There’s little debate that the Detroit Lions offense has rebounded from its disappointing Week 1 versus the Green Bay Packers. Head coach Dan Campbell and the Lions have tallied 124 points over their last three contests. In all three games, the team scored more than 30 points.
After defeating the Cleveland Browns 34-10 on Sunday, Campbell was complimentary of the unit in some areas. But Campbell was also critical of the Detroit offense in other facets.
“That’s good that we were able to turn those takeaways into points. Because that’s really where they came from,” Campbell said. “You have to finish those drives out. We did that. That’s good.
“But ultimately, we left a lot out there. That is a good defense. I’ve said that from the get go. We knew it was going to be. But when you have false starts, you have holding, you have illegal formations, man, that’s got nothing to do with them. That’s on us.”
Campbell continued, arguing the offense needs to be sharper. At the end of his analysis, the Lions head coach delivered a clear message that may have been intended for his offensive players.
“You just want to feel like you’re playing cleaner than that. I know we can play cleaner than that offensive. But I also know that’s a good defense, and yes, we did put up 34,” added Campbell.
“In the grand scheme of things, man, you better be careful grading wins. You know. That’s a win. That’s a good defense. We got No. 3, and now it’s on to the next one.”
Dan Campbell, Lions Exceed 30 Points Again
Coaches are always going to find things for their teams to improve. That’s their job.
But the Lions offense really is firing on a lot of cylinders, especially after a lackluster Week 1.
Running back Jahmyr Gibbs had another great performance against the Browns, averaging 6.1 yards per carry. He gained 97 yards from scrimmage and scored a touchdown.
The Lions gained 109 rushing yards against what was the NFL’s No. 1 run defense before Week 4.
Receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown led the Lions with seven catches and 70 receiving yards. St. Brown scored twice as well, giving him six touchdowns in the past three weeks.
Quarterback Jared Goff wasn’t quite as sharp, averaging only 6.2 yards per attempt. But he posted 10.5 yards per completion and threw two touchdowns.
With those stars leading the way, the Lions scored 34 points despite only 277 yards of offense and 4.9 yards per play.
Defense, Special Teams Greatly Contribute to Lions Point Total
Gibbs and St. Brown played well. Goff was solid again in Week 4 too.
But the overall point of Campbell’s message was the Lions scored 34 points behind significant contributions from the defense and special teams. The head coach was right in his assessment.
First, returner Kalif Raymond returned a punt for a touchdown. Without that, some really easy math only gives the Lions 27 points versus the Browns.
Furthermore, the Detroit defense forced three turnovers. The Lions scored 17 points off of those takeaways. On their three drives after the takeaways, the Lions offense recorded 41 yards.
Detroit was already on Cleveland’s side of the field after each takeaways. On two of the turnovers, the Lions started with the ball inside the Browns 25-yard line.
It’s a great thing to be playing complimentary football. As Campbell put it, the Lions offense took advantage of its opportunities from the defense.
But with the defense and special teams helping so much on the scoreboard Sunday, the Detroit offense can ill-afford to celebrate another 30-point output too much.
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