2023, 11:29 p.m.|Published: Aug. 25, 2023, 11:19 p.m.

Detroit Lions at Carolina Panthers, preseason finaleBenjamin Raven


By Kyle Meinke | [e-mail]

Depth. You want to know why the hype train might be for real -- why these Detroit Lions might not flop like all the Detroit Lions teams before them -- and the answer has always been depth. They’ve got more of it than in years. Decades, maybe.

And on the final night of the preseason, Detroit flexed that depth in a 26-17 exhibition win against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium.

Undrafted rookie receiver Dylan Drummond capped a strong summer by catching five of his six targets, three of which he dived for, and one of which came on a critical third-and-long that set up an early score. Antoine Green, another rookie in the mix for one of the final jobs at receiver, caught a 70-yard touchdown pass from Teddy Bridgewater just before halftime.

**** It was a 2nd and 10 situation in which Dylan Drummond had a 20 yard reception. That play helped set up an eventual FG that tied the game 10-10.****

Yet another rookie, cornerback Khalil Dorsey, returned the first kickoff of the game 62 yards. Yet another rookie, cornerback Steven Gilmore, scored on a pick-six. And Chase Lucas turned up the volume on the cornerback competition by fully extending for an impressive interception in his own end zone with just 51 seconds left before halftime.

**** Khalil Dorsey isn't a Rookie. He was a Baltimore Ravens UDRFA in 2020 and was on the Ravens 53 man roster and Practice Squad for parts of that season. ****

Green made Carolina pay for the mistake by running through the defense for a 70-yard touchdown just moments later, finally showing off the speed that lured Brad Holmes to take a seventh-round flier on him. Then Dorsey immediately forced a fumble with his right shoulder on the very next play from scrimmage, setting up a Riley Patterson field goal as time expired. And just like that, Detroit rattled off 20 quick unanswered points to take a 20-10 lead into the break.

The score never mattered of course -- not with all the starters in street clothes for the third straight exhibition -- but the big plays from across the bubble showed the kind of depth we’ve been looking at all summer, and Detroit will have some tough decisions to make as roster cuts loom on Tuesday.

**** This was one of the Lions best performances in a pre-season game over a long period of time. It was far from an ideal pre-season performance, but the roster decisions became more difficult as a result of what transpired in this game. Definitely encouraging. ****

Let’s get to some more observations:

-- There are so many reasons the Lions brought in Teddy Bridgewater, but thank God they did, because quarterback Nate Sudfeld was carted to the locker room with what appeared to be a right knee injury in the third quarter. Bridgewater also happens to be a better quarterback than Sudfeld, and can give the backup offense better looks. And after settling in over the last couple weeks, we finally started to see it in Carolina. Bridgewater led Detroit to two touchdowns and two field goals on six series, while another ended with a missed field goal. He completed 13 of 22 passes overall for 178 yards, one touchdown, no turnovers and a passer rating of 100.2.

**** Teddy Bridgewater was substantially better in this pre-season game than the previous one vs. the Jaguars. Having said that, Bridgewater's accuracy was off at times. Part of that is there are still timing issues with Bridgewater and Lions receivers that played in the two pre-season games with him.****

-- Here’s hoping you had something better to do on a Friday night than watch a preseason finale. But for those degenerates who did watch the game -- hi, fellow degenerate here -- perhaps you can begin to understand the difficulty of the decisions to be made at receiver. With Jameson Williams suspended to open the season, there are one or two jobs available behind Amon-Ra St. Brown, Josh Reynolds, Kalif Raymond and Marvin Jones. And there are three good candidates in the mix.

At this point, I think it’ll be hard for the Lions to cut Drummond. Call it the Tom Kennedy Effect -- he’s a guy who does everything right and produces more than his competition, so how can you tell him he’s out of a job after all that? Drummond went from zero contract offers after the draft to just one tryout after that, then went on to produce more than everyone else on the second team in camp. The only hole in his resume was in-game production, and he checked that box too against Carolina, diving for three passes while catching five of the six balls thrown his way, including a big one where he fully extended on third down.

**** Dylan Drummond stepped up. I think he went from being VERY slightly on the right side of the roster bubble to someone who has a pretty good chance of surviving the cutdown to 53.****

As for what happens after that, who knows? Chase Cota is a big target who strung together some good practices over the last two weeks, but dropped two passes in his final chance to leave an impression, one of which was in the end zone. Antoine Green didn’t do enough in camp, but has better size and speed than Drummond, and finally showed it with the 70-yard touchdown against Carolina. No one else in that competition can do that.


No matter what happens at wide receiver, hat’s off to Drummond and Green for balling out against the Panthers, making a tough decision even tougher heading into cuts.

****Antone Green stepped up as a receiver and went from being significantly on the wrong side of the roster bubble to someone who has at least a 49% chance of surviving the cutdown to 53. Green had a Punt Return opportunity in the 3rd QTR that he let the ball go and apparently didn't signal to Starling Thomas V to stay clear of the ball. Fortunately, the ball somehow missed touching Thomas, which enabled the Lions to maintain the ball deep in Detroit territory. Green also was the deep man on a Kickoff Return in which a return was a viable option. The coaches clearly wanted Green to demonstrate more versatility, as they clearly see potential in him as a big play WR. ****

-- Can we please stop debating who the third running back is? Craig Reynolds has been solid in that role before, still has the trust of the coaches despite missing a couple weeks of camp with an injury, and has been fed a steady diet of RB3 reps since returning . And once the backup offensive line started to finally pave some holes for him, he popped, running 11 times for 41 yards and one really nice 5-yard touchdown against Carolina. He was always going to be RB3, and he beat that horse again tonight.

****Craig Reynolds all but secured a spot on the Lions initial 53 man roster and very likely on the opening day 53 man roster. Reynolds had at least two impressive runs. ****

-- After sending one of the league’s worst pass rushes onto the field the last few years, well, just look at the demolition that occurred against Carolina on Friday night. James Houston was untouchable for the second straight week, got home for one sack against Ikem Ekwonu -- the former sixth overall pick in the draft -- and racked up three quarterbacks overall. He also drew defensive holding on yet another play where he blew past his man.
****James Houston is a difference maker as a pass rusher. It was risky using him in the 4th QTR of the final pre-season game.***

Then there was Romeo Okwara, who also made easy work of Carolina’s offensive line, and got home for a sack of his own. Both Houston and Okwara have come on strong in recent weeks -- and both guys remain within shouting distance of the roster bubble because Detroit is so damn deep at the position. Aidan Hutchinson, Charles Harris, John Cominsky and Josh Paschal lead the way, and none even played in Carolina. Then the guys who did play made convincing cases they deserve roster spots, too. Someone has to go, and it just might be Julian Okwara, the former third-round pick who has three sacks in the preseason and a fourth that was nullified by penalty. That, folks, is depth.

****James Houston wasn't on the roster bubble this summer, regardless of what some in the media believe.

Romeo Okwara probably helped his cause slightly.

If the Lions decide not to keep a 7th edge player, Julian Okwara will likely be released, if the Lions aren't able to trade him. I still believe the Lions should keep him on the 53 man roster but I think he's more likely than not going to be released or traded. ****


-- Sticking with the defensive line for a moment, hat’s off to Levi Onwuzurike. The former second-round pick has known nothing but adversity since turning pro, and had his shoulder pads on for about 5 minutes in his first two training camps combined. But he’s managed to stay healthy for the entirety of this camp, and wouldn’t you know it, he’s starting to flash that interior pass rush we heard so much about from his days at Washington. He’s been coming on strong for weeks, then put an exclamation point on his preseason by carving up the Panthers’ offensive line for a handful of pressures, one quarterback hit, one near-sack, plus added a tackle 4 yards behind the line of scrimmage for good measure.

****Levi Onwuzurike might have had the best all-around performance on the Lions in the pre-season finale. There's no longer any doubt that Levi O. will survive the cutdown to 53. He will be on the opening day 53 man roster, barring an significant injury. ****

-- Having said all that about the pass rush, rookie quarterback Bryce Young did move the ball effectively on the ground, running three times for 21 yards. Don’t want to read too much into the preseason -- where no starters played for the Lions -- but it’s worth pointing out they’ve struggled to handle mobile quarterbacks in the past, and they’ve got Patrick Mahomes waiting on deck. Just saying.

**** Even if Bryce Young would have been contained, there would be concern about Patrick Mahomes' all-around elite skills.****

-- Derrick Barnes did not play against Carolina, which could suggest he’s won the starting linebacker job alongside Alex Anzalone. But rookie Jack Campbell isn’t making that decision an easy one. The first-round pick led the Lions in tackles in each of the first two preseason games, then earned the start against Carolina and immediately racked up three more tackles on the game’s first drive. Then his day was done, too. Here’s betting Barnes has earned the right to start against Mahomes on opening night, and Detroit will lean on that experience against the best quarterback on the planet. But Campbell is going to play too, and if his rapid ascent in camp is any indication, he’ll be awfully hard to keep off the field soon enough.

**** The Lions have 5 Off the Ball LBs that the team can win with. Jalen Reeves-Maybin had another good performance in the pre-season. He all but cemented his spot on the Lions opening day 53 man roster.****

-- It was interesting to see cornerback Khalil Dorsey get the start over Steven Gilmore, who had been the guy at that spot in previous weeks. I don’t know what that means, if anything, but Dorsey made the most of his opportunity by forcing that fumble before halftime -- leading to three more points before the break -- and also returning a kick 62 yards. He’s a good candidate for the practice squad, if nothing else. And it was a nice way for the kid to end a camp where he had been best known for knocking out tight end Shane Zylstra for the season with a questionable hit.

****Khalil Dorsey will probably fall short of surviving the cutdown to 53. But this is because that Chase Lucas more likely than not won a spot on the Lions initial 53 man roster and Steven Gilmore stepped up to help seal the pre-season win for the Lions with a pass defended, followed immediately by an Interception Return for a TD. Lucas more likely than not moved ahead of Gilmore in the Lions CB pecking order. But both could very realistically survive the cutdown to 53. ****

-- The Lions didn’t even play Parker Romo in Carolina, essentially handing their kicker job to Riley Patterson. But Patterson refused to make that decision easy, missing short from 53 yards and also pushing a point-after try wide of the posts. Patterson is mostly reliable from inside 50 yards, but simply doesn’t have the leg strength to achieve consistency beyond that. And for a team with title aspirations, that’s a liability.

****Riley Patterson's performance was one of the few negatives from this game for the Lions.

IMHO, the reason the Lions didn't use John Parker Romo in this pre-season game is to increase the chances of JPR clearing waivers, with the Lions signing him to the Practice Squad. With a less likely chance that JPR will be offered a contract by another team during the season.****

-- Detroit finished the preseason 2-1, whatever that means. Now it’s on to the real thing, and the world-champion Kansas City Chiefs are officially on the clock.

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This new thread is a continuation of the following thread:

Lions at Panthers preview: Pre-Season Game # 3 ( 2023)

detroit-lions-forum.proboards.com/thread/1855/lions-panthers-preview-season-game

This new thread relates to the following thread:

Lions projected 53 man roster ( 2023 season )

detroit-lions-forum.proboards.com/thread/1823/lions-projected-roster-2023-season

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Quick takeaways from the Lions preseason win vs. the Panthers

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I was surprised Isaiah Buggs was in the pre-season game in the 2nd half. Hopefully, the highly questionable (I'm being kind) decision to play Buggs at all in the 2nd half doesn't prove costly.

In addition to the Lions players mentioned that suffered injuries at Carolina on Friday Night, Khalil Dorsey suffered an injury. I'm not sure how serious any of the injuries are. The option for the Lions to put one or more players (including Ifeatu Melifonwu, who didn't play in the game because of an injury he suffered vs. the Jaguars in the 2nd pre-season game) on Short Term IR, after the player (s) are included on the initial 53 man roster, is an option Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell will seriously consider. The roster decisions are even more complicated because of the new injuries. It's realistically possible the Lions will release a relatively healthy vested veteran with the plans of re-signing that player later in the week.****

I'm not sure if the False Start called on Germain Ifedi was the correct call. It looked on the TV telecast that the initial movement occurred on the Panthers Defense. Ifedi seemed to have an average overall game. Matt Nelson played much better at LT in this game than vs. the Giants two weeks prior. Nelson might have moved ahead of Idefi in the Lions Tackle pecking order. I thought Ifedi had the edge going into the Panthers pre-season game. Ifedi, as a Vested Veteran, could be a candidate to be released, with the plan on re-signing him in the coming days.

Dave Fipp is a tremendous Special Teams Coordinator.

Cory Durden will probably be caught in a numbers game. If Durden is released, there's at least a 50-50 chance he will be claimed off waivers. The Lions would have to hope that Durden clears waivers and that the two parties agree on a Practice Squad Contract.

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Studs and Duds for the Lions preseason win against the Panthers

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This thread relates to the following thread:

Lions cut DT Christian Covington,T Germaine Ifedi,-11 others

detroit-lions-forum.proboards.com/thread/1863/lions-christian-covington-germaine-ifedi

Two drops, including a drop in the End Zone, probably will contribute to Chad Cota not surviving the Cutdown to 53.

I think there's a good chance Cota would clear waivers. If that's the case, my guess is Cota will be the Lions 1st or 2nd Practice Squad WR preference.

The Lions have better depth at DT than has been the case in a number of seasons. Even factoring this opinion in, the play of Levi Onwuzurike in the final pre-season game indicates to me that he will open the regular season as one of the Lions top 3 DT options (not counting Edge players that are expected to move inside in many expected passing situations).

The injury Julian Okwara suffered could be the difference in Okwara surviving the Cutdown to 53. With the plan off placing him on Short Term I.R.. Unless the injury turns out to be a major one that would keep him out the vast majority or all of the season, I think placing him on Short Term I.R. later this week, would make the most sense. Julian Okwara could turn out to be a valuable insurance policy for the Lions, later this season.

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Stock watch: Teddy Bridgewater, backup DBs shine, but kicker still a concern after misses

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The Lions have the option of including Nate Sudfeld on the team's initial 53 man roster and placing him on Short Term IR later in the week.

If the team brass believes that Hendon Hooker would be cleared to practice during the season, with the expectation that Hooker would be cleared to be activated to the 53 man roster, that would likely increase the chances of Nate Sudfeld NOT being on the Lions initial 53 man roster. I think I substantially overestimated the chances of Sudfeld being on the Lions initial 53 man roster. Instead of 49%, it's probably around 30%.

While Colby Sorsdal improved greatly at RG in the pre-season finale at Carolina and more than holding his own (figuratively) at RT during the 2nd half of the pre-season game, Broderic Martin didn't come close to making the strides that Sorsdal did. Martin probably will be on the Game Day Inactive list more often than not (maybe for every game) in at least the early part of the season. It's not surprising that Martin is having major growing pains as a rookie on the NFL level.

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Lions stock report: Roster decisions get tougher following preseason finale performances

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Riley Patterson has a track record with the Lions on non-long FGs. Unless a proven kicker, who clearly would be an upgrade over Patterson becomes available, I think it's in the Lions best interest to begin the regular season with Patterson.