Game balls and goats: Detroit Lions defensive line toothless against Lamar Jackson
BALTIMORE — Free Press sports writer Dave Birkett highlights the best and worst performances from the Detroit Lions' 38-6 loss to the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium.
Game balls
Ravens QB Lamar Jackson
The Lions went into the week intent on making Jackson beat them with his arm, and the 2019 MVP did that with ease. He completed 21 of 27 passes for a season-high 357 yards and threw three touchdowns to hand the Lions their most lopsided loss since 2021.
Jackson added 36 yards rushing and a touchdown, and extended countless plays with his feet. But he silenced critics who questioned his passing ability, including some in Allen Park.
“Everybody has their own unique path, and everybody wants to make comparisons,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “Lamar is his own unique person. (He has his own) style, challenges that he faces, all those different kinds of things. He’s very determined, very persistent. I don’t even think he’s that happy with the game. When I see him in the locker room right now, it’s not like he’s all giddy in there. He’s thinking about the plays that he could have had. He’s thinking about the plays he wants to get better at.”
Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs
Gibbs was one of the few bright spots for the Lions.
The No. 12 pick in April’s draft, Gibbs played the feature back role with David Montgomery out with a rib injury and finished with 126 yards from scrimmage and the Lions’ only touchdown. He showed elusiveness in the open field on screens and patience as a runner, though he didn’t have many chances given the script of the game.
“I was pleased with Gibbs,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “It was good having him back out there. And man, I thought he took a step forward today. I think he was one of the guys that there was some real positive things in there. And, man, I just thought he had pretty good vision and I thought he set some runs up really well, and there again, I felt, ‘OK, he’s a little better,’ and I just feel like the more he plays the better he’s going to get, so that’s another step in the right direction.”
DETROIT LIONS GRADES: Straight F's for defense in epic fail against Baltimore Ravens
Goats
Lions defensive line
There’s nothing easy about defending Jackson, one of the most unique athletes in the NFL, but the Lions did not get enough pressure with their four-man rush, didn’t get Jackson to the ground the few times they got in the backfield, and too often let him slip outside the pocket to extend plays.
Edge rusher Julian Okwara was the only Lions defender credited with a quarterback hit, and Isaiah Buggs was the only lineman to rack up a tackle for loss. Buggs and Alim McNeill got pushed around too easily upfront, and Aidan Hutchinson and the rest of the edge rush group didn’t make any plays that impacted the game.
Since piling up 12 sacks in back-to-back wins over the Atlanta Falcons and Green Bay Packers, the Lions have two combined sacks in three games.
Tracy Walker
The Lions’ defensive struggles Sunday were a product of poor discipline and detail as much as anything, and Walker’s play was a microcosm of what went wrong.
He was flagged for illegal contact on a third-and-7 play in the first quarter that helped extend Baltimore’s second touchdown drive, and he appeared to be out of position on Gus Edwards’ 80-yard catch and run, when he followed Mark Andrews on a drag across the middle (with Derrick Barnes also in coverage). Two plays later, Walker got beat on Andrews’ touchdown.
The Lions weren’t great anywhere on defense Sunday, but in a secondary thinned by injury, they needed more from Walker, one of their veteran leaders.
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Game balls and goats: Detroit Lions defense disappears vs. Ravens
