Dan Campbell Giovanni Manu
Getty
Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell said offensive tackle Giovanni Manu was "up and down" in his first NFL start during Week 5.
The Detroit Lions started second-year offensive tackle Giovanni Manu in place of injured left tackle Taylor Decker on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals. The start was Manu’s first during the NFL regular season.
While Manu flashed signs of why the Lions liked him as a fourth-round pick in 2024, he also showcased why he was a raw talent coming from Canada.
After the game, Lions head coach Dan Campbell addressed what Manu did well and where he struggled. Campbell summarized the tackle’s first start as “up and down.”
“I thought he did some good things in the run game. I thought there were some play passes that he did a good job,” Campbell told reporters. “Then there were some that, man, they weren’t good. And he’ll learn from, he’s got to learn from.
“That’s what you look forward to. You don’t want to have a couple plays where your quarterback gets hit. But at the same token, that’s probably the best way to learn too because you don’t want that to happen again.”
By far, the worst play of Manu’s first start was allowing Bengals edge rusher Trey Hendrickson to beat him off the edge on a play during the first quarter. Hendrickson hit quarterback Jared Goff as he was trying to deliver a pass. The quarterback hit resulted in a fumble, which the Bengals recovered.
Hendrickson sacked Goff again in the fourth quarter. On that sack, Manu blocked down the line of scrimmage while tight end Brock Wright tried to block the Bengals edge rusher.
Manu received some criticism for the second sack, but Wright and the play design appeared to be at fault.
Overall, the Lions offensive line gave up four sacks. But the unit spearheaded a Detroit running game that gained 118 yards. The Lions offense also scored 37 points.
Lions’ Jared Goff Defends Giovanni Manu After First Start
Campbell tried to keep his message on Manu positive. But reading between the lines, the coach’s take on the tackle’s first start was a little lukewarm.
Goff’s assessment of Manu came across as more of a defense for the lineman.
“I thought he fought his tail off. It’s hard, man. Everybody’s first game, there’s going to be mistakes made,” Goff told the media. “That’s what I tried to tell him. ‘Dude, you’re not going to be perfect. You’re going to make mistakes. It’s ok. Just as long as the next one is better, and the next one you learn.’
“I thought he fought hard. I know there’s a couple he’d like back. But I thought he did some good things in the run game. Even in the pass game, there were some good moments too. But he fought.”
While the sacks allowed stood out as a significant negative on Manu’s resume, some pundits still saw the lineman’s first start as a success.
“He got help—with tight ends aligned to his side frequently and 42% of dropbacks coming off play action—but outside of two glaring mistakes, Manu allowed just the two pressures and looked more than serviceable in the run game,” SB Nation’s Pride of Detroit’s Al Karsten wrote. “37 points scored by the offense in his first real game action is a win.”
Could Manu Start Again in Week 6?
The biggest indictment on Manu’s play Sunday may have came when Campbell received a question about whether Manu would start again in Week 6. The Lions will visit the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football.
Campbell declined to name Manu the starter if Decker can’t play again.
“We’ll see. We’re going to look at everything here,” Campbell said. “Certainly, Skip’s back. So, we’ll look at Skip. We brought Devin Cochran today. He’s a candidate. And then we’ll see where Decker is at. Obviously, that’s always going to be our first choice.”
Campbell clearly state that Decker will not start until he’s healthier. The Lions head coach explained Decker has been receiving “diminishing returns” with his shoulder recovery while he continued to play with the ailment. So, the team found it best to rest him in Week 5.
Campbell added Decker doesn’t have a timetable to return.
“I don’t want to put Decker out there if it means we get a couple games and then we don’t have him for the rest of the year. It makes no sense. We’ll play this smart. We’ll do what’s right.
“If it’s not him, then it’s next man up. Whether that is Manu again, we’ll see. Or is it one of those other two guys I just mentioned?”