Football returned to Ford Field on Friday night when the Detroit Lions hosted the New York Giants in the preseason opener for both teams. After two days of spirited joint practices, the two teams took their action to the exhibition field.
The Lions wound up winning the game, 21-16, when rookie QB Adrian Martinez scored a late rushing TD. The game outcome doesn’t matter, it’s the path to the outcome and the play of the Lions players that means everything. Even so, the 48,000-plus fans enjoyed the exhibition victory.
Here are a few things that stood out in watching the game live in the stadium.
Many starters sat it out
As expected, pretty much every Lions starter who cannot afford to be replaced if they get injured did not play. That list starts with QB Jared Goff.
Other prominent Lions who did not play in the exhibition game include the entire starting offensive line, safeties Kerby Joseph and C.J. Gardner-Johnson, CBs Cam Sutton and Jerry Jacobs, EDGE Aidan Hutchinson, LB Alex Anzalone, RB David Montgomery and WR Amon-Ra St. Brown.
The Giants also had some key players sit out to avoid any potential injury issues. That included starting QB Daniel Jones and RB Saquon Barkley.
Defensive rookies impressed
The Lions invested in quite a few rookie reinforcements on defense this offseason. Many of them showed in the game why the team is excited about the youth movement.
First-round LB Jack Campbell manned the middle of the defense and looked good. He had four total tackles and a pass breakup in the first half. One of those tackles was a fourth-down run stuff that ended a Giants drive, too.
Second-round DB Brian Branch was arguably the Lions’ best player in the game. From the very first drive through the end of the first half, Branch was omnipresent wherever the ball was. The stats (3 tackles, 1 TFL) don’t begin to tell the story of how impressive No. 32 was on Friday night.
Third-round DT Brodric Martin made a nice run stuff and had a couple of pass-rush wins on the interior. Martin used his bulk and length effectively in run defense, directly facilitating a nice TFL for LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin, too.
The undrafted guys got in on the act too. Corners Steven Gilmore and Starling Thomas both excelled in coverage. Safety Brandon Joseph notched a nice TFL on the opening drive of the second half and then ended the game with an INT of Giants QB Tommy DeVito’s Hail Mary. Linebacker Trevor Nowaske didn’t play until after the second Giants drive of the second half but quickly racked up four tackles. Nowaske also impressed on punt and kick coverage units.
OT depth is a very real problem
The issues with the offensive tackle depth showed on the very first play from scrimmage. Left tackle Matt Nelson got smoked around the edge, resulting in a hit on QB Nate Sudfeld that didn’t allow him to get anything on a deep throw to Jameson Williams. The ball was picked off. It might have been intercepted regardless — Sudfeld stared at No. 9 the whole play — but Nelson’s matador blocking on the edge ensured the ball was never going to get there.
It never really got much better. Nelson and Germain Ifedi were the starting tackles with Taylor Decker and Penei Sewell sitting out. Ifedi was tolerable at right tackle, though he did cede a couple of pressures. Nelson was beaten for at least three QB hits and also blocked left guard Darrin Paulo instead of a Giants DT on a run play.
The Lions signed veteran free agent Bobby Hart during the week, and he does have some tackle experience. Hart played RG in this game. It might be time to see if he can do anything at tackle.
Jamo watch
Jameson Williams started at wide receiver and played extensively, as head coach Dan Campbell promised during the week. As is often the case in practices, Williams was an enigmatic mix of the great and the awful.
Williams let an easy would-be touchdown slip through his hands (pictured). After exploding open deep past Giants first-round CB Deonte Banks, the Nate Sudfeld pass clanked off his hands. The next time Sudfeld looked his way, Williams wasn’t in the same zip code that the QB expected him to be.
But Jamo had some highlights too. Ford Field was never louder all night than when he and Sudfeld hooked up on a 2-pt. conversion after Maurice Alexander’s punt return TD. Williams was way too fast across the formation for either of the two Giants DBs assigned to him to cover. He also threw a couple of enthusiastic downfield blocks. There were at least two other plays where Williams handily beat the coverage over the top but didn’t get targeted.
The stat sheet shows two receptions on seven targets for 11 totals yards, a figure that does not include the 2-pt. conversion.
Quick hits
–Both Romeo and Julian Okwara were playing on defense deep into the fourth quarter. That’s normally reserved for rookies or bottom-of-roster guys hoping to make names for themselves, not veterans with starting experience. To their credit, the Okwara brothers both played great; Julian had three sacks and drew a holding penalty, while Romeo chipped in a sack of his own.
The Lions don’t really have any youngsters behind either Okwara brother on the depth chart, which helps explain why they were so extensively used. But it’s still strange to see them playing the entire second half of a preseason game.
–The Lions third-down defense was strong all night. Coordinator Aaron Glenn brought pressure often and it worked. The Giants were just 2-for-13 on third downs.
–Detroit managed just 97 rushing yards on 33 carries, a paltry 2.9 YPC. The lack of success reflects more about the OL than the RBs.
–Lions captains for the night: Nate Sudfeld, Will Harris, Derrick Barnes and Jalen Reeves-Maybin.
–Newly signed QB Teddy Bridgewater was on the sidelines and spent a lot of the game standing directly with either OC Ben Johnson or QB coach Mark Brunell. Bridgewater hasn’t yet practiced. He will be active in next week’s joint practices with the Jacksonville Jaguars in Allen Park.
