Cincinnati Bengals vs. Detroit Lions

Lions flashback: Where the team stood in Week 6 last season

The Lions did not have a good Week 6 Sunday a year ago, to put it kindly

Lions fans are hopefully enjoying the week off from Detroit football. The bye in Week 6 comes at a much-appreciated time for the 1-4 Lions, who have suffered several critical injuries along the way to possessing the NFL’s worst defense.

The week off gives us a chance to look back at what happened in Week 6 a year ago. It’s a game most fans will not want to remember.

The title of the postgame recap says it all,
“Lions get embarrassed in punchless loss to the Bengals”

Lions get embarrassed in punchless loss to the Bengals

Cincinnati scored its biggest road margin of victory in seven years in smoking the Lions, 34-11. It was 27-0 Bengals at the start of the fourth quarter, and it was only that close because the Lions defense somehow came up with three straight 3-and-outs in the second quarter,

This is not a game anyone in Detroit will want to remember. The offense was completely overmatched by the Bengals defense. A decided lack of aggression from QB Jared Goff played into Cincinnati’s hands, but there is more than enough blame to share around the Lions locker room. Cincinnati was well-prepared for everything Detroit tried to do in the limited range of which Goff will attempt at quarterback.

Goff completed 28 of his 42 passes for just 202 yards. The Lions offense ran the ball for 36 yards on 18 carries, a total that saw D’Andre Swift gain exactly 10 yards on his final 10 carries. Detroit had no answer for Bengals QB Joe Burrow throwing to RB Joe Mixon or TE C.J. Uzomah, either.

The loss dropped the Lions to 0-6, making them the final winless team in the league in 2021. Detroit would lose the next two before its bye to fall to 0-8. A tie with Pittsburgh broke the losing streak, but the record dropped to 0-10-1 before Dan Campbell’s Lions finally scored their first victory.

Lions OC Anthony Lynn right to find ‘not a damn thing’ to be proud of in loss to Bengals

Coach Lynn did not mince words about the Lions offense and its poor all-around play in the Week 6 loss to Cincinnati

Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn was not happy with the performance of his unit in the 34-11 loss to the visiting Cincinnati Bengals in Week 6. Nor should he be.

Lynn was asked during his weekly media session what positives he took away from the loss to the Bengals. Lynn did not mince words.

“Not a damn thing. Not a damn thing,” Lynn said emphatically. “Every game up until then, I could’ve come in and could’ve told you some positives, but after the Cincinnati game, it’s just the way I felt. I think our squad feels that way offensively. We’re looking forward to going out and blessed to have another opportunity to go out on Sunday and do it again.”

The film study from the game backs up Lynn’s bluntly harsh assessment of his unit. Outside of some solid run blocking, notably from left tackle Penei Sewell and left guard Jonah Jackson, the Lions offense was a disaster in Week 7.

Quarterback Jared Goff was inconsistent in his drop depth and held the ball too long, often ignoring open targets down the field. Some of those targets — notably rookie WR Amon-Ra St. Brown and newcomer Geronimo Allison — were not when and where they needed to be, either. There were pre-snap penalties and missed blocks from wide receivers that spoiled any chance of running successfully.

The blame falls on the players for failing to execute, but that’s also on Lynn for not properly stressing the attention to detail to his players.

Lynn remains frustrated by the inability to play a complete game.

“We have yet to focus for four quarters,” Lynn said. “And you talk about this intense focus that it takes to be successful in this league, and I do believe we are a gritty group, but last week we did take a step backwards and I think guys are eager to play this week against a good football team and just see where we stand.”

Next Gen Stats data shows how well the Lions CBs covered Bengals WRs

Lions rookie CB Jerry Jacobs allowed Ja’marr Chase over a full yard less of separation than what Kalif Raymond got against his Bengals counterpart

The scoreboard might not reflect it, but the young Detroit Lions cornerbacks played about as well as can be reasonably expected in the team’s Week 6 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Their coverage on the Bengals’ receiving weapons was not the problem.

The data from NFL Next Gen Stats detailing how much separation the receivers got on average from the coverage reflects well upon the Lions CBs, notably rookie Jerry Jacobs.

Jacobs was the primary coverage on dynamic Bengals rookie WR Ja’marr Chase. And while Chase did beat Jacobs (and the late safety help) for a couple of big plays, overall the Lions rookie covered Chase well. Chase managed just 2.59 yard of average separation on routes, almost exactly the league average of 2.55 per route. The Lions, primarily rookie slot CB AJ Parker, also bottled up Tyler Boyd to just 1.6 yards per route.

By way of comparison, Detroit’s Kalif Raymond averaged well over a yard more of separation (3.94) against the Bengals coverage than what the Lions ceded to Chase and Tee Higgins (2.71). Lions slot receiver Tom Kennedy also did a fine job of getting open at 3.75 yards, though that came on just five routes (one catch). Cincinnati’s Auden Tate averaged over 4.4 yards of separation on his seven routes, though he saw just one target.

Obviously it didn’t make enough of a difference in a 34-11 loss, but it shows that the young secondary is proving capable of growing into something bigger and better. There is more to successful defense than just tight coverage. Detroit missed some tackles and some help assignments, and the pass rush was not impactful most of the game. Given that context, it’s even more impressive how well Jacobs, Parker and Amani Oruwariye fared in the game.

It also demonstrates that the Lions own receivers are generally getting open more than advertised, something film review continues to show every week.

Film review: Trench Warfare’s excellent breakdown of Penei Sewell vs. the Bengals

Film review: Trench Warfare’s Brandon Thorn provides a detailed technical breakdown of Lions LT Penei Sewell vs. the Bengals

Sometimes it’s important to get an outsider’s eyes on the team to gain proper perspective. In that spirit, I eagerly anticipated the latest offensive line analysis at Trench Warfare, which spotlights individual line play as well as any resource out there.

Trench Warfare creator and offensive line expert Brandon Thorn broke down Sewell’s game against the Bengals and came away quite impressed.

“I thought Sewell played pretty well in this game,” Thorn stated as he broke down several examples of Sewell dominating his defenders in the run game. It’s a clinic in using his powerful punch and catching the defenders when they’ve vulnerably between motions.

Pass blocking was a different story. But it needs the proper context, and Thorn helps provide that. In the pass protection, Thorn began with a cautionary note.

“You’ll really see the difference in how well a scheme can set up a rookie and how it can not,” Thorn said before giving a great example.

The play in question is one where Sewell gives up a pressure and a QB hit to Bengals EDGE Trey Hendrickson. But as Thorn points out, the blame for the pressure is on quarterback Jared Goff, not Sewell. Goff drops back too far, three steps too far to be exact. The play is designed for a seven-yard drop behind center. Goff is at just over 10 yards when Hendrickson hits him.

This clip is used with Thorn’s permission (and play with sound on):

I would also point out that TE T.J. Hockenson’s alignment in-line between Sewell and Hendrickson effectively forces the pass rusher to go outside. In that regard, the alignment scheme here helps protect Sewell where he’s been struggling with rushers attacking his inside shoulder. Goff just drops back too far, spoiling the designed blocking scheme. Center Evan Brown getting worked backward certainly doesn’t help, and it likely plays a role in Goff taking those extra depth steps.

The point: while this rep looks bad for Sewell, it’s other Lions failing to execute their assignments that makes him look bad.

Thorn then rolls into another rep where Hendrickson does beat Sewell around the edge, but Goff properly steps forward and helps out his rookie tackle. As third points out, “It doesn’t really matter that Sewell loses the edge at 11 yards (deep).”

He also points out how the crafty Hendrickson makes it look like Sewell is holding, trying to draw a call.

Overall it’s a very favorable review of Sewell from someone outside the Lions and it provides better context to what we’re seeing–and not seeing–from the overall Anthony Lynn offensive experience.

What we learned from the Lions 34-11 loss to the Bengals

Lessons on Goff, penalties, promising youngsters on defense and using the Bengals rebuilding blueprint

It was not a happy Sunday in Ford Field for the Detroit Lions or their faithful fans in the stands. The Lions meekly fell to the visiting Cincinnati Bengals, 34-11, in a game that was the worst display of the young Dan Campbell coaching era.

There were no moral victories in this one, no “if we just did this one thing” hypotheticals. This was a game about hard lessons of the reality of being the last winless team in the NFL, and playing like they will stay there longer than anyone hopes.

Here are a few of the lessons we learned from the beatdown by the Bengals in Week 6.

Lions vs. Bengals game recap: Everything we know

Game recap, key plays, stats and more from the Lions bad loss to the Bengals

Sunday’s matchup between the Detroit Lions and Cincinnati Bengals was free from any second-half drama. It was the first Lions game this season that lacked important drives and momentum swings. Unfortunately, the Bengals ran away with an easy blowout road win.

If fans bailed early on this one, it’s easy to forgive them. Cincinnati outclassed the host Lions on both sides of the ball. The Lions defense kept the first half interesting, but that quickly went away when Joe Burrow led the Bengals to two quick scoring drives to open the second half, wrapped around two ugly offensive possessions from Jared Goff and the Lions.

Lions get embarrassed in punchless loss to the Bengals

The Detroit Lions get embarrassed in a punchless Week 6 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, 34-11

Through the first five weeks, the Detroit Lions had proven to be a competitive team. Even in the losses, there was fight from Dan Campbell’s crew. Every game came down to one key second-half possession.

That was not the case in Ford Field in Week 6. The Cincinnati Bengals seized control early and cruised to an easy 34-11 road win over a Lions team that looked as bad as they have for a full 60 minutes in years.

This is not a game anyone in Detroit will want to remember. The offense was completely overmatched by the Bengals defense. A decided lack of aggression from QB Jared Goff played into Cincinnati’s hands, but there is more than enough blame to share around the Lions locker room. Cincinnati was well-prepared for everything Detroit tried to do in the limited range of which Goff will attempt at quarterback.

The Lions managed just five first downs in their first eight offensive possessions. Detroit’s defense kept it close in the first half, with good performances from the young secondary and solid tackling. They got tired, or lost focus, after that and the Bengals opened up the floodgates. Burrow, Joe Mixon, Ja’marr Chase and the Cincinnati offense were too much for the game but thinly-talented Lions defense to keep down for too long.

Two somewhat impressive garbage-time drives made the stat sheet and scoreboard look more respectable, but the Bengals dominated this one. The disparity in talent between these two cats was obvious. Cincinnati was the better team and played like it on both sides of the ball.

With the loss, the Lions fall to 0-6. Jacksonville’s win earlier on Sunday leaves Detroit as the only team without a win after six games. The Bengals, the NFL’s worst team in 2019, improved to 4-2.

Lions vs Bengals inactive player list: All 4 Lions listed as questionable will play

The Lions had four key players listed as questionable with injuries but all 4 are active

With both running backs among four Detroit Lions players listed as questionable for Sunday’s matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals, the inactive list for Detroit provided a welcome sigh of relief.

Both D’Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams are active for the Week 6 contest at Ford Field. The two other players who were questionable with injury designations, TE T.J. Hockenson and OLB Trey Flowers, are also active.

The Lions who will be inactive:

DL Eric Banks

WR Trinity Benson

DE Jashon Cornell

CB Mark Gilbert

LB Jessie Lemonier

CB Daryl Worley

For the Bengals, there are not really any surprises,

CB Tre Flowers
DE Darius Hodge
WR Mike Thomas
DT Tyler Shelvin

Lions vs. Bengals: 3 ways the Lions can win in Week 6

Here are some ways the Lions can snap the 10-game losing streak and beat the Bengals

Still looking for their first win of the 2021 season, the Detroit Lions welcome the Cincinnati Bengals to Ford Field for a Week 6 matchup. The Lions have lost 10 games in a row, five this season and the final five of last year.

It won’t be easy to break the losing string. The Bengals are 3-2 and bring one of the NFL’s top passing offenses into the game.

Here are some ways the Lions can snap the losing streak.

Lions vs. Bengals: How to watch, listen, stream and wager on the Week 6 game

Lions vs. Bengals: How to watch, listen, stream and wager on the Week 6 game in Ford Field

It’s a catfight in Ford Field in Week 6 with the Detroit Lions welcoming the Cincinnati Bengals for a rare visit. The Lions will look to bounce back from two last-second, 19-17 losses on long game-winning field goals in the last three weeks and notch their first victory of the Dan Campbell coaching era. The Bengals lost to the Green Bay Packers in Week 5, a game where the two teams missed five potential game-winning field goals in the fourth quarter and overtime.

Cincinnati Bengals (3-2) at Detroit Lions (0-5)

When: Sunday, Oct. 17 at 1:00 p.m. ET
Where: Ford Field, Detroit
Referee: Shaun Hochuli

The game will be shown regionally on FOX. If you live in the orange markets on the map, the game will be on your local FOX affiliate. Chris Myers and Daryl “Moose” Johnson will have the broadcast call for the second week in a row.

Radio: 97.1 The Ticket in Detroit is the flagship station. The full list of over 30 radio affiliates is here.

Sirius XM Radio: The Lions audio feed featuring Dan Miller is on channel 226. The national broadcast is on channel 88.

Stream: NFL Game Pass

Watch free on FUBO TV

Wagering

The Lions are home underdogs against the Bengals in the latest odds from Tipico Sportsbook.

Cincinnati Bengals at Detroit Lions, 1 p.m. ET

Money line: Bengals -190 (bet $190 to win $100) | Lions +155 (bet $100 to win $155)
Against the spread (ATS): Bengals -3.5 (-108) | Lions +3.5 (-112)
Over/Under (O/U): 47.5 (O: -105 | U: -115)

Detroit is 3-2 against the spread including a successful cover in last week’s 19-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. The Bengals are 2-3 against the spread through Week 5.

Cincinnati has won the last six meetings between the two franchises. The Lions have just one victory since 1974 against the Bengals, that coming in 1992 in a game where Boomer Esiason and Erik Kramer each completed just 12-of-25 pass attempts and combined to throw five interceptions and were sacked eight times.