We got our first look at the new Detroit Lions first-team offense in Friday night’s preseason opener. With Jared Goff at the controls of coordinator Anthony Lynn’s offensive scheme, the starters played two drives that left a very mixed impression.
The first drive was pathetic. Goff threw his first pass directly to a Bills defender, who dropped it. Jamaal Williams got hit at the line of scrimmage on the first run, forcing 3rd-and-long. Rookie right tackle Penei Sewell got smoked by fellow first-round pick Greg Rousseau at the same time as right guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai was walked backward into the QB for a sack where Goff didn’t have much of a chance.
It did get better on the second drive. Goff threw a couple of pretty timing routes, hitting impressive rookie WR Amon-Ra St. Brown on a zippy out and whistling one perfectly on target to big TE Darren Fells for a nice gain. St. Brown showed off with a short catch that turned into a 13-yard gain, too. Alas, it was wiped out by an (iffy) holding penalty on Pro Bowl center Frank Ragnow.
Goff was sharp on the second drive, even though it stalled when he attempted to scramble for the conversion on 3rd-and-10. He completed seven in a row and nearly had a touchdown, denied only when Bills CB Levi Wallace made a nice deflection on a throw in the end zone to Tyrell Williams. A higher throw from Goff to his taller target would have been nice, but it was not a bad effort.
One throw, and play design, really stood out as something we should see a lot, and the NFL Network was kind enough to tweet it out,
Well-placed ball and then look at the FOOTWORK from @TyrellWilliams_.
📺: #BUFvsDET on @NFLNetwork (or check local listings)
📱: https://t.co/EQPwwGojpH pic.twitter.com/AY99gAJCwY— NFL (@NFL) August 13, 2021
Note the route from Jamaal Williams out of the backfield and how he forced the outside CB to come way up to defend it. That bought extra room for Tyrell Williams up the sideline and Goff nicely rifled the ball into the “turkey hole” for a first down. Jamaal Williams is enough of a receiving threat that if the CB cheats back to defend No. 6, Goff can quickly check it to the RB and get him the ball with room to operate.
An 18-play, 75-yard drive that ends in a successful field goal from Randy Bullock is definitely something coach Dan Campbell will take. The drive took almost 10 minutes off the clock and had a nice mix of runs and passes. On the heels of the epic fail that was the first 3-and-out, it creates some hope and offered a glimpse of how the Lions can win on offense in 2021. After that horrifying first drive, it was a nice palate cleanser.
