Tag: nfl stats

Lions have excelled at scoring first in games

Lions have excelled at scoring first in games under OC Ben Johnson and have won at higher than the league average when they do it, too

Among the many things the Detroit Lions have done very well in the last two seasons with Ben Johnson as the offensive coordinator: scoring first in games. The Lions are among the best in the league at taking an early lead, and also at parlaying that early lead into a victory.

Only the Eagles and Ravens have scored first in games more frequently than the Lions over the last two seasons, doing so 23 times. Detroit is tied with the Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers in that timeframe by scoring first 22 times.

The Lions have capitalized on the early scoring, too. They went 6-5 when scoring first in 2022 and followed that up by going 10-1 in the 2023 regular season when Detroit notched the first points of a game. That 16-6 combined record (73 percent) is above the league standard of winning 64 percent of games when scoring first, per Warren Sharp,

As for the flip side…

The Lions are 5-7 (42 percent wins) when not scoring first, which is also above the league average of 34 percent.

Jared Goff thrived on the quick passing game in 2023

Jared Goff thrived on the quick passing game in 2023, earning the 2nd-best PFF passing grade on quick throws

One of the hallmarks of the Ben Johnson offense in Detroit is the quick passing game. Whether it’s hitting Amon-Ra St. Brown on a quick slant, Sam LaPorta on a short out or Jahmyr Gibbs on a fast Texas route, the Lions are very adept at attacking the pass defense quickly.

The quick passing game makes a lot of sense given how good quarterback Jared Goff is in those situations. Goff thrives when he gets the ball out in under 2.5 seconds. In fact, Goff earned the second-best PFF passing grade in those situations in 2023.

Only Tua Tagovailoa in Miami graded better on passing in under 2.5 seconds than Goff, according to PFF. Goff earned an 84.2 passing grade in quick passes.

Getting the ball out quickly appeared to really suit the Lions offense better. Goff did not make the top 10 in PFF’s passing grades when given over 2.5 seconds to throw.

Lions defense allowed the fewest rushing yards to opposing RBs in 2023

Detroit’s defense had some rough spots in 2023, but they were great at stopping the run by opposing RBs

The Detroit Lions defense had some issues in 2023, to be sure. Deep passes were a problem, as were defending quarterback runs. However, Aaron Glenn’s defense in 2023 thrived at one specific thing: stopping opposing running backs.

The Lions defense allowed the fewest rushing yards to running backs of any NFL team in the 2023 season. Opposing running backs totaled just 1,028 yards on the ground in 17 games.

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In terms of yards per carry to running backs, the Detroit defense finished third at 3.5 YPC, behind the Texans and Patriots. The Lions faced a lot fewer runs by RBs; the 296 attempts against Detroit were almost 100 fewer than Houston had to defend.  In fact, only the 49ers faced fewer rushing attempts by opposing RBs, with 265.

Even though San Francisco saw 31 fewer attempts, Detroit allowed 69 fewer yards to RBs. That’s a testament to the dedication to stopping the run. It’s a major improvement over 2022, when the Lions allowed the 12th-most rushing yards to RBs (1,683) and ranked 23rd in yards per carry to RBs (4.7).

 

All statistical data provided by Sports Info Solutions

Lions defense finished with the 2nd-best QB pressure rate in the league

Only the Miami Dolphins generated pressure on a higher percentage of opposing pass plays than Detroit did in 2023

There is still work to be done with the Detroit Lions passing defense, but the team did take a big step forward in one area in 2023. Aaron Glenn’s defense, keyed by second-year EDGE Aidan Hutchinson, finished second in the league in the 2023 regular season in pressuring the quarterback.

Detroit’s defense generated pressure on 41.4 percent of all opposing pass situations, including plays where the quarterback scrambled (but not designed runs). Only the Dolphins finished with a higher rate for the season. A pressure is considered only in the first 3.5 seconds of a pass play.

The range isn’t a huge spread; Miami recorded pressures on 44.5 percent of opposing dropbacks to top the league, while the Cardinals came in last at 30.5 percent. More than half the league — 20 teams —recorded pressure rates between 40.5 percent and 34.5 percent. That’s a variance of less than two per game, on average. The Lions finished tied for 15th in 2022 with a pressure rate of 34.5 percent.

The area where Detroit can really improve is in converting that outstanding pressure rate into sacks. Despite finishing second in pressure rate, the Lions defense ranked just 22nd in sack percentage at 6.6 percent, per Team Rankings.

All pressure rate data is from SIS.

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