3 Lions takeaways from Week 3 loss vs. Vikings

26/09/2022 07:06

The Detroit Lions had the lead over the Minnesota Vikings for a vast majority of the game. In fact, the only time Detroit relinquished the lead was with 45 seconds remaining. Unfortunately, that came in the fourth quarter. And those 45 seconds weren’t enough to regain the lead. The Lions lost a game on Sunday they arguably should have won. Detroit got a big day offensively from running back Jamaal Williams. Quarterback Jared Goff had a nice game, as did wide receiver Josh Reynolds. And yet, it still wasn’t enough. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly where things went wrong. However, things did go wrong, and as a result, the Lions missed out on a chance to post a winning record for the first time since 2019. Let’s go over three key takeaways from Detroit’s heartbreaking 28-24 loss to the Vikings in Week 3. 3 Lions takeaways from Week 3 loss vs. Vikings 3) Jefe is free The Lions selected Jeff Okudah with the third overall pick in 2020. After a poor rookie season and a sophomore season lost to injury, it seemed as if the pick backfired. However, that may not be the case. The Ohio State product has had an impressive start to the 2022 NFL season. In Week 1, the Lions corner held Eagles receiver DeVonta Smith off the box score. Zero catches and no yards. Last week against the Washington Commanders, he held Terry McLaurin to two catches for 22 yards. This impressive start continued Sunday in Minnesota. Okudah matched up against Vikings star Justin Jefferson, one of the best receivers in the game. The result? Okudah held the LSU product to three catches and just 14 yards. These are encouraging signs for the Lions defense. Especially given that last year’s standout, Amani Oruwariye, has struggled so far this season. If the Lions can unlock the potential Okudah had when entering the league, Detroit’s defense will benefit greatly. And opposing teams will need to think twice about throwing the ball his way, no matter who he’s covering. 2) Offense is rolling Despite the loss, and despite injury on that side of the ball, the Lions offense is playing well. Even after the loss to Minnesota, Detroit’s offense ranks third in the league in net yards per game. Their rushing attack, believe it or not, has also been a strong point. Detroit ranks fourth in the NFL in rushing yards per game. To top it all off, the only team in the league to average and score more total points this season is the Baltimore Ravens. The Lions failed to score 30 points in this game, which ultimately proved their undoing. And yet, the offense still provided a nice performance. Goff threw for 277 yards and posted a better QBR (73.1) than Kirk Cousins (41.6) on Sunday. A couple of unsung Lions players stepped up to the plate as well. Running back D’Andre Swift was dealing with an ankle injury, giving Williams the bulk of the carries. He showed up, rushing for 87 yards on 20 carries and scoring two touchdowns. Reynolds carried the load in the receiving department. The Lions receiver caught six passes for 96 yards on 10 targets. He tied Amon-Ra St. Brown for most catches by a Lions receiver on the day. If Detroit wants to sniff the playoffs this season, they’ll need to keep this up. So far, the offense has battled through everything that has been thrown its way. Imagine how this unit will play with everyone healthy. 1) Coaching is weird Lions head coach Dan Campbell has gained a reputation for his big personality. We saw that personality on display during the team’s run on Hard Knocks before the season. However, the former tight end was hired to win football games. And on Sunday, he made some decisions that ultimately cost his team. First, Detroit became predictable with their playcalling late in the game. Campbell’s team wants to run the football, which is great, but on Sunday he stuck to that philosophy to a fault. Had he called a short pass or two prior to Williams’ third-down run with 1:10 remaining, that might have resulted in a first down. Had that resulted in a first down, Campbell wouldn’t have needed to trot Seibert out for a 54-yard field goal attempt. He didn’t need to regardless, but a first down all but seals the game. Then on Minnesota’s final drive, Campbell calls a timeout following a 28-yard gain. It’s not entirely unreasonable, his guys were tired and it was a crucial moment. However, it gave Minnesota a chance to rest and plan. A chance they normally wouldn’t have had, given their lack of timeouts. In the end, Campbell admitted his mistakes and expressed his regret. That’s something we wouldn’t have seen from the old regime. However, the Lions will need Campbell and his coaching staff to learn from these mistakes in the coming weeks so they can close out games like this in the future. The post 3 Lions takeaways from Week 3 loss vs. Vikings appeared first on ClutchPoints.