This Sunday, the Cleveland Browns are are at home as they take on the Detroit Lions in Week 4. To help preview a few topics from the Lions’ perspective, we reached out to Ryan Mathews from Pride of Detroit and exchanged five questions with him.
Chris: “The Lions have exploded for 90 points in the past two weeks, but seemed to be held in check by the Packers in Week 1. What unfolded in that game that led to the offense struggling?”
Ryan: “The further we get from Week 1, the more that game is becoming
an outright outlier. As you mentioned, the Lions have hung 90 points on the scoreboard the past couple of weeks, and the miscommunication and missed assignments that led to the offense feeling disjointed and ineffective has since been ironed out.
The Packers executed the Cover 2 defense to perfection, and it led to Jared Goff and the Lions to checkdown after checkdown. Goff had a couple of throws he missed on, but for the most part, he was content with getting it to a stationary receiver situated a few yards past the line of scrimmage—and that happened a lot. His average depth of target was 4.2 yards, the lowest mark of any quarterback in Week 1.
On top of that, those missed assignments along the offensive line led to the worst rushing performance (22 carries for 46 yards, just 2.1 yards per carry) the Lions have had since Week 6 of 2023–a game where Jahmyr Gibbs was inactive and David Montgomery was injured and ruled out before halftime.
Again, I think that game was ultimately an early-season hiccup where everyone was still getting on the same page: players and coaches alike. Not to say it’s all been perfect since, but it’s been nowhere near as disastrous as it was nearly a month ago, and in the friendly confines of Ford Field, communication should be far less of an issue than it was at Lambeau in Week 1, especially as Detroit has continued to show it’s turned a corner in that respect.”
Chris: “What do you view as the Lions’ biggest weakness right now?”
Ryan: “Right now, entering Week 4’s matchup against the Browns, the Lions’ biggest weakness is in the backend of their defense, specifically at cornerback. Terrion Arnold, the Lions’ first-round pick from a year ago, has gotten off to a rough start, and that much has been a bit perplexing considering all the talk out of camp from both media and coaches seemed to suggest he was looking poised to take a jump this season.
Instead, Arnold has found himself back to square one from his rookie season, where penalties of the handsy-variety plagued him. On top of that, he’s been a step out of phase here, a flip of his hips away from making a play there. He currently ranks 99th out of 110 qualifying cornerbacks with a PFF coverage grade of 44.0, and he’s getting targeted like someone that other teams know they can pick on: his 20 targets when in coverage is t-7th among cornerbacks, and his 17.9 yards per reception allowed is 9th in the league. When you consider he’s only played 96 coverage snaps so far through three games, which ranks 51st among cornerbacks, those numbers are even more jarring.
“He’s a young player and he’s working at it and he’s going to get better,” Dan Campbell said on Wednesday during a local radio interview. “He’s going to get better, it’s just going to take a little bit of time here. We’re going to work through a few of these things, but, look, every young player, they have these ebbs and flows of their career or of a second year, things of that nature. He’s going to be alright, man, we’re just going to keep working through it.”
Expect veteran Amik Robertson, the team’s nickel cornerback, to play some more as the team’s outside corner opposite of D.J. Reed in this week’s matchup with the Browns.”
Chris: “Which of the Lions’ 2025 draft picks has been the most regular contributor thus far through three games?”
Ryan: “It’s really a toss-up between interior defensive lineman Tyleik Williams and right guard Tate Ratledge, the Lions’ first and second round selections respectively. Ratledge obviously gets a higher usage as he’s out there whenever the offense is on the field, but Williams is still getting a significant share of opportunities–50.8% of defensive snaps through the first three weeks, just behind fellow starter DJ Reader (57.2%).
Ratledge, and really the offensive line as a whole, had some of those communication issues that led to missed assignments, resulting in an unmitigated disaster against the Packers. Since then, it’s improved considerably over the last two weeks: Ratledge’s pass-blocking efficiency grade of 98.3%–just two pressures allowed across 61 pass-blocking snaps–ranks t-16th among guards over that span according to PFF. Over that same span, he has the fifth-best PFF grade for run blocking (77.5).
Meanwhile, Williams has also been flashing with more and more reps, making impact plays. In Week 2, he had a key stop on fourth-and-1 where he showed great timing, stuffing a quarterback sneak, and then on another fourth down attempt, Williams batted a pass at the line of scrimmage. Against the Ravens, he registered three pressures, an aspect of his game we didn’t expect to see this early in his first year.”
Chris: “Tell us about one player who Browns fans may not have heard of, but who could have an impact on this Sunday’s game.”
Ryan: “Derrick Barnes, the SAM linebacker who Detroit loves for his versatility, he’s a guy who you’ll become familiar with by the end of the game. Barnes plays on over 80% of snaps, primarily at the SAM, but he has the ability to play all three linebacker positions and moonlight at defensive end–where he played quite a bit at Purdue during his sophomore and junior seasons.
The Lions love to play with three linebackers on the field, so they’ll move Barnes all around the front, using him to rush the passer, defend the run, or even drop back into coverage. Barnes has four pressures–including a sack last week against Baltimore–and five run stops according to PFF. He could be a key player the Lions like to keep out on the field as much as possible considering their reliance on running backs and tight ends.”
Chris: “The Browns are underdogs against the Lions on Sunday (Browns +8.5 as of this question, per FanDuel Sportsbook). Who would you pick to win the game?”
Ryan: “This game has all the makings of one that ends up being a lot closer than people expect it to be. The Browns run defense has been incredibly stout this season, and if they can put the Lions in uncomfortable spots on second and third down, the offense can sputter–especially if they can muddy the middle of the field in the short passing game.
Conversely, if the Lions defense can continue to be tough against the run, they’ll have an opportunity to get after a 40-year-old quarterback with decidedly less mobility than Lamar Jackson–who they sacked seven times last week. On top of that, Detroit loves to run a lot of press-man, so if Cleveland’s receivers get disrupted from a rhythm standpoint, that could make it really tough for the Browns to sustain drives and score points.
Think the Lions pull this one out, but could definitely see a game in which Detroit wins by less than two scores and this one is decided by who wins the turnover battle–just one turnover for Detroit this season compared to Cleveland’s five.”
Thanks again to Ryan for taking the time to answer my questions.
