Lions News

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[Sanders Fan]

That PFF tweet must have been put up there by Florio the Queens fan.

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[whatever_gong82]

[whatever_gong82]

Detroit Lions film review: The big, beautiful brain of Ben Johnson



Justin Rogers
The Detroit News



Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell called Sunday's showing against the Los Angeles Chargers the team's best offensive performance of the season. Who could reasonably argue differently?

The 533 yards from scrimmage were a season high and the 41 points were second to the 42 the team scored against Carolina in Week 5, when the defense repeatedly provided short fields via a trio of first-half turnovers. The cherry on top from Sunday's outing was the absence of turnovers, which has only happened three times for Detroit this season.

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So, yeah, this was the Lions offense at its best. Not coincidentally, it was also at its healthiest. That provided offensive coordinator Ben Johnson an opportunity to open up the playbook, which he did with great effectiveness. Campbell said it felt like Johnson was two steps ahead of the opposition all afternoon.

"I think you’d be hard pressed to call a better game than he did offensively," Campbell said.



Johnson, in his second season as Detroit's primary play-caller, has thrived in the role from the start. He took an offense that ranked near the bottom of the league in 2021 and turned it into a top-five unit last season. And with the 41-point explosion against the Chargers, the Lions are averaging more yards and points than they did a year ago, They also have a better offensive DVOA (a down-by-down measure of efficiency), despite a number of injuries to key pieces throughout the first half of the season.

This week was Johnson at his best, so what better topic to break down in this week's film review?



Look, it clearly helps to have a fully healthy offensive line. The literal strength of that unit showed up on the game's first handoff, when they reset the line of scrimmage 3 yards down the field allowing David Montgomery to gain 8.

Detroit's first explosive play came on the next snap, when Johnson dialed up a route concept that exploited the Chargers' zone coverage look.



The Lions came out in a shotgun formation with three receivers to quarterback Jared Goff's left and Josh Reynolds split wide right. On the snap, the veteran receiver ran an intermediate, in-breaking route at a 10-yard depth, commanding the attention of both the corner and safety to that side, in part because that's where Goff was looking early in the play.

Meanwhile, Amon-Ra St. Brown, the innermost receiver from the trips to the left, ran a deep crossing pattern that cut behind the safety who had committed to Reynolds, generating a massive 46-yard gain into the red zone.

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And the Lions should have scored a touchdown on the drive, but a well-designed and executed screen pass to Jameson Williams was wiped off the book by a low-block infraction against left tackle Taylor Decker.

That type of self-inflicted wound has plagued the Lions in the red zone for the past month, but was hardly a predictor of things to come in this contest.


The Lions found the end zone on their next series, opening things up with a nifty pass play that probably gains more yardage if it was attacking a linebacker with less experience than Eric Kendricks.

The play-action pass with Goff running a boot after the fake was designed to get the defense thinking the ball was going to the tight end in the flat. It's a common play design most teams utilize. Instead, Goff threw across his body to St. Brown, who had sat down in the middle of the field, which was otherwise wide open sans Kendricks, who made a late diagnosis and was able to limit the gain to 7 yards.



Following a pass-interference penalty against the Chargers, the Lions leaned on rookie Jahymr Gibbs the rest of the series, with three increasingly successful carries setting up a 1-yard touchdown run.

Each carry had big-play potential, but Gibbs didn't get loose until the third. On the first, St. Brown motioned wide from his initial tight alignment, creating a light, six-man box. A lane was set up for the running back, but right tackle Penei Sewell lost his footing when he got stepped on by guard Graham Glasgow, causing the play to break down.


Continuing to run behind the right side, Goff pitched the ball to Gibbs on the next snap, with the back picking up quality lead blocks from Sewell, Reynolds and tight end Brock Wright, resulting in an 11-yard gain and a first down.



We won't know for sure until we have a bigger sample size, but the Lions utilized pitches over handoffs more frequently in this game, mostly with Gibbs. It could point to an adjustment the team feels helps the rookie's field vision and momentum into space.

Those two benefits were on full display for run No. 3, when Gibbs again took a pitch going right, getting massive, initial push from his blockers before finding a cutback lane. From there, Gibbs used his speed to get the backside edge, motoring for 34 yards before being forced out of bounds just shy of the goal line.



Gibbs finished the drive out of a unique run formation, where he was offset 5 yards to Goff's right with the quarterback under center, and fullback Malcolm Rodriguez offset to the other side, directly stacked behind Decker.

Gibbs took the handoff going left, picked up a good cut block from Rodriguez on edge rusher Joey Bosa, with guard Jonah Jackson pulling in front as a lead blocker, wiping out cornerback Michael Davis, and rookie receiver Antoine Green digging out two-time All-Pro safety Derwin James to pave the lane across the goal line.



The offense quickly got the ball back after an interception, but wasted the quality field position with an inefficient, 12-play, 32-yard drive that ended with a turnover one downs.

Execution was an issue to start the drive. St. Brown couldn't get enough separation on a well-designed deep shot, Reynolds didn't get around a well-placed back shoulder fade and Kalif Raymond ran into the teeth of the defense instead of trusting his speed and blocking on a quick screen.



But those miscues gave Johnson a chance to show off a continued willingness to run the ball on fourth down when opponents don't expect it. When the Chargers spaced eight defenders along the line of scrimmage, completely vacating the second level, Johnson trusted his line to win at the point of attack and was rewarded for the decision when Montgomery got 6 yards needing 5.

And the coordinator got creative with the ground game when the Lions faced fourth-and-one three plays later. Motioning St. Brown into an H-back alignment and handing the ball to him after faking a pitch to Gibbs going the opposite direction. In terms of blocking, it was much like Gibbs' touchdown, with an effective cut block by Rodriguez, a pulling Jackson and a safety dig out by Green paving the way for the first-down gain around the left edge.



But the return of execution errors kept the Lions out of the end zone. A sure touchdown pass to St. Brown on first down was behind the receiver, which allowed him to be stopped at the 1-yard line. And some poor blocking by the rusty Jackson, coming off a three-game absence with a high ankle sprain, resulted in two run stops and a free rusher on fourth-and-goal that forced Goff into a throwaway on the play-action look.

Detroit settled back into their scoring groove their next series, fueled by a well-designed screen that netted 24 yards for Gibbs. It started with a play-action run fake, but the back got wider than where you would normally see a screen pass go, once again playing into his ability to thrive in space. Additionally, the defense was put into conflict by Rodriguez's counter motion as a lead blocker, going the opposite direction of Gibbs, holding the Chargers linebackers closer to the middle of the field.


A pair of passes to Jameson Williams and St. Brown — the latter squeezed into the tiniest of windows — set the Lions up first-and-goal where Gibbs was ultimately able to score a second time behind strong blocking from the right side of the line and an excellent pulling lead from Wright.

Detroit ran just two plays the remainder of the first half, but both showcased Johnson's impact.



When the Lions came out with the wrong personnel grouping for the play call their next possession, Johnson worked with Goff through the quarterback's headset to check into a base run for Montgomery. There were no execution errors this time as the down-blocking line created a massive backside cutback lane, while downfield blocks by St. Brown and Williams sprung the running back for a 75-yard touchdown.

And despite getting the ball at their own 25-yard line with 23 seconds remaining in the second quarter, Johnson tried to take a shot instead of a knee, throwing a quick screen to Williams. The Chargers stopped it, but had the speedy receiver been a little more patient and tried for the outside lane, instead of cutting back into the Chargers' leverage, he could have been off to the races.


The opening possession of the second half was Detroit's ugliest of the matchup. They should have gone three-and-out, but were bailed out when the Chargers hit Reynolds in the head after a third-down catch short of the sticks.

They'd get one more first down, but a pair of drops by Raymond and Gibbs ended the series, with the latter keeping them out of field goal range and forcing the team's only punt of the game.


The Lions rebounded, scoring touchdowns their next two possessions to keep pace with the even-hotter Chargers offense.



After the Chargers tied it at 24 midway through the third frame, the Lions embarked on a seven-play drive that started methodically before a pair of big plays to St. Brown put the Lions in the end zone.

Facing third-and-two, the Lions came out in a condensed 2x2 formation with Goff in the shotgun. The Chargers tried to force a bad decision on a quick throw by blanketing Detroit's two shorter routes and sending a corner blitz, but with the line picking up the extra rusher, Goff was able to calmly deliver a downfield strike to his favorite target, running a post pattern, for a 33-yard gain.



At the tip of the red zone, the Lions went right back to St. Brown on a receiver screen, which similarly benefited from the Chargers blitzing a cornerback from that side. That left two defenders for two blockers and Reynolds and Decker did their jobs, allowing St. Brown to glide in for the 20-yard score.



Again needing to answer a Chargers' touchdown, the Lions did just that with another seven-play drive early in the fourth quarter. The offense opened the series with another call to get Gibbs in space, having him run an angle route across the middle while the other four pass options ran vertical routes, commanding most of the defense's attention. It resulted in a 14-yard gain, which would have been more if a defensive lineman didn't tip the pass, altering the trajectory and forcing Gibbs to adjust.

Another winning route combination, with Goff using his eyes to sell it, helped the Lions convert a third down into Chargers territory. The quarterback locked on to Raymond running a short out route past the marker, drawing in the deep zone defender to that side, which created space for LaPorta to run freely on a corner pattern from the slot for 19 yards.


And Johnson dialed up arguably his best call three plays later, when he gave Goff the option to check to a pass on third-and-1 if the Chargers presented a specific defensive look.

The Lions were essentially in a goal line formation with Rodriguez as a lead blocker for Montgomery. A play fake to the back forced linebacker Kenneth Murray to commit as Wright initially blocked before releasing free down the seam for a 25-yard touchdown. Pass catchers selling blocks early in their routes, particularly off play-action, have been one of Johnson's calling cards and the Lions continue to execute in those situations at a high level.

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The Lions capped the shootout victory with a field goal as time expired. That was set up by a 41-yard catch-and-run by Raymond. He came free on a shallow cross out of play-action, a variation of an ineffective design the Lions had twice tried to run to a tight end earlier in the game.

And after the Chargers had gotten the Lions in third-and-14 after a pair of negative plays, Johnson called a bread-and-butter out route to St. Brown to get back 12 of it before giving Goff multiple options to convert fourth-and-2 to set up Riley Patterson's winning kick.



It truly was a brilliant display of game-planning and play-calling by the second-year coordinator. Had the Lions executed a few more of those calls a little better, there's little doubt they would have scored more than 50. Johnson's plan thrived by leaning into the strength of his best players, namely the offensive line, St. Brown and Gibbs.

The Lions were able to overwhelm a run defense that came into the matchup playing at a high level with a varied scheme and several unique formations, which included a pair of handoffs to St. Brown. That opened up the play-action attack, where Goff thrived, completing 9-of-12 for 141 yards and a touchdown. And Johnson clearly had a good grasp on how to go at the Los Angeles' preferred coverages, utilizing effective route combinations that allowed Goff to work from deep to short, which generated several explosive gains downfield.



jdrogers@detroitnews.com

@Justin_Rogers

[El Axe]

Detroit Lions best player a poster boy for how Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes are building

Shawn Windsor
Detroit Free Press

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ARSB reminds me of Jerry Rice. Rice wasn't the fastest or strongest or biggest. He was known for his incredible work ethic, reliability and attention to detail.

Rice still had more physical talent than ARSB, but everything else seems prettty similar.

[Mainevent]

Why? First seed and division championship are not mutually exclusive. Nor does striving for the first seed in any way hurt your chances for a division win.

Well you can't be the first seed without winning your division. Take care of business, lock down the North. Once that's done, then they can focus on the #1 seed.

[whatever_gong82]

[Cody_Russell]

Lions signed edge rusher Bruce Irvin.
Band aid solution to help pass rush with the absence of James Houston. I doubt Irvin can reach Houston production from last season, but there might be more potential than sitting on Charles Harris + the Okwaras.

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[Mainevent]

Cominsky has come back down to earth a bit. Still solid but not making as many splashy plays as last year. I wasn’t really expecting a lot of pash rush out of Paschal, but I certainly think the Lions were.

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[Cody_Russell]

I fell into the trap of expecting more out of the edge rushers.

- Aidan Hutchinson has been awesome.
- John Cominsky and Josh Paschal a few splashy plays, but lacking impact pass rush to make a huge difference so far. Their role is more suited for run defense though. Where’s the interior pass rush from them on NASCAR packages? I think it’s fair to want more from Paschal considering a 2nd RD pick was spent on him.
- James Houston injured.
- Charles Harris and Romeo Okwara fell off a cliff when it comes to past production.
- Julian Okwara some ole self. A handful of nice plays, but not enough. Hasn’t ascended much at all for a high 3rd RD pick.
- Using Jack Campbell as an edge defender was just silly. Derrick Barnes had some snaps there vs LAC though! His Purdue role!

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