A wise man once said, “Sometimes it just ain’t your day.” That was the case for the Detroit Lions during their Week 1 loss to the Green Bay Packers. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t all bad. There were things to like on the defensive side of the football, and even the offense, despite all of their issues along the offensive line, had stretches when they were moving the chains.
Naturally, that is where we are going to focus this week’s film study—in the trenches. Luckily for Lions fans, I think part of
the reason the performance at Lambeau was jarring was because we are so accustomed to excellence from the offensive line. It has been a major strength of the team since coach Dan Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes took over back in 2021. Unfortunately, their Week 1 performance was not indicative of that.
“We had a lot of MAs (missed assignments),” Campbell said of his team following the loss. “So that tells me that we had too much on their plate. That’s my fault. So, that was really the story.”
Let’s get into the film and see what went wrong for Detroit, and what can be corrected ahead of their home opener against the Chicago Bears.
Missed assignments and communication issues
We begin the study in the second quarter with what ends up being a relatively successful run for Lions running back David Montgomery. In the first of what appeared to be several instances on the day, quarterback Jared Goff changes the play pre-snap. With Packers defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt lined up over Lions center Graham Glasgow, rookie right guard Tate Ratledge was uncovered pre-snap. Appearing to not get the call, he ends up running right into Glasgow once the ball is snapped, when it looks like he may have been responsible for getting to the second level to get a hat on Packers linebacker Quay Walker, who ultimately makes the tackle.
In the next clip below, we jump to the beginning of the fourth quarter in was the final play of a truly disastrous three-snap sequence for the Lions. Unlike the first two plays of the series where the defenders defeated their blocks, this one appears to be another missed assignment on the part of the rookie.
With the Lions backed up near their own goal line in a third-and-16 situation, Goff, again, appears to change the play at the line of scrimmage. Green Bay defensive tackle Colby Wooden is lined up on the inside shoulder of Ratledge at the 2i. After Ratledge pulls and leaves Wooden unblocked, Montgomery has to do everything he can just to avoid a safety.
Jumping to a bit later in the fourth quarter and the Lions are facing a fourth-and-2. Green Bay has linebackers walked up in either A-gap, with seven total defenders lined up on the line of scrimmage. After the snap, both linebackers drop back into coverage, leaving Ratledge to block Wyatt. However, it looks like Ratledge oversets to his right, allowing Wyatt a clear path to the quarterback from the three-technique.
In our last clip of this section, it looks like another mixup, this time between Glasgow and Mahogany. The Packers rush four on another late-game fourth-down attempt for the Lions, and while we will never know what actually happened in terms of where the responsibility lies for this sack—it’s clear there was a mistake along the interior. Glasgow’s eyes are to the right, while Mahogany is looking left, resulting in a strip-sack for Wyatt.
Losing one-on-ones
Starting this section off with a second quarter snap where the Lions are still trying to establish the run. Out of 21 personnel (two running backs, one tight end), Goff sends running back Jahmyr Gibbs in motion before handing the ball off to Montgomery, working towards the left side of your screen. With the play going towards his right, Mahogany is tasked with reaching the 2i, and getting his body between the defender and the ball carrier. Instead, the second-year pro out of Boston College is jolted backwards, and Montgomery is tackled for a loss on the play.
Next up we have one of the two sacks Mahogany was credited with per PFF. With just over five minutes remaining in the third quarter, the Lions are once again in 21 personnel with Goff operating out of the gun. Lined up on the outside shoulder of Mahogany, Packers defensive lineman LuKas Van Ness gets under the left guard, forcing him to try and reset his hands while being bull rushed. Mahogany is never able to sink his anchor, and ends up slipping after being pushed into the pocket.
Lastly we have a rough rep for veteran left tackle Taylor Decker against Packers edge rusher Rashan Gary. And to be fair to Decker, Gary has been doing this to offensive linemen for years now. He starts off with a chop as he works the edge, forcing Decker to open up his outside shoulder. From there, Gary does an excellent job of converting speed to power with a long arm, and ends up coming away with the sack.
The good news is the mental errors are certainly correctable. Both of these guards are young players, and reps together are so important for an offensive line trying to gel. As far as the second set of plays goes, like I said at the top—sometimes with the game of football, it’s just not your day. It may take a little bit longer than we expected for this group to round into form, but my overall expectations remain unchanged. Once they settle in, I believe this line has the ability to once again be considered among the league’s best.
Besides, we all know it’s more important to be playing your best football in December and January than it is in early Autumn. Hopefully this is the worst we see from this unit, and it’s only up from here.
