The Detroit Lions are one of four teams to score at least 30 points in each of their first two games, but Lions quarterback Jared Goff said the offense hasn’t done enough to help the defense in the team’s lackluster 1-1 start.
“We’re toward the top of the league in points, but one of the weeks it wasn’t good enough and we certainly had our hand in that loss where there was a lot of things that we could have done better to alleviate some pressure off the defense,” Goff said. “Certainly scoring early would be one of them, and we didn’t do that and we carry that just as well.”
The Lions are tied for fourth in the NFL at 31 points per game but have scored just seven points in the first quarter this year and have gone three-and-out on both of their
opening drives.
In a Week 1 win over the New Orleans Saints, the Lions punted on their opening drive after Jahmyr Gibbs lost yardage on a third-and-1 rushing play. In their Week 2 loss to the Buffalo Bills, Gibbs had a run for no yards and the offensive line allowed a sack on the first series.
“We can be so much better than we are right now,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “And we do, we need more out of our offense. They'll cover for a lot of things when we clean up some of our issues over there, too, collectively.”
The Lions struggled to sustain early drives in each of their first two games, digging themselves a big hole against the Bills and leaving the door open for the Saints to rally for a second-half comeback.
The Bills led 21-0 before the Lions picked up their second first down, while the Lions scored just once on seven first-half possessions against the Saints.
Lions offensive coordinator Drew Petzing said he goes into games with a first-series script like most teams and acknowledged he’s had some regrets with his plan the first two weeks.
“I would say, and this is probably the nature of play calling in general, anytime we don't score a touchdown, I think you're always going to second guess, 'Oh, could I have done this? Could I have done that?'” he said. “And I think it's a balance because I think there are times where you look back at it and say, 'Hey, I really liked what we called and we didn't have the execution I wanted or something came up a little different.' And then there're other times you look at it and say, 'I'm not sure that was the best call and maybe we needed to tweak that. Maybe I need to change my mindset here a little bit.'
“I think there's definitely a balance to that.”
Goff said the Lions need to start the game with more intentionality this week against a New York Jets team that’s allowed just three first-quarter points, an opening-drive field goal by the Tennessee Titans, in their two games this year.
The Jets (1-1) lead the NFL in total defense, rank second against the run and are tied for sixth in points allowed through two weeks.
“I think you lock in on the plan,” Petzing said. “Some of the first steps that are going to come up in the game, making sure you feel real confident in what your job is, what we're expecting on defense. Playing free, playing fast I think is part of it. Getting the nerves out of the way during pregame so you can play loose and calling the right plays at the right time. I think it all kind of ties together.”
Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Lions' best defense right now? It might be a quick-starting offense
