The Detroit Lions may have walked away from Saturday’s tilt with a loss, but it was nonetheless an encouraging performance for multiple players. After being demolished by the Los Angeles Chargers in the Hall of Fame game and a lackluster, injury-shortened victory against the Atlanta Falcons, it was a more balanced affair against the Miami Dolphins. Both teams had their share of successes and failure, and it was ultimately a more entertaining game than previous preseason outings.
While entertainment
value might count for viewers, what truly matters to the Lions staff is who performed well and who did not. As Week 1 approaches, games like these will be pivotal to deciding the final few roster spots. For a team as talented as the Lions, that 53-man roster is deeper than most.
Which of those names walked away from this game as a winner or a loser?
Winners
Isaac TeSlaa, WR
This might be the last time I consider TeSlaa a winner because these types of preseason performances are becoming the norm. The third-round rookie has been phenomenal through three preseason games, arguably the best Detroit Lion on either side of the ball. TeSlaa notched four catches for 41 yards and one touchdown on a spectacular red zone grab:
On a weekly basis, TeSlaa looks like a man amongst boys, either winning with separation or winning with physicality. All of this dominance is coming from a rookie that was viewed as a long-term project. Instead, he looks incredibly polished and game-day ready. The question is no longer if TeSlaa sees the field as a rookie. Now, there is serious discussion about how quickly he dethrones Tim Patrick as WR3 in the lineup. If he can maintain this chemistry with Jared Goff at quarterback, that could be sooner than anticipated.
Jackson Meeks, WR
The race for WR6 is heating up. Meeks was the primary beneficiary of Dominic Lovett’s absence last week against the Atlanta Falcons, putting up 78 receiving yards on three catches, complete with a touchdown grab. With Lovett back in the lineup against the Dolphins, the question was whether Lovett would resume his target dominance—the rookie had nine targets against the Los Angeles Chargers in the first preseason game—or if Meeks could continue to challenge him.
Meeks came out on top of this battle. The undrafted rookie out of Syracuse tallied seven catches for 93 yards while also adding another touchdown catch, putting his preseason total up to two. Lovett was still involved, including recovering a muffed punt, but Meeks stood out more on offense.
The Lions have a difficult question: do they value Meeks and his ability on offense, or Lovett and his ability on special teams? For the sixth receiver on the depth chart, this is no easy question.
Kyle Allen, QB
The battle for backup quarterback might be over.
A week after a near-perfect performance in relief of Hendon Hooker, Allen got the start and once again looked poised and confident. Allen finished the day going 14-of-17 for 124 yards and a pair of touchdown passes. Two of his misses came early on overthrows of TeSlaa and Tom Kennedy, but Allen settled down soon after to close out a crisp first half. Aside from an illegal forward pass after scrambling too far downfield, Allen had no glaring mistakes. He was hitting his receivers in stride and on target. He navigated a pocket that was not always clean. He spread out the ball to all parts of the field.
Hooker, meanwhile, had a better performance than last week—a low bar to clear—but Allen is still outplaying him. He had a great scramble touchdown called back on a weak holding penalty, but he was otherwise unable to march the offense downfield. Hooker nearly led a late touchdown drive, but he was intercepted on a great play by Ethan Robinson.
Allen is starting to run away with the backup spot. Hooker will still have another game to prove himself, but it looks like Allen’s job to lose.
Erick Hallett, DB
Hallett was easily the most impressive Lions defender on the day. In a game where the Lions were picking up pass breakups on nearly every play, it was Hallett standing out among his peers. Hallett recorded three of the Lions’ 10 PBUs, providing some much-needed highlights from the secondary. He was disruptive with his hands and he was disruptive with his hits.
Hallett, historically a safety, has been mixing in with the cornerbacks this year with the Lions, and that could prove valuable for his odds of making the roster.
Chris Smith, DT
Brodric Martin, DT
Smith and Martin are getting lumped together, as the pair were a key reason that the Dolphins run game was stifled in the first half. Smith had a fantastic stretch tackle early in the game, highlighting his power and lateral athleticism. Martin, meanwhile, has now strung together back-to-back strong outings. Against the Falcons and Dolphins, he was stalwart in the run game while also contributing much-needed interior pressure on pass plays. The only knock on Martin were a pair of penalties (offsides and neutral zone infraction).
Even when the pair were not directly making the tackle, they were occupying lanes for other Lions defenders to capitalize on. Linebacker Zach Cunningham had a pair of hammering tackles aided by the interior eating up blockers.
Both players are on the roster bubble, likely on the outside looking in, but this game was a strong audition.
Sione Vaki, RB/ST
What a perfect example of Vaki’s versatility. Vaki was the Lions’ leading rusher on the day, recording 30 yards on five carries. He also added a pair of receptions, albeit one went for a loss of six yards. Vaki also looked solid in pass protection, including a blitz pickup to keep a play alive. Where he truly stood out was on special teams. He continues to build his resume as a special teams ace, this time knocking loose a punt return that unfortunately bounced back into the arms of the Dolphins.
Vaki will have a game-day role largely on special teams, but his ability to fill multiple roles as a runner, receiver, returner, and tackler is not to be understated.
Losers
Jamarco Jones, OT
Getting the start at left tackle, this was Jones’ best opportunity to leapfrog Dan Skipper on the offensive tackle depth chart. It was not an overly impressive outing from Skipper, hence why he is not in the Winners category, but Jones left a lot to be desired and looked like the worse of the two starting tackles. Jones was responsible for the first half sack on Allen, a play in which he was beat cleanly on a swim move from Grayson Murphy. His pass protection as a whole was subpar, with the left side of the pocket collapsing far too often.
Jones had a better outing as a run blocker, yet it was overall a missed chance to stake a claim for a roster spot. As it stands, Jones is likely still ahead of Giovanni Manu on the depth chart and would be called upon after Skipper should injury arise. However, he might be headed to a reserve spot on the practice squad.
Loren Strickland, S
On paper, this was a fine game from Strickland. Nothing stood out in an overly negative way on the field—his coverage and tackling was adequate, as was his run defense. His main competition, Ian Kennelly, was equally modest in his Saturday afternoon performance.
What stood out, however, was the snap hierarchy. For the second game in a row, it was Kennelly getting the first look at safety over Strickland. Whereas positions like quarterback and center have seen rotations on a frequent basis, it looks like Kennelly has jumped Strickland on the depth chart with back-to-back starts. Coupled with Hallett—a player with safety experience—playing lights out against the Dolphins, there are many players seemingly ahead of Strickland. It could be a tough mountain for Strickland to climb.
Penalties
The Lions need to clean up their game. For the third game in a row, the Lions were committing far too many penalties. This performance was the worst of the bunch, finishing the game with 13 penalties for 86 yards (not counting the ones that were declined). From holding to illegal formation to a kickoff out of bounds, the Lions were racking up penalties across the board.
Penalties will naturally happen in football—even the best players are not immune to infractions. However, the Lions have looked sloppier that usual. Is this a sign that the reserves lack discipline, or could we see this continue into the regular season?
