After the Detroit Lions lost to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2, it felt like something had to change on the defensive side of the football for Detroit. There were times when the defense showed promise, but when they needed to make a play, nobody stepped up.
When watching the game back against the Seahawks, there were a lot of instances of the defensive line playing conservative. Everyone stayed home, and the only real threat to the quarterback was defensive end Aidan Hutchinson.
Even though the pressure rates as whole indicated a different story, much of it left the Lions in the middle of the road and 80% of their pressures were from a 4-man rush. Meanwhile, much of their success was only coming from Hutchinson. After all, he led the NFL in total pressures after two weeks with 13 of them, per PFF.
Last week, I mentioned the Lions had to change their philosophy on defense. They needed to bring more five and six-man pressures. They had to mix and match linebackers to get after the quarterback. Fortunately, that’s what they did against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 3. Let’s jump into some of the best pressures from the Lions defense this past weekend.
One of the key things to pay attention when watching the Lions against the Falcons is how they played with more of a 4-3 look on a defense. There were times that they’d bring a linebacker to rush the passer opposite of Hutchinson and to replace that linebacker in the box, they’d bring down a safety to fill that void.
However, there were times like the play above where there was a more traditional 4-3 defensive front from the Lions. Prior to the snap, the quarterback motions the full back from the slot to the backfield and in the process, Brian Branch (Lions DB 32) motions down into the box to match it.
Once the ball is snapped, you’ll see a much better interior rush from the Lions. Players such as Alim McNeill (DT 54) and Benito Jones (DT 94) were much more consistent. They didn’t stay home and instead, they got after it with active feet and active hands. That’s what you’ll see above from Benito Jones aligned in a one-technique.
In the A-gap, Jones (DT 94) recognizes the reach block from the center and while he fights pressure with pressure to stop the potential run, he counters back inside and splits both offensive linemen with an effective swim move. He penetrates the backfield and brings down the quarterback for his first sack of the season. This play happened early in the game and helped set the tone for the rest of the defensive line.
Moving to another sack from the Lions defense, it’s terrific coverage from the Lions defense. The Falcons have two routes being ran down the field and it’s all covered with three defenders deep on Cover 3. Meanwhile, the inside linebackers get depth with their mid-hook drop.
Against the fullback, you can see Charles Harris (EDGE 53) work his hands with a chop down, and he follows it up by ripping up to the sky. Once he gets depth, he flattens to the quarterback and brings him down for his first sack of the season.
While I’d like to see a more explosive first step from Harris, we can appreciate his patience off the snap and ability to switch gears once he sees the potential pass.
The next play I want to focus on didn’t lead to a sack but it led to a pressure and bad throw from the quarterback. The Lions come out in a 3-man front with both defensive ends out wide in a 7-technique. In the middle of the Lions defense is the nose tackle and middle linebacker. Over the right guard, you’ll see Derrick Barnes rush toward the guard before looping inside.
This allows the middle linebacker to run free up the middle and right toward the quarterback. This leads to a five-man pressure and the quarterback throwing off his back foot. It results in a bad throw that the receiver can’t adjust to the ball. In addition to this, Cam Sutton (CB 1) is in great position and used the sideline to his advantage while covering the receiver.
Lastly, I want to give credit where it’s due. Aidan Hutchinson has been working his tail off this season and with just about every single pass rush, he was inches away from bringing Patrick Mahomes or Geno Smith down.
Not this time.
He successfully brought Ridder down for one of his two sacks on the afternoon against the Falcons. On the play above, Jack Campbell (LB 46) is brought in to rush the passer from the left end position. Playing opposite from Cambell is Hutchinson, who executes a beautiful spin move to get into the pocket and bring the quarterback down.
Last week, the Lions limited the Falcons to 44 rushing yards and only 183 total yards of offense. There are seven total sacks from six different players. They played fast and they played violently. One of the forgotten stats was that Jack Campbell rushed the quarterback on 17 defensive snaps on Sunday, per PFF.
That’s a smart game plan from defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn. He brought different packages and had an entire defensive unit step up in a big way. Now the Lions turn their attention to Green Bay for their first division game of the season. Can the Lions win again in Lambeau? With a defensive effort like the one we just saw, anything is possible.