Lions-Colts key stats: Defenders play integral role in Detroit’s 9th straight victory

Detroit completed their sweep of the AFC South by shutting down Indianapolis’ offense. That and more in this week’s look at advanced key statistics from Lions-Colts.

With their victory over the Indianapolis Colts in Week 12, the Detroit Lions completed their clean(ish) sweep of the AFC South this season. Their offense stole the show a week ago, but it was Detroit’s defense that paved the way to the 10th win of 2024. Detroit held the Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Colts to just 12 total points over their last 10 quarters of football played.

Whew.

As we’ll do every week throughout the season for this Detroit Lions team, we have some data we can comb through courtesy of various outlets that better help us understand the football the Lions have played thus far—and what to look forward to in the coming weeks. Let’s take a closer look at the Lions by the numbers after their win over the Colts.

PFF’s premium statistics are an invaluable data point for football fans to better understand the game. Consider subscribing to PFF to have full access to a plethora of stats and grades to keep you informed about the NFL—and college football, too. Also, NFL Pro is supplying some innovative and illustrative advanced statistics of their own that are worth checking out for the price of admission.

25.0% run defense stop rate

This was Detroit’s first game without team captain Alex Anzalone patrolling the second line of the Lions’ defense, but you wouldn’t have noticed much of a drop-off in the unit’s production or effectiveness. Replacing Anzalone at the team’s WILL linebacker position was primarily Malcolm Rodriguez, and he made quite an impact in Detroit’s continued dominance in stopping the run. Rodriguez posted a 25.0% run defense stop rate against the Colts, the second-best mark of 60 qualifying linebackers in Week 12.

21.7% pass rush win rate

For the second week in a row, Za’Darius Smith was a difference-maker for the Lions’ defensive front. Smith’s second appearance with Detroit saw him post a 21.7% pass rush win rate, finishing as PFF’s ninth-best edge defender in that respect for the second week in a row.

17.4% pass rush win rate, 4 quick pressures

Speaking of providing some pass rush, we’re seeing Alim McNeill turn into the kind of consistent pass-rush threat this team had envisioned him becoming when they inked him to his extension earlier this season. For his 11th straight game, McNeill recorded a pass rush win rate north of 10.0%, finishing Week 12 as the 14th-ranked interior defender in pass rush win rate (17.4%).

According to NFL Pro, the Lions generated pressure on 14 of Anthony Richardson’s 30 dropbacks for a 46.7% pressure rate—the highest in a game this season. McNeill generated 4 quick pressures (under 2.5 seconds), tied for the most by any defensive tackle in a game this season.

39.6 passer rating allowed

Terrion Arnold missed his first NFL regular season game with a groin injury he suffered late last week, and while Kindle Vildor took his lumps in his first bit of extended action this season, Carlton Davis had his assignments locked down. Targeted just twice while in coverage, Davis didn’t allow a reception, posting a 39.6 passer rating allowed in coverage, tied for second among 82 qualifying cornerbacks in Week 12.

2.75 yards per route run

On an afternoon where there were no major standouts in terms of box score performances, the advanced receiving numbers from PFF help highlight a standout performance for a player who had been relatively quiet for the past few weeks: Tim Patrick. The veteran receiver caught four passes (season-high) for 55 yards, with three of those receptions earning the team first downs. Patrick’s 2.75 yards per route run ranked 13th among 53 qualifying receivers in Week 12—and well above his season average so far (1.54).

100.0 pass blocking efficiency

Despite leaving this game momentarily due to injury, Taylor Decker returned to cap off a perfect Sunday as Detroit’s left tackle. Decker turned in a 100.0 pass blocking efficiency score, a PFF Signature stat measuring pressure allowed on a per-snap basis with weighting toward sacks allowed. Not only did Decker go 34 pass-blocking snaps without surrendering a sack, the veteran didn’t even allow a single pressure, hurry, or quarterback hit against the Colts.