Lions Bully Ravens in 38-30 Win

Having been doubted all off-season and fueling that negativity with a opening week turd against the Packers, the Lions went into M&T Bank Stadium last night and absolutely controlled the game and handily beat the Ravens. While the final score was much closer than it should have been at 38-30, the Lions completely controlled the second half of the game and let the Ravens back into it late, but make no mistake, this was a game where the Lions imposed their will on the opponent. The best pat was watching all the ESPN talking heads pick the Ravens and then having to watch them eat crow after the game, while Buck and Aikman had to publicly state what Lions fans already knew, this is Dan Campbell’s offense, not Ben Johnsons. It was a victory reminiscent of the 2023 at Kansas City win to open the NFL season, as the Lions are at their best when they are being doubted.

Hutch Sack

What Went Wrong: Although the Lions pretty much dominated the game, there were a couple of issues that flared up again. First is Terrion Arnold and his coverage. He gave up a couple of very long passes and was flagged for a brutal PI and another holding call that directly led to Ravens TDs. His coverage was better in the second half, but it is concerning to say the least that he is being identified as the weak link by opponents and not really putting an end to it. Jackson completed 21/27 for 288, 3 TDs and a passer rating of 148.1, which is outstanding, he killed the Lions when they didn’t get home on their blitz packages or moved around to by some time. While the tackling was actually pretty good most of the night, a failure to wrap up Justice Hill on a short pass in garbage time led to a massive 37-yard gain form the Lions 19 into plus territory, feeding into a late Ravens score that mad ethe game look closer than it really was. There were times when the blitzing left both the corners (see Arnold comment above) safeties and LBs trying to rush to space to cover, leaving wide open gaps in the Defense that the ravens exploited routinely for large gains. Lions were once again sloppy at times in all three phases, in a two-minute span at the end of the 1st half with bad offense, penalty on the Punt setting up ravens at midfield and then awful defense leading to a quick 32 second TD that tied the game at the half.

1st Down St Brown!

What Went Right: The Lions offense looked like….the Lions. Johnson who? This is, and always has been, Dan Campbell’s offense. John Morton called his best game of the season with the Ravens defense gradually being worn down and not putting up much resistance in the second half. When a team goes 98-yards in 18 plays taking over 10 minutes off a clock and runs the ball in for a TD, that is demoralizing. Sonic and Knuckle had 2 TDs each, with Montgomery in particular gashing the Ravens repeatedly for 4-6 yards a pop until he hit the 72-yard back breaker. St Brown had 7 for 77 and a TD, but the unsung hero was probably Sam LaPorta. Every time the Lions needed a big 3rd down conversion, Goff found him with 3 of his 4 catches moving the chains. He also recovered the onside kick at the end of the game when the Ravens had pulled within 8 with 30 seconds left. The defense struggled a bit early and let Jackson pile up the yards and TD through the air, and who wouldn’t against a Lamar Jackson led offense, but made some great adjustments in the second half and not only contained his rushing but sacked him 7 times on the night while limiting him to just 35 rush yards.

Shout out to jake Bates, who outside of a Kickoff that went out at the two-yard line, was 5/5 on XPs and ½ on field goals, with a 67-yard attempt at the end of the half just missing wide left, which had the leg had it been a bit straighter.

What’s Next: The Lions return to Ford Field to host the Browns next Sunday at 1pm on Fox. The Browns are coming off a 13-10 home win over the Packers, who man-handled the Lions in Week 1. Its hard to gauge week-to-week how common opponents translate, but the Browns defense led by former Lions Head Coach Jim Schwartz is no joke and are the No 1 unit in the NFL in Rushing yards and Total Yards allowed. The Browns Offense led by Joe Flacco, not so much, as they are bottom third, coming in at 22nd overall in YPG and 30th in Pts/game at 15.3.