Saturday’s preseason finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers was a golden opportunity for Lions quarterback Hendon Hooker to show he was ready to be the team’s backup behind Jared Goff. Getting the start against a Steelers defense that played several starters in the first couple of drives was a great chance for No. 2 to prove he can be the No. 2 QB in Detroit.
Unfortunately for Hooker, it didn’t play out well.
Hooker struggled early. While he completed three of his first four attempts, the first quarter ended with Detroit netting minus-7 yards passing. That’s because an indecisive Hooker took four sacks, including a strip-sack that resulted in a turnover. While the protection in front was not great, at least two of the sacks appeared to be directly on Hooker for not getting rid of the ball when he had chances, even if just to throw it away and live for another down.
One of the biggest tenets of Ben Johnson’s complexly creative Lions offense is making the correct read and being confident in that read. It’s hard to tell if Hooker made the correct reads, but it was clear he wasn’t confident that he had in those early drives. The first four possessions resulted in five net yards and two first downs as the Steelers raced out to a 14-0 lead.
The story did change once the Steelers removed anyone who will actually play for Pittsburgh from the defensive lineup. Hooker then settled in and led two straight scoring drives to close out the half. The ball came out quicker and more decisively, perhaps a function of being under less pressure from the reserves on the Steelers defense.
Hooker also ran well, just as he did in the prior preseason games. It’s an added dynamic, and it felt like Hooker picked his spots to run smartly in this one. He did forget to slide or avoid unnecessary contact on a couple of those runs, however. Regardless, picking up a team-best 93 yards on 10 carries is an impressive feat for Hooker.
He did some very impressive things with his arm and his legs. Two of the passes he missed later in the game were great throws that should have been caught, along with a bad drop from TE James Mitchell. Hooker finished 12-of-20 for 114 yards, one touchdown and one INT before giving way to Jake Fromm for the final two drives.
It was an overall decent performance, but the context of when he looked decent and when he didn’t is critically important. If the goal was to prove he’s the No. 2 quarterback and ready to step in for Jared Goff against top defenses, Hooker didn’t accomplish that at all. He continued to prove he’s still exactly what Dan Campbell said he was this week regarding the battle with Nate Sudfeld (who didn’t play vs. Pittsburgh) to be Goff’s primary backup,
“You have to have conviction that whoever that guy is going to be able to keep this ship afloat and what we know about (Lions QB Hendon) Hooker is, Hooker is a young developing quarterback and he needs reps and he needs time. I do know that. And Nate right now has the upper hand because he’s played more. He’s been in it more, he’s seen it more.”
Hooker’s day validated Campbell’s doubts that Hooker is ready right now to be that No. 2 quarterback. That might change through the season, and hopefully it’s not even a question next summer when Hooker is entering Year 3. But the Steelers game did nothing to advance Hooker into the No. 2 role or convince anyone that the Lions can roll with just two quarterbacks.