Detroit Lions pass rush breakdown Lions pass rush breakdown.
On Thanksgiving Day, the rest of the country saw what Lions fans have long known: Detroit’s pass rush is in shambles. The Lions did not sack Packers quarterback Jordan Love on any of his 32 dropbacks. In fact, according to the NFL’s official statistics, the Lions allowed only four QB hits to Love’s 32 dropbacks.
The lack of pressure, as well as negative play generation, showed up in the Packers’ insurmountable 29-22 win, where Love had plenty of time to scan the field and exploit the Lions’ undersized secondary.
However, the national TV audience also saw what Detroit’s defense has been up to all season: two sacks in its last three games. The Lions’ only sacks of the season came in Week 11 against the Bears, one by Aidan Hutchinson on Chicago’s final offensive play, and the other by Alim McNeil on Justin Fields.
In the Week 10 win over the Chargers, Detroit did not sack QB Justin Herbert. DT Justin Hutchinson hit him four times and DE Alex Anzalone blitzed him twice and forced an interception. Herbert threw for 4 touchdowns and 323 yards on 40 pass attempts in the Lions’ win.
There was a bright spot in Week 8 against the Raiders, where DE Leonte McNeill had two sacks and MLB Alex Anzalone had two and safety Tracy Walker had one.
The Lions’ last sack came in Week 6 against the Buccaneers, when Okwara had a cleanup sack of QB Baker Mayfield for a loss of one yard.
Here’s a summary of all the sacks:
The Lions have allowed nine sacks in their past six games, six of which have come against the Oakland Raiders. Aside from McNeill’s three sacks in that stretch, the offensive line has allowed just three more sacks in six games.
Julian Okwara leads the Lions with two sacks, while Hutchinson has the most double-teams in the NFL over that span, per SIS.
The biggest issue for the Lions, however, has been the lack of pressure coming from outside (or inside) the front four or five at times.
Romeo Okwara hasn’t generated a pressure in 28 pass rush snaps since Week 6, according to PFF.
John Cominsky has 5 QB pressures in his last 88 pass rush snaps, though PFF doesn’t credit Cominsky with a QB hit over that span.
Josh Paschal had his first 2 QB hurries of the season on Thanksgiving, after getting just 80 snaps since Week 7.
The Lions scratched Okwara on Thanksgiving.
Charles Harris hasn’t touched an opposing quarterback since Week 4
Outside of Anzalone and sometimes a safety blitz, the Lions’ pass rush generates next to nothing except for Hutchinson (3rd in EDGEs’ pressures) and McNeil (18th in DTs’ pressures).
The Lions’ coordinator, Aaron Glenn, hasn’t been particularly effective in setting up the front for pressure. How much blame should be placed on him depends on your point of view of the talent on the Lions’ roster and how much juice you can expect from a sack-of-lemons situation.
Regardless, one thing is clear: the pass rush needs to improve if the Lions are going to make a splash in the NFL playoffs. And somehow, somehow, the Lions and Glenn and his players need to do better.
The Detroit secondary lacks the coverage talent to hide it, and offenses have taken advantage of that.
Gannett may be compensated by sports betting operators for referrals to Gannett’s betting services. Gannett’s sports betting operators have no control over, and are not related to, any such revenues. Terms apply. See operator site for terms and conditions. Gannett is committed to helping people who or know someone who has a gambling problem. Gannett can be reached 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, by calling 1-800-468-8888 (New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Colorado, Iowa, Illinois, Utah, Wisconsin and Virginia). Gannett is required by law to be at least 21 years old to gamble. Gambling and sports betting are not always legal in every state. Be sure to follow local laws where you live.
