By Jeremy T. Ballreich
On September 17th, 2023, the Seattle Seahawks came to a very electric atmosphere at Ford Field. With over half the crowd donning the Blue Ski Masks in support of their team. It quite possibly was the loudest crowd for the Lions ever. They came ready to play. The Lions Defense looked like they suffered from a winning hangover in Kansas City. The 3rd time these two teams have faced each other with an Aaron Glenn ran defense. They’ve given up a total of 142 points!
The previous two outings, the run game killed Detroit. This time it was the passing game.
The Goods:
The Lions offense looked effective, but still had it’s miscues. A 3rd quarter fumble which lead to a TD. Then a pick 6 by Trey Brown who was filling in for injured Tariq Woolen. That was 14 points! For the Seahawks. Yet the Offense still managed 28 points themselves. So not all bad. But not all good. Goff had his interception free streak end at 384 snaps with that pick. 3rd all time in the NFL. Behind only Tom Brady (399) and Aaron Rodgers (402). Pretty good company of you asked me.
David Montgomery left the game 3rd quarter with a deep bone bruise in his thigh. His status doesn’t look good for a couple of weeks. An injury that may derail this offense IMO.
At the same time the offense did get this game tied at the end of regulation play. 31-31!
The Bads:
When you are an aggressive coach. Going for it on 4th down and not playing positional football can bite you in the tucas. Which I personally feel did this week. The Lions were 1 of 3 in this stat. The 2 failed attempts equalled 10 points for the opportunistic Seahawks.
The failure of 2nd half adjustments for the defense also was a big deal. We stayed in man coverage the entire game, when the switch to zone coverage saved the game last week in Kansas City. The Seahawks just watched when they put a man in motion to see if the cover guy followed. Geno Smith made Jerry Jacobs look like he was doing his best impression of burnt toast. The 1 play he had good coverage. A great pass to Tyler Lockett at the back of the end zone.
I hate being that Detroit vs. The Refs guy, but the final play in overtime, it gives it some merit. If the Right Tackle didn’t hold Hutchinson, Geno Smith wouldn’t have been able to roll out and complete that TD pass to Tyler Lockett.
In Summary:
I put the blame of this loss squarely on the coaching staff. An arrogant stubbornness to not change the way things are done when it isn’t working will be the ultimate downfall in Detroit.
Only saving grace? Every team in the NFC North lost this week. So no ground loss in the Divisional Race to win it.
SEA 38
DET 31 OT
Thanks For Reading!!
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