The Detroit Lions put a pretty bow on the preseason with a convincing 26-17 win in Carolina over the Panthers on Friday night. The Lions prevailed despite sitting all their starters and going against much of the Panthers’ first-team offense and defense in the first half of the game.
With the on-field temp well over 100 degrees, the Lions reserves brought the heat to their hosts. It was a standout game for several players and a nice rebound from an underwhelming effort and outcome in the prior preseason game.
Here’s what stood out from the game in watching it in real-time.
Some tough decisions got even tougher
This game was a chance for players on the Lions roster bubble to show out. It turns out that so many of them had impressive games that it’s difficult to sort out who really helped themselves the most.
That’s exactly the situation Dan Campbell wanted for this game. “Go win a job” was an exhortation from the Lions head coach to several different position groups during the last couple weeks of practice.
Cornerback Chase Lucas is a great example. He was firmly on the bubble as the final DB spot. Lucas turned in an exceptional red zone INT and also contributed well on special teams. He did nothing but help himself…
…but the same is true of Steven Gilmore, likely his primary competition for that final CB spot. The UDFA from Marshall broke up four passes in the second half. Gilmore turned the last of those PDs into a pick-six where he just wanted the ball more than the receiver. He made a crushing tackle earlier in the game on a swing pass from backup QB Andy Dalton that took way too long to get to its target.
Then again, Khalil Dorsey got the start on the outside at CB and also played quite well, including a great kick return in the first quarter. His work on kick coverage units stood out.
It wasn’t just CB where the competition brought out the best in the combatants. The offensive line, the defensive tackles, the off-ball LBs–most everyone who needed to play well to try and earn a spot did so.
Better Bridgewater
Teddy Bridgewater had not been off to a great start in Detroit, either in practices or the preseason game against the Jaguars. Against Carolina, we saw a lot more of the Bridgewater everyone was hoping for when he signed with the Lions.
His work on the first three offensive drives was efficient, clean and effective. Working with zero starters on offense, Bridgewater led the Lions down the field into scoring position on all three while facing much of the Panthers’ starting defense. Riley Patterson missed the FG attempt on the first; otherwise, the Lions would have posted points on all three. Bridgewater was 8-for-12 on those drives, with a dropped TD by Chase Cota and a throwaway on a busted play accounting for half the misses.
The veteran wasn’t done. He drilled a tight-window throw perfectly on target to rookie WR Antoine Green, who caught it in perfect stride and smoked the Panthers defense for a 70-yard touchdown catch and run. After a quick takeaway, Bridgewater safely, smartly engineered a quick FG drive.
It was the best we’ve seen from Bridgewater, reflecting his increased chemistry with the receivers and
Injury concerns
The Lions sat the starters to avoid any impactful injuries to key players (among other reasons). The injury bug did still bite Detroit, however.
A few Lions left the game at various points due to injury concerns. EDGE Julian Okwara was on the sideline with trainers for quite a while in the second half. No official injury update was given, and I didn’t see what happened to Okwara in the game.
Wideout Antoine Green was spotted on the sidelines with a brace on his knee after leaving the game. Green was having a great game, too. No word on the severity for the seventh-round rookie.
Nose tackle Isaiah Buggs, the only starter who played at all, left with a lower-body injury. He was moving around fine on the sidelines, so it didn’t seem more than a brief scare.
Perhaps the most serious injury happened to reserve QB Nate Sudfeld, who was carted off with a lower leg injury after an awkward hit/step on the Carolina sideline. We haven’t yet received an update, but it did not look good for the vet.
Quick hits
–Not a good night for kicker Riley Patterson. He hit the crossbar on a 53-yard FG attempt, which is the very edge of his range. Later, he missed an extra point. There was an opportunity for John Parker Romo to possibly attempt a 61-yard FG, but the Lions elected to punt instead.
–Not that there was much question about it, but Craig Reynolds proved he’s the third RB with a strong game, including Detroit’s first touchdown. The numbers (41 yards on 11 carries) don’t do justice to how well No. 13 performed.
–Didn’t get to focus a lot on the offensive line, but other than a debatable false start penalty, it felt like right tackle Germain Ifedi played well. This was the best all-around performance by the OL depth and ironically came against a lot of the Panthers starters
–Bridgewater changed his number from 50 to 17, snatching up Denzel Mims’ old jersey.
–The kick return unit continues to shine, and it doesn’t much matter who is returning the kicks. Dave Fipp’s design and attention to detail in blocking and timing really stand out.
–One of the few Lions bubble players who didn’t help himself: WR Chase Cota. Put one ball on the ground and had another contested catch fail, too. Meanwhile, fellow UDFA WR Dylan Drummond made a great catch away from his body on a difficult throw from Bridgewater.
–Cory Durden deserves special mention for the best bull rush by a Lions player I’ve seen since Ndamukong Suh. The UDFA from North Carolina State annihilated backup OT Larnel Coleman like an angry elephant stampeding a meerkat. Durden had a great night.
