Tag: Khalil Dorsey

K.J. Osborn gives Vikings early second-half lead

K.J. Osborn touchdown gives the Vikings the lead early in the second half

K.J. Osborn decided it was his turn to get in on the action. Quarterback Nick Mullens found Osborn wide open in the back of the end zone as the Minnesota Vikings took a 21-17 lead early in the second half against the Detroit Lions.

This was set up by another beautiful shot play down the field as Osborn ran past Lions cornerback Khalil Dorsey on a well-run post route to the middle of the field.

The aggressiveness that Kevin O’Connell is known for has been awakened early this half despite the two first-half interceptions from Mullens. Detroit continues to key in on the run game leaving the corners outside in one-on-one matchups and Minnesota exploited that early.

With the lead in hand, the Vikings are in the driver’s seat as they continue to battle with the current leaders of the NFC North, the Lions.

Stay tuned to Vikings Wire for more live game updates.

[lawrence-related id=88272,88268,88266,88258,88257,88255]

Film room: Lions aggressive defense against the Broncos helps set the tone

Film room: Lions aggressive defense against the Broncos helps set the tone

Over the last several weeks, I’ve had some criticism towards the Detroit Lions defense. It was all warranted. They weren’t playing up to par and were getting torched on just about every possession. To fix it, the Lions had to make some tough decisions. They had to bench veteran players such as Jerry Jacobs and Tracy Walker.

This opened the door for players such as Khalil Dorsey, Ifeatu Melifonwu and Kindle Vildor. Love it or hate it, the defensive moves were needed. It appears to have provided a spark and hopefully, it’s one that wakes up other defenders that tend to sleep walk through some of these games.

One of the key adjustments the Lions needed to make on defense was to become more aggressive. Against the Broncos, they did just that. Russell Wilson went 18-for-32 with 223 passing yards and a touchdown.

But the pressure got to him as he was sacked twice and he was marked with four bad throws, per Pro Football Reference. In addition to that, Wilson was blitzed 15 times in this game and it led to 22 total pressures for the Lions defense. Let’s jump into the tape and take a look at some of the blitzes the Lions dialed up against the Broncos on Saturday night.

Starting with one of the biggest plays of the game, we direct our attention to the play above. The Broncos come out with their ’12’ personnel (one running back and two tight ends). To respond to it, the Lions defense have a single-high safety over the top of their defense and they’ve got a safety down in the box.

The safety down in the box is Ifeatu Melifonwu and the moment the ball is snapped, he fires up-field on a blitz. As quarterback Russell Wilson fakes the hand-off to the running back, he begins to roll to his right. Before he can even get his eyes downfield to try and find a receiver, he’s met by Melifonwu.

This blitz was designed perfectly and not only did Melifonwu hit Wilson for the sack, he also knocked hte ball out. This led to a fumble that was recovered by defensive tackle Isaiah Buggs. Even though the Lions offense weren’t able to put up any points after this turnover, it was a much needed play for the Lions defense. They needed to make a stop with the Broncos threatening to score. Additionally, this was a play that I’m sure helped build confidence for the Lions defense.

Next, I want to highlight another blitz made by safety Ifeatu Melifonwu. The Broncos come out in their ’11’ personnel (one running back and one tight end) but they’re in a condensed set with a slot receiver and tight end aligned near the tackles.

Once the ball is snapped, you can see how the Lions defensive backs rotate into what appears to be a Cover-2 look defensively. This gives them a two-high shell on both sides of the field but the key is Melifonwu. Once the ball is snapped, he flies towards the quarterback and his pressure forces Wilson out of the pocket. With good coverage by the Lions secondary, Wilson is forced to throw this ball away and the Broncos have to punt the ball away.

In this game, Melifonwu played a season-high 62 defensive snaps. He had one of the most productive days of his career. He had 9 total tackles, one sack and two pass deflections for a Lions defense that desperately needed a spark.

The last play I want to focus on is a blitz from defensive back Brian Branch. On the play above, the Broncos come out in a 2×2 set out of a shotgun formation. Aligned in the slot at the bottom of the screen is Brian Branch and he’s going to get a good pressure on this play.

Once the ball is snapped, the Lions send a 6-man pressure with Branch and Anzalone blitzing. Meanwhile, the Lions play man coverage on this and despite a miscue in the secondary (see the WR 17 on the bottom), the pressure from Detroit is real and it causes a bad throw.

As Branch blitzes, Wilson locks onto Jerry Jeudy on his right and is intending on taking a shot downfield. However, Branch delivers a shot to the back of Wilson and it causes this ball to float into the air and ultimately land incomplete. This forces the Broncos into a 3rd down but it’s good to see that despite being up 25 points, the Lions defense still has their foot on the gas.

With the Lions pushing for a division title and a shot at the playoffs, this defense will need to continue to be aggressive. Blitzing and putting trust in having good coverage downfield is one of the key ways this defense can keep the opposition at bay. It’ll be interesting to see what changes the defense continues to make with three games left in the regular season. One thing is for sure, they took a step in the right direction against the Broncos and hopefully soon, we’ll see Gardner-Johnson and McNeill back in the lineup too.

Snap count notes from the Lions win over the Broncos

Lions snap count notes from the win over Denver, including DB and RB splits and an intact offensive line

One of the first things that jumps out from the Detroit Lions’ snap count notes in the Week 15 win over the Denver Broncos is the continuity of the starters. It’s especially true on offense.

The entire starting offensive line played each and every one of the 66 offensive snaps. It was the first time since the Week 10 win over the Chargers that the team’s top five — Taylor Decker, Jonah Jackson, Frank Ragnow, Graham Glasgow, Penei Sewell — started and finished a game together. And it showed on the field, with the Lions rolling to almost 200 rushing yards.

Those rushes came from David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs in an almost even split of snaps. Montgomery played 34, while Gibbs got 32. No other RBs played. The Lions also did not use a fullback, though Dan Skipper played eight snaps as an extra tackle and blocking tight end James Mitchell was on the field for six. Mitchell still doesn’t have a single passing game target in his second season.

The wide receiver splits:

Amon-Ra St. Brown – 61

Jameson Williams – 45

Josh Reynolds – 38

Kalif Raymond – 20

Donovan Peoples-Jones – 11

On defense, LB Alex Anzalone was the only Lions player on the field for all 64 defensive reps.

The starting lineup changes in the secondary were definitive. Safety Ifeatu Melifonwu got the nod over Tracy Walker for the second straight game, and Melifonwu played 62 of the 64 snaps. Walker didn’t play on defense. The same was true at cornerback, where Khalil Dorsey replaced Jerry Jacobs. Dorsey (44 snaps) and Kindle Vildor (18) split the outside CB duties, while Jacobs only appeared on special teams.

Aidan Hutchinson’s heavy workload continues. The standout DE played 59 of the 64 snaps, another week over 90 percent participation. Some of that could be a function of the Lions deploying John Cominsky (46) and Josh Paschal (43) with more reps inside as part of a lighter front. Hefty DTs Benito Jones (30), Isaiah Buggs (23), Levi Onwuzurike (14) and rookie Brodric Martin (11) split more reps than usual with the lighter linemen.

Romeo Okwara (18) and Bruce Irvin (11) saw limited action. The Lions used rookie LB Jack Campbell in the SAM role a little amongst his 33 snaps. Derrick Barnes briefly left the game with a shoulder injury, and that held down his snap count to 35. Jalen Reeves-Maybin played 10, while Malcolm Rodriguez returned to the defensive lineup with five. Anthony Pittman played on defense for the first time in 2023, seeing action on four snaps.

[lawrence-related id=100572]

Khalil Dorsey opens up about his scary illness

Lions CB Khalil Dorsey opens up about his scary battle with rhabdomyolysis that kept him out for a month

Khalil Dorsey returned to action in Week 6 after spending a month on the Detroit Lions’ injured reserve. He was there with an “illness” designation, one that the extent of which was unknown.

Dorsey returned two kickoffs in the Lions’ win over Tampa Bay. On Wednesday, he detailed to reporters the severity of his bout with rhabdomyolysis. It’s an affliction that breaks down muscle tissue and can severely impact the kidneys, and it hit Dorsey hard.

“I had to wait to get back healthy, make sure all the labs came back and nothing was wrong,” Dorsey said. “Make sure my kidneys were fine, make sure everything’s fine. I felt dead for about like a week and a half. Everything was sore. I had no energy to do nothing. I was on IV’s, would come here, get like three bags, come back later, get another bag. There was a stick in my arms.”

Rhabdo, as it’s commonly known, can be caused by a muscular injury or overexertion. Here’s what the Cleveland Clinic has to say about it,

Rhabdomyolysis (pronounced “rab-doe-my-ah-luh-suhs”) is a condition that causes your muscles to break down (disintegrate), which leads to muscle death. When this happens, toxic components of your muscle fibers enter your circulation system and kidneys. This can cause kidney damage.

This dangerous muscle condition can result from overexertion, trauma, medications or an underlying health condition. Common signs and symptoms of rhabdomyolysis are weak muscles, muscle stiffness, muscle pain and a change in your pee color.

Thankfully, the Lions CB made it back and recovered quickly enough to get into the lineup after missing just four games.

Dorsey is thrilled to be back as one of the key special teams players for the Lions.

“It’s definitely special any time you get on the field regardless of who we’re playing,” Dorsey explained. “Regardless of what the score is, how our team’s doing, everything like that, it’s always special to be out there, regardless of all those circumstances.”

Lions place 2 players on I.R. in a series of moves ahead of Week 6

The Lions made a series of internal moves to handle some injury issues ahead of Week 6

As expected, the Detroit Lions made some injury-related roster moves on Saturday ahead of the Week 6 matchup with the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay.

The Lions placed two players on injured reserve. Cornerback Emmanuel Moseley will miss the rest of the season with a torn right ACL, while running back Zonovan Knight will miss at least four games with a left shoulder injury. Both injuries happened in the Week 5 win over the Carolina Panthers.

[lawrence-related id=97254]

The I.R. moves opened up two roster spots which the Lions filled internally. Detroit activated CB Khalil Dorsey from the injured reserve to take Moseley’s spot. Offensive lineman Dan Skipper was signed from the practice squad to the active roster. Skipper, who has been back on the practice squad after spending the summer with the Indianapolis Colts, will help bolster the offensive line depth.

With Knight on I.R. and Jahmyr Gibbs ruled out with an injured hamstring, the Lions added a running back by elevating RB Devine Ozigbo from the practice squad. He’ll be the third RB behind David Montgomery and Craig Reynolds in Sunday’s matchup with Tampa Bay.

Lions injury update: 6 players out to start Week 6 practices

Lions injury update: 6 players out to start Week 6 practices on Wednesday

The Detroit Lions held their first official practice for Week 6 on Wednesday. It was as notable for who wasn’t practicing as it was for prepping for this Sunday’s trip to Tampa Bay to play the Buccaneers.

Six players sat out with injuries. Two of those, CB Emmanuel Moseley and RB Zonovan Knight, were expected after they suffered injuries in the Week 5 win over the Panthers. Moseley will require surgery on his torn right ACL, while Knight left the game with what looked like a serious left arm injury.

Starting left guard Jonah Jackson did not practice. He suffered what is believed to be a high ankle sprain against Carolina.

Running back Jahmyr Gibbs (hamstring), defensive back Brian Branch (ankle) and tight end James Mitchell (hamstring) all sat out as well. All three missed Sunday’s game, too.

Head coach Dan Campbell was optimistic about the chances for Gibbs and Branch to play in Tampa, less so with Mitchell.

“Yeah, we’ll see. He’s day-to-day,” Campbell said of Gibbs. “There’s a number of these guys. He and Branch are day-to-day.”

Wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown (abdomen) and left tackle Taylor Decker (ankle) were both limited participants. Cornerback Khalil Dorsey was a full participant as he preps to return from injured reserve.

Campbell added this about St. Brown,

“I feel a lot better about (St. Brown) Saint. I think Saint will be out there practicing, should be a little bit. But we just have to take it day-to-day.”

One positive note: no sign of safety Kerby Joseph on the injury report after he was questionable for Week 5. He was a full participant.

Dan Campbell gives hopeful update on the status of 2 Lions defenders on I.R.

Lions coach Dan Campbell indicates Detroit could get defenders Khalil Dorsey and Josh Paschal back from I.R. soon

Reinforcements to the banged-up Detroit Lions defense could be on the way very soon. No, the Lions aren’t dealing for (insert pie-in-the-sky name here) before the trade deadline. It’s coming from within the Lions’ own den.

Head coach Dan Campbell gave an optimistic update on two Lions defenders who are currently on the injured reserve list, cornerback Khalil Dorsey and end Josh Paschal. Both are now eligible to come off I.R. for the Week 6 trip to Tampa Bay.

“Yeah, I would say they’re both close,” Campbell said Monday. “And if I was going to pick one, it’d probably be (Dorsey) Dorse before Paschal, but they’re both really, really close. And Paschal’s close too.”

Dorsey has been out since Week 1 with an undisclosed illness that landed him on I.R. After being a somewhat surprising inclusion on the 53-man roster, Dorsey played extensively (and well) on special teams in Week 1 before going down with the sickness. He played well as an outside CB in the preseason and would be a welcome return now that Emmanuel Moseley is lost for the season after just two plays.

Paschal had three tackles, including a critical third-down TFL, in the Week 1 win over Kansas City. He “tweaked” a knee injury during the victory, Campbell said after the game, and has been on I.R. since.

Lions sign CB Chase Lucas to the active roster in series of roster moves

Lions sign CB Chase Lucas to the active roster in series of roster moves that sends two Detroit players to I.R.

The Week 2 roster for the Detroit Lions saw some late changes this week. The Lions signed cornerback Chase Lucas from the practice squad to the active 53-man roster on Saturday.

Lucas, the Lions’ seventh-round pick in the 2022 NFL draft, will bolster the CB depth chart in advance of Sunday’s matchup with the Seattle Seahawks. With veteran Emmanuel Moseley already ruled out with hamstring and knee issues, the Lions also placed CB Khalil Dorsey (illness) on injured reserve.

[lawrence-related id=95696]

Dorsey primarily played on special teams, and that’s where Lucas can slide right in. The two battled in training camp and preseason, and Lucas didn’t lose the battle as much as Dorsey won it.

Detroit also placed DL Josh Paschal on injured reserve. Paschal was ruled out with a knee injury suffered in Thursday’s practice session. He will now miss at least the next four games, as will Dorsey.

On the offensive line, left tackle Taylor Decker has been downgraded from doubtful to out for Week 2 with an ankle injury. To help cover the line depth, the Lions elevated OL Kayode Awosika from the practice squad for the game. Awosika is primarily a guard but has taken some reps at tackle during his one-plus yer in Detroit.

5 biggest surprises for the Lions 53-man initial roster

The Detroit Lions have released their initial 53-man roster and here are 5 of the biggest surprises stemming from the reveal.

The Detroit Lions have finally released their initial 53-man roster. There had been weeks of speculation on which players would make the cut and which ones would not. During the preseason games, many players put in impressive performances, especially given that the Lions rested their starters. This allowed the management to take a closer look at the players and determine who would be the best fit for the team.

Upon reviewing the final roster, there were a few surprises that caught my attention. Here are the five decisions that were the most unexpected to me with the initial roster release.

12 players projected to make the Lions practice squad

These 12 players from the Lions’ final preseason game roster should make the team’s 16-man practice squad

One of the first orders of business for the Detroit Lions following the conclusion of the roster cutdowns and initial waiver claim period is to form the 16-man practice squad. Teams can start signing players to the practice squad after Wednesday, August 30th at 12 p.m. ET.

Most teams prefer to stock the practice squad with players who were on the roster for the final preseason game. The Lions did that last year and are expected to do so once again.

Here are 12 Lions expected to be cut by Tuesday’s 4 p.m. deadline who should make the practice squad.