Give the Detroit Lions credit, they did not quit. An impressive second half in Heinz Field in Saturday night’s preseason game made the final score interesting, but the Lions could not overcome the awful first half. The Steelers held on and prevailed, 26-20, dropping the Lions to 0-2 in the exhibition season.
The first half was as bad of a football product as the Detroit Lions have produced in a long time, and given the team’s recent depths, that’s saying something.
It was a much different and happier story after halftime. Once the Steelers pulled their starters, Detroit largely dominated the game. Strong second-half performances from rookie LB Derrick Barnes, RB Craig Reynolds, plucky QB David Blough and others allowed the Lions to score 20 of the final 23 points, all after halftime.
In the final quarter, Detroit ran 31 offensive plays that netted 215 yards in three drives, all ending in touchdowns. Barnes spearheaded a defensive effort that surrendered just 106 yards after halftime after getting eviscerated for 285 in the abysmal first half.
In his postgame press conference, Barnes laid it out.
“We treated (the second half) as if the score was 0-0,” the fourth-round rookie from Purdue said. And the Lions depth played like it, dominating the fourth quarter and creating a lot of questions about roster spots and the depth chart entering the preseason finale against the Colts on Friday.