ALLEN PARK -- It wasn’t the flawless victory the Detroit Lions enjoyed last week with the Miami Dolphins in town.
But there were still really good moments, mixed with some mixed ones, in a more competitive joint practice against the Houston Texans on Thursday.
MLive’s Ben Raven spent the day with the offense, while the rest of our Lions crew watched the defense.
The Lions started hot in seven-on-seven drills from the 20-yard line. Jared Goff and Jahmyr Gibbs connected on a lethal Texas route for a touchdown on the second play of the day. The Lions running back split the entire defense for the easy score. His pass-catching ability continues to pop in Allen Park.
Goff had some very bright moments, hitting receiver Jameson Williams in the back of the end zone for what should have been an easy score. But Williams was unable to secure the ball despite zooming past Texans cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. to get open.
St. Brown then ran what appeared to be the same route from the other side one snap later, when Goff fired a laser his way through two defenders. St. Brown made the tight-window catch, and go figure, was the best offensive player of the day for Detroit.
Outside of St. Brown, Kalif Raymond or Sam LaPorta and Goff, it wasn’t the crispest day for the passing attack. LaPorta returned to practice earlier this week after missing a couple of days. His routes were crisp, and he had multiple big plays downfield.
In full-team work, LaPorta got open for a 20-yard gain on a third-and-8 play. He had one drop later in practice on a lower throw to the sideline. But he bounced back with a 9-yard catch over the middle, doing a perfect job to seal Texans linebacker Henry To’oTo’o with his outside hip. LaPorta looks ready.
Raymond was active, with two catches in the first couple of minutes of practice in early seven-on-seven work. He also scored from 20 yards out, motioning behind the quarterback, catching the ball in stride and hitting M.J. Stewart with a juke that put the Texans safety slipping to the field. Raymond also added a touchdown to cap a full-team drill, beating Texans cornerback Jaylin Smith to the pylon on a 9-yard route.
Williams was not at his best. He had the drop on the would-be touchdown and didn’t seem to try to seal safety Jalen Pitre from a pass breakup in full-team work. His best look of the day came on a 40-yard corner route. He made the tough catch in the back of the end zone, celebrated with a group of fans, but NFL referees said his toe was on the line.
He did recover, though, with back-to-back catches to move the chains against Stingley, and then grabbed a deep post against safety Calen Bullock.
Texans star pass rusher Will Anderson was a force to be reckoned with, though, presenting a real challenge for the offensive tackles. Anderson hit Penei Sewell with a fake to the inside, then worked his way to the outside to get by, putting on his Superman cape to dive for the highlight-worthy strip-sack. Anderson forced a throwaway in red-zone work with pressure, beating pulling guard Christian Mahogany with pure force to get to Goff.
Goff threw a red-zone interception while appearing to try a no-look throw St. Brown’s way. Stingley made the interception in the back of the end zone and got some props from the star wideout, who picked him up and patted him on the helmet.
For those looking for a winner or loser, it was a push, in my opinion. Both the Lions offense and Texans defense had solid days, but neither dominated.
To get out of here on a positive note, Gibbs had a slippery, elusive day running the ball. He ran behind Mahogany for an 11-yard gain, with the second-year guard paving the way off a pull. Gibbs also opened a red-zone drill midway through practice with a 20-yard touchdown run, with tight end Brock Wright sealing off two defenders. Two plays later, Gibbs weaved through the line for a 15-yard rush, and looks ready to build on last year’s breakout.
See below for more observations from Thursday’s joint practice with the Texans:
-- Kerby Joseph was back in action for the first time in a couple of weeks. The All-Pro safety has been working through a knee injury, with the Lions saying it was all about letting it calm down and get right. Well, it looked right today, with Joseph nabbing an interception on the second snap of the practice.
-- Mekhi Wingo was limited to individual drills. The second-year defensive lineman was activated from the PUP list earlier this week. Khalil Dorsey also continues to ease back into action after getting activated from the PUP list.
-- Graham Glasgow left practice to be evaluated for a lower leg injury. It’s not clear what happened. But the starting center was struggling to stand up after going down in the final situation drill of the day. Second-year running back Sione Vaki also appeared to leave practice early. Vaki has been back from a hamstring injury for the last week. The team did not have an update on his status.
-- Isaac TeSlaa and Tim Patrick had productive days working with the second-team offense. The rookie receiver made the catch of the day when he had a leaping touchdown from Kyle Allen in early seven-on-seven work. He beat Smith to the point and flashed his athleticism to make the catch with the safety coming over to help. TeSlaa also flashed his speed on a short route, making the catch and taking it all the way from 15 yards out, with an assist to tight end Zach Horton on the pick. Those first-team reps for TeSlaa still aren’t there ... yet.
Patrick returned to practice earlier this week and enjoyed some bright moments. Patrick beat Smith for a 15-yard gain over the middle from Allen, appearing to beat defensive holding in the process. Patrick isn’t going to blow anyone away with his speed, but he’s a physical wideout with sure hands who added a couple more first-down grabs over the middle on Thursday.
-- (Defensive observations from MLive’s Kory Woods and Jacob Richman):
-- (Woods) D.J. Reed turned in a strong afternoon against the Texans. His coverage was tight throughout practice, limiting big plays. Reed locked down receiver Justin Watson on multiple reps, forced several incompletions, and consistently contested throws in the red zone.
-- Detroit’s other cornerbacks struggled in red-zone drills. Texans quarterbacks C.J. Stroud and Davis Mills repeatedly attacked the back corner of the end zone, with cornerbacks Terrion Arnold and Allan George each beaten four touchdowns.
-- Lions cornerback D.J. Miller surrendered multiple touchdowns, including a highlight grab by former Lions receiver Quintez Cephus.
-- (Richman) Remember when the Lions held the Dolphins to one-of-16 in red zone drills last week? Not quite so much this time around. The Texans’ first-team offense found the end zone on three of seven reps and the second-team on three of eight tries. The Lions still came away on top, but the margin was slimmer, and there were some blown coverages.
-- Alex Anzalone was all over this practice. He was one of the first players to get to the ball constantly, had some chippy moments with Houston running back Nick Chubb after some tough tackling and made one of the best plays of the session, breaking up a red-zone pass from Stroud to Dalton Schultz.
-- Dorsey is also just returning to the fold after last season’s lower-leg fracture, but he only got one rep on defense — which came in seven-on-sevens — and Houston’s Jayden Higgins blew past him for a touchdown.
-- (Back to Raven) Jake Bates had a clean day, making all four field-goal attempts. The Lions kicker connected from 51, 41 and 33 yards out late in practice. He then hit from 36 yards in the final situational drill when the offense was unable to score a touchdown.
-- The first-team offenses for both teams ended the day in full-team situational work. It was 23-20 with 1:04 on the clock, with each offense starting on the opponent’s 39-yard line with one timeout.
Detroit’s offense started with a beautifully designed look for Raymond. But the veteran wideout dropped the pass with nobody near him and nothing but green grass in front of him for what should have been a long touchdown. Goff went back to St. Brown for an 11-yard gain and then a 5-yard gain before using their timeout. Raymond got one back to move the chains on second-and-5 with a tough 7-yard gain on the out. LaPorta grabbed his aforementioned 20-yard catch with what looked to be a Chiefs-esque wasp route.
Goff spiked the ball, then had to throw it away with Texans defensive lineman Tommy Togai breaking through the interior offensive line. Goff missed Williams on third-and-10, and then Bates hit the 36-yard field goal to end in a 23-23 tie.
Houston’s offense didn’t have as much success as the Lions. Stroud scrambled for a 5-yard gain, then Lions linebacker Jack Campbell knocked away a pass on second-and-5. The Texans moved the chains with rookie Xavier Hutchinson making a 10-yard catch off a zig route. Braxton Berrios added a 5-yard gain, with Hutchinson dropping the third-down target. Texans kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn then hit an impressive 57-yard field goal, with both sides ending 23-23.
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