As we’ve been doing for many years now, we break down the Pittsburgh Steelers’ opponent each week, telling you what to expect from a scheme and individual player standpoint. Like last year, Josh Carney and I will cover the opposing team’s offense. I will focus on the scheme, Josh on the players.
Today, our scouting report on the Detroit Lions’ offense ahead of Week 16’s game against Pittsburgh.
Alex’s Scheme Report
Lions’ Run Game
The Lions enter Week 16 with one of the league’s top running games. Detroit still has “Sonic & Knuckles” of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, an excellent 1-2 punch used together even more recently due to TE Sam LaPorta’s injury.
As a unit, the Lions rank fifth with nearly 132 yards per game. The Lions rank even better with a 4.9 YPC (third) and 21 rushing scores (also third). Detroit is 14th in explosive runs of 10-plus yards per game with 42. A slightly worse numbers than expected. But Gibbs is tied for sixth in the NFL with 26 of them and he knows how to make long house calls. He’s No. 1 in the NFL with seven touchdown runs of 10 or more yards.
Gibbs has been quieter in the running game lately and held under 70 yards in each of his last three games. Still, he exploded for more than 200 yards a month ago and he can take over a game. On the year, he has 200 carries for 1,100 yards and 13 touchdowns. Montgomery is more of a grinder and has one rushing touchdown in each of his last three.
Wide receivers have 12 combined runs this year. Jameson Williams leads with six, most coming on 1st and 10.
Schematically, it’s a varied running scheme. There is a fullback in the form of a tight end, often with Anthony Firsker and Giovanni Ricci. Detroit likes to put the strength into the formation and run power that way to gain another gap.
Most power to the right, but the Lions can flip both ways.
There’s inside zone to the field side and plenty of duo down near the goal line.
Alert a Full House package in short-yardage, though multiple people including WR Amon-Ra St. Brown can align there.
Dan Skipper is frequently used as a sixth offensive lineman. He is No. 70 and has one career touchdown catch.
As a unit, the Lions are leading the league averaging 30.6 points per game. They have 34 or more in three of their last four and their eight total games of 34-plus points through Week 15 are the NFL’s most since the 2018 Kansas City Chiefs, who also had eight. The Lions have scored 34-plus in seven of their eight wins.
Detroit ranks fourth with nearly 380 yards per game. The Lions are the NFL’s best at taking care of the football. Their eight giveaways this season are the fewest in the league and they’ve only had multiple giveaways once this year. Over the past three games, Detroit hasn’t turned it over once. The only team on that sort of streak.
On the year, the Lions rank only 17th on third down (38.4 percent) but are elite in the red zone. Detroit ranks No. 2, converting 67.3 percent of the time. Only Philadelphia is better.
Lions’ Pass Game
Jared Goff remains the starter. Perhaps he’s not playing quite as impressively as past years, but most teams would pine for his production: a nearly 70 percent completion rate, 29 touchdowns, and only five interceptions. His INT rate is cut in half from last season.
With LaPorta out, WR Amon-Ra St. Brown is far and away the No. 1 target. He’s posted a 94/1140/11 line, posting 164 yards and two scores last week. He aligns all over and plays plenty in the slot. Though TE Brock Wright has seen 11 targets the past two games, the tight ends simply haven’t been as potent as they were with LaPorta. Which is obvious enough.
Gibbs is a dynamic threat as a receiver and should not be treated *just* as a running back. His 62 receptions are third-best at the position behind Christian McCaffrey and Bijan Robinson. He’s averaging 8 yards per catch and has three receiving touchdowns. He’ll run receiver routes and Pittsburgh has to have a good plan to defend him run and pass.
Big-bodied rookie wideout Isaac TeSlaa has just eight catches this season, but has made good use of them. Four of those have gone for touchdowns. His average depth of target of 15 yards shows he’s being used as a downfield mismatch that can make one big play a game.
Worth noting Montgomery has thrown three passes as a running back this year. All three have come inside the 5-yard line. Alert those trick plays down low.
Schematically, a lot of 2×2 formations and plenty of pre-snap motion. A popular concept are Dagger and Millers with seams and dig routes designed to stress safeties. So that and Levels concepts quite a bit on tape.
Plenty of spacing and smash/snag concepts on tape from Detroit. Alert play-action on P/10 and Yankee concepts (post/over) off it.
Being able to handle St. Brown’s shifting alignments on third down will be critical, too.
Josh’s Individual Report
It’s Lions week, Steelers fans!
With it comes a big road trip to Ford Field in Detroit to take on the Lions, who are fighting for their playoff lives.
After losing a shootout to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 15, the Lions have their backs against the wall and need a response.
While the defense, particularly the secondary, is decimated by injuries, the Lions still have an explosive, big-play offense under quarterback Jared Goff.
Since his trade to the Lions, Goff has elevated his game and become one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL. He still has a very strong arm and can rip all the throws. But it’s been the touch, accuracy and timing that has been pretty impressive with Goff in his time in Detroit.
When he’s dialed in, there are few quarterbacks better than him right now. The arm talent is real, and the command of the Lions’ offense, even with the loss of offensive coordinator Ben Johnson in the offseason, has been remarkable.
Of course, it does help having two dynamic weapons on the outside in wide receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams.
The two are playing some elite football in recent weeks. With Williams, he’s finally tapped into his high ceiling. In his last three games, Williams has 21 receptions for 374 yards and two touchdowns. He’s been a big-play weapon for the Lions, doing it both after the catch and down the field.
Great design on both plays by the Lions. On the touchdown against the Rams, having St. Brown working across the middle draws the deep safety down on Williams’ side, giving him plenty of room to hit the post route against zone coverage, splitting the corner and the far safety.
Then in the play against the Packers, the Lions have a couple of underneath routes to draw the linebackers down, opening space between the linebackers and safeties for Williams to exploit. He does the rest after the catch.
While Williams is dominating right now, make no mistake about it: This passing game goes as St. Brown goes. He’s one of the best receivers in football, is outstanding across the middle and can create after the catch.
St. Brown is a dynamic route runner, one who creates easy separation out of his breaks. He’s a fluid mover who understands spacing and leverage. He knows how to get himself open, time and time again.
When the ball does come his way, he’s making the catch and then doing damage afterwards, too. He reminds me a ton of Hines Ward. Not the fastest, but a smart football player that is physical.
The Lions also have some solid depth at receiver with rookie Isaac TeSlaa emerging as a dependable weapon for Goff, while Khalif Raymond is a good slot option who does his best work on special teams.
Tom Kennedy is an intriguing piece, too, who tends to make plays when given opportunities.
The Lions are at their best when running through star running back Jahmyr Gibbs and dependable backup David Montgomery. They’re affectionately known as “Sonic and Knuckles” in the backfield, as Gibbs is the speedster who can make a house call in the blink of an eye, while Montgomery is the between-the-tackles hammer.
Gibbs has great vision and just bounces all over the field with ease. He can change directions in the blink of an eye and get to the corner and turn it with impressive speed.
While he can hit plenty of home runs, he will also nickel and dime a defense, slowly but surely carving the defense up throughout games. It’s not just in the run game, either. He’s a major weapon in the passing game, too, and is a nightmare out of the backfield.
Good luck trying to match a linebacker against him.
With Montgomery, he’s a perfect complementary piece to Gibbs. He’s a hammer, one who can punish defenses between the tackles.
Though his usage hasn’t been that high in recent weeks, he feels like the ideal back to try and pound away at the Steelers’ defensive front Sunday in Detroit.
The Steelers will need to be at their best when it comes to tackling him. He’s difficult to bring down, so fundamentals will be key.
At tight end, the loss of Sam LaPorta was a big blow to the Lions. But the likes of Shane Zylstra and Anthony Firkser are getting the job done as blockers. It helps that the Lions have rolled out offensive lineman Dan Skipper as an extra blocker in the run game.
Up front, the Lions are banged up. But here’s how I expect them to line up left to right on Sunday:
LT — Taylor Decker
LG — Trystan Colon
C — Graham Glasgow
RG — Tate Ratledge
RT — Penei Sewell
Decker is dealing with a shoulder injury that has limited him much of the season. He’s still out there battling, but it’s clear he hasn’t been himself. Injuries at left guard haven’t helped either. Trystan Colon has shifted over from center to help, but the Lions do hope that Kayode Awosika can get healthy for this week and step back into the lineup.
At right tackle, Sewell remains the best in the game. He’s a lock for All-Pro and is the heartbeat of the Lions. Elite player. Glasgow and Ratledge form a nice C/RG combination, too, and provide some physicality in the run game.
On special teams, the Lions have one of the best kickers in football in Jake Bates. He has a monster leg. He can hit from largely anywhere on the field. The only issue is accuracy. He’s 21-for-27 on the season, but he has a long of 59 yards. It’s worth noting that he’s missed a kick in back-to-back games, both indoors.
Bates has missed two kicks from 40-49 yards, and four from 50-plus, so keep an eye on that.
Punter Jack Fox is one of the best punters in the game, too. He’s averaging 45.8 yards per punt on the season, has a long of 66 yards, and has downed 25 of his 48 punts inside the opponent’s 20-yard line.
In the return game, running back Sione Vaki and Kennedy handle the kickoff returns. Vaki has just two returns for 39 yards, but he’s a guy that the Lions are high on and want to give him more opportunities.
Kennedy has seven returns for 214 yards on the season. Interestingly, running back Jacob Saylors leads the Lions with 31 returns for 840 yards with a long of 39 yards, but with Vaki back he’s given way.
At punt returner, Raymond handles the duties. He’s been a dependable return man his entire career and has three punt returns for a touchdown. He was a first-team All-Pro returner last year for the Lions, too.