Lions Week 1 report card: New defense debuts with mixed results

Handing out positional grades for the Detroit Lions’ narrow victory over the Los Angeles Rams in Week 1.

The Detroit Lions eked by the Los Angeles Rams to open up the 2024 season with a 1-0 record. Given such high expectations for the team, it certainly wasn’t an inspired performance from the Lions—who blew a 14-point second-half lead and required a last-minute drive just to push the game to overtime.

But there were a lot of good and a lot of bad things to come from Sunday night’s game, so let’s explore them in our Week 1 report card.

Quarterback: C

Goff had a relatively quiet day, with only 28 passing attempts and 217 yards through the air. He made some big plays, like his 52-yard bomb to Jameson Williams and a 7-yard scramble that kept a key drive alive.

But he also put the Lions in some very tricky spots that they barely escaped from. With the Lions in field goal position, holding onto a four-point lead in the fourth quarter, he threw a ball late over the middle that was picked off. When he got the ball next—now down three points—he nearly threw another pick that likely would have ended the game.

Running backs: A-

Jahmyr Gibbs wasn’t much of a factor in the rushing game, tallying 40 yards rushing on 11 carries. However, he made a couple of important catches—including one in overtime—to add another 34 yards to his overall total.

Of course, the star of Sunday was David Montgomery, whose physical running style beat up a Rams defensive front early and late in the game. Montgomery finished the game with 91 yards rushing—45 of which came on the game-winning overtime drive. None were bigger or more emblematic of Montgomery’s skill than this 21-yard gain.

Tight ends: D

Sam LaPorta finished with 45 yards—including a big catch on Detroit’s game-tying drive—but it was an otherwise quiet day from the tight end group. The reason why I’m giving them a below-average grade, though, is blocking. Admittedly, I could have a different opinion after rewatching the tape, but I thought some of Detroit’s pass protection and rushing issues (in the middle quarters) were breakdowns from the tight ends.

Wide receivers: C+

Jameson Williams was electric on Sunday night, and on multiple occasions, he pulled the Lions’ offense out of funks. It wasn’t just his straight-line speed, either. Williams’ routes were polished and deceitful, and his hands were as good as we’ve seen. Without his five catches for 121 yards, the Lions don’t win that game.

Unfortunately, that was it from the Lions’ receivers. Amon-Ra St. Brown had just three catches for 13 passes, and no other receiver even had a target on the team. Hopefully, Tim Patrick or Allen Robinson get up to speed quickly and can provide a spark.

Offensive line: C+

It’s hard to complain when the offense puts up 163 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns, and 5.3 yards per carry. However, in the middle two quarters, the Lions running backs managed just 10 rushes for 28 yards. Additionally, Jared Goff suffered five quarterback hits and two sacks.

Defensive line: B+

Aidan Hutchinson and Marcus Davenport combined for eight quarterback hits (four each), 1.5 sacks, and six tackles. In fact, the team had 12 total QB hits, all produced from the defensive line. The Rams were mostly down to their fourth and fifth offensive tackles, so it’s good Detroit’s edge rushers took advantage of that. Maybe you’d want more production than that in the sack department, but that’s going to be hard when Matthew Stafford is getting rid of the ball quickly.

Detroit was relatively stout in the run game, as well. Kyren Williams managed just 50 yards on 18 carries (2.8), although he did find the end zone once.

Overall, I was hoping for a little more pressure from the interior. Detroit did get a half-sack from Levi Onwuzurike, but Alim McNeill was nearly kept off the stat sheet entirely (1 tackle).

Linebackers: B-

Alex Anzalone came out of the gate swinging, picking up two tackles for loss on the first drive alone. He finished with 13 tackles and three TFLs. Jack Campbell picked up seven tackles of his own, with one being for loss.

But toward the end of the game, the Lions linebackers struggled in coverage, and it allowed Stafford to attack the intermediate part of the field often.

Secondary: D

Again, it was a very boom-or-bust performance for the Lions defensive backs. Kerby Joseph’s interception was a thing of beauty and a huge play in the game. Brian Branch had three pass breakups, including a near interception. Carlton Davis also should have picked off Stafford.

However, the cornerbacks were often giving away too much yardage underneath. Even if that was part of the game plan, the secondary did not do enough to limit the gains of those passes due to sloppy tackling.

They’ll get better, but it was a mildly disappointing debut from this beefed-up secondary.

Special teams: B

Jake Bates was perfect in all his kicks (2-for-2 on field goals and extra points each), including a clutch 32-yard kick to tie the game with 17 seconds left. He also squibbed a kick perfectly in the kickoff that helped pin the Rams at their own 22-yard line.

There wasn’t much else to note on special teams, other than a costly error from Ennis Rakestraw on the punt coverage team. Jack Fox had laid a perfect punt to pin the Rams inside their own 5-yard line, but Rakestraw’s attempt to down the punt—which would have come to rest in bounds had he not touched it—knocked the ball through the end zone.

Coaching: C

Nothing too notable in terms of in-game decisions. Dan Campbell’s one decision to go for it on fourth down was the right one, even if it didn’t result in any additional points. You could argue his decision to punt on fourth-and-5 late in the game still down three points was a bit conservative, but it worked out.

It was a bit frustrating, though, to see the Rams continually dink and dunk their way down the field with no clear adjustments being made defensively. It almost seemed like the Lions were perfectly fine with that strategy since the defense was tightening up in the red zone. However, it could have proven costly had the offense not scored on their final two drives.