DETROIT -- It’s easy to sit back and call for the Detroit Lions to make moves like a general manager firing up Madden.
But it’s even easier to see some of the glaring holes and needs on this supremely loaded roster. Detroit’s roster is indeed loaded, but it needs help, including on the unit that has helped power them to new heights in recent years.
The once mighty offensive line is struggling in pass protection and on the ground. Detroit’s O-line has been described as “everything” and “our identity” since Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell took over.
But they just got hit for five sacks and 10 quarterback hits, delivering one of the worst showings of the Campbell era. Lions running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery had a tough day in blitz pick-up. While they need to be better, any plan banking on Gibbs to save the day against a ferocious pass rush is an ill-fated proposition.
Let’s be real. While some issues were put under the microscope in the ugly loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. They have been showing cracks throughout the first eight games.
The Lions allowed a pressure rate of 56%, the worst in the NFL in Week 9. They surrendered a 16% sack rate against four or fewer pass rushers, so it wasn’t just the aggressive blitzes to beat them. Vikings’ Brian Flores’ defense wreaked havoc on Detroit’s interior offensive line and kept bringing the heat.
Since Week 5, the team’s sack rate of 10.5% is the fifth-worst in the NFL. The rushing attack has been hit-or-miss, with three of their four worst showings in that department of the Campbell era coming this year, including in back-to-back games.
Taylor Decker sat at his locker after the game and held court with reporters, as he always does. The veteran left tackle said he’s been taking so much stuff for his shoulder that he doesn’t know how bad his injured knee is. All he knows is that the offensive line has to put words into action and improve.
“We have to,” Decker said. “It’s just part of the job. You know, it doesn’t matter who’s out there. It doesn’t matter who’s hurt. It doesn’t matter who’s playing at 100%. I haven’t been 100% all year, and that’s just part of the game.”
To Holmes and Campbell’s credit, they have continued to draft offensive linemen to keep the shelves stocked. They practice what they preach. They are consistent in their messaging. They have built this foundation in the offensive trenches.
Campbell doesn’t expect the Lions to be active at the trade deadline. But he also didn’t expect his unit to play that sloppily, and to get pushed off the line the way they did coming out of the bye week.
Still, this group needs more, and it’s time to show again that the offensive line means everything here. And Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline is a prime opportunity to restock the offensive line.
“I love where we’re at,” Campbell said last week. “I think the roster is healthy, I think it’s in a good position, I think we have depth. But like I say, he’s (Holmes) always looking to improve the roster.”
Offensive linemen don’t grow on trees and aren’t easy to come by. Honestly, forget an edge defender, safety, cornerback or anything else. The Lions should be hammering the phones, checking on offensive tackle depth and someone to take over for starting guard Christian Mahogany.
Mahogany is expected to be out until at least late December, at best. That’s not great. Decker is now dealing with a knee injury on top of his lingering shoulder issue. That could be worse.
Even Penei Sewell and Tate Ratledge left for a spell before returning due to injury. Heck, as Ratledge was running back on the field after getting his shoulder checked out, Mahogany was being loaded onto a medical cart.
“We’ve got some guys in the hopper,” Campbell said after the loss. “Skip (Dan Skipper) played today for us. We’ve got (Trystan) Colon, (Kayode) Yode (Awosika), we got (Michael) Niese on vet squad. We got some guys. So, we’ll do what we have to do. We’ll fill in, and those guys got to be ready to go.”
That’s a great thing to say, and the Lions coach believes it. He’s brutally honest and wears his emotions on his sleeve. But this team has too much talent, too much potential and too lofty of expectations to bank on internal depth.
It’s not all on the offensive line. The play calling needs an infusion of creativity and sequential-minded thinking. But Jared Goff isn’t going to be able to operate this offense at the expected levels if he’s spinning away and rushing from danger on every other dropback.
Also, it’s not disrespectful to the guys in the building who have been working since camp or even the spring program. This offensive line needs some help, and that was true whether Mahogany’s injury happened or not.
The Lions are 5-3, stuck in the middle of a crowded NFC North and playoff picture. Their schedule ahead doesn’t get any easier, with back-to-back road trips against the Washington Commanders and Philadelphia Eagles starting them down.
They can’t sit back and hope this problem goes away with depth pieces and internal development. It might take more than Holmes is willing to part with, but these are the buy-now moments people talk about when discussing Super Bowl windows.
Those third-down issues aren’t going to go away unless the Lions can run the ball and Goff can operate from the pocket.
Frank Ragnow isn’t walking back through that door. Mahogany is out for the foreseeable future. Decker faces an even tougher weekly battle to get ready for games due to his shoulder and now his knee.
It’s time for Holmes and the Lions to again prove how much the offensive line means to them. For those looking for a name to call about, Kevin Zeitler’s certainly comes to mind. Zeitler would fit the need of boosting the pass protection from the interior, while bringing comfort and familiarity.
The veteran right guard left for the Tennessee Titans for a one-year deal in free agency. The Titans are 1-8, and should be sellers at the deadline, especially when considering veteran players nearing the end of their contracts. The Titans have already shown a willingness to trade pending free agents.
“ ... That’s the engine for us,” Holmes said of the offensive line after last season ended. “And so, I don’t care how good we ever get on the offensive line, that one right there is too important for not only our team, our quarterback, everything, it’s our identity, man.
“So, I think just that alone is just -- it’s always going to be at the forefront.”
It’s time for those words to again ring true in Allen Park this week. They need help. There is too much riding on the line to stand pat. It feels like a necessity if they want to stay in the tight race inside the division and NFC’s hierarchy.
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