By now, we all know about the Detroit Lions odd struggles on offense. These struggles aren’t about getting downfield and gaining yards or getting their playmakers involved.
Through two games, Amon-Ra St. Brown has 25 targets (2nd-most in the NFL) and Jameson Williams has 20 targets (5th most in the NFL). We could say that the Lions are force-feeding the ball to those two receivers and that Jared Goff isn’t doing a good job spreading the football around.
There's no reason to why Goff is throwing this off his back foot or putting the ball into the ground. You're in the red zone &gotta let your playmakers make plays. He's got to trust that Gibbs can beat one defender with Sewell lead blocking in space. Should be a TD. #OnePride pic.twitter.com/sxAQq70J1A
— Russell Brown (@RussNFLDraft) September 16, 2024
While I believe that to be true, the biggest problem with the Lions offense starts with their efficiency in the red zone. Nobody in the NFL has thrown the football more in the red zone than Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions.
Through two games, Goff has gone 11-for-18 inside the 20-yard line this season. The number of completions (11) and attempts (18) are most in the NFL. Unfortunately, Goff doesn’t have anything to show for it, as he hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass inside the red zone yet this season.
I’m so unsure on this play that I don’t even know where to start. LaPorta gets motioned in so he can block? This is the same TE that had 8 TDsin the red zone last year… Meanwhile, by having LaPorta come down, this puts Jamo in tough spot with double coverage. #OnePride pic.twitter.com/dCR1pjWr1O
— Russell Brown (@RussNFLDraft) September 16, 2024
Fortunately, the Lions have found success on the ground, with David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs having 13 carries for 40 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Maintaining that trust in the ground game doesn’t appear to be developed yet this season. Hopefully, that begins to change for Detroit. On Sunday against the Buccaneers, the Lions went 1-for-7 in the red zone. With the amount of talent they have on the offense, that can’t happen.
Certainly, the players have to execute the plays that are designed and being called but it is a two way street. Some of the red-zone woes fall on Ben Johnson and the plays he’s calling for the offense.
Players have to execute and the play-calling needs improvement as the Lions get closer to the end-zone. With the track record of this coaching staff and the talent they have on offense, they should be fine. They should start to bounce back as we continue to move along. If it doesn’t, it could all stem from their problematic red zone woes.
