DENVER — Free Press sports writer Dave Birkett grades the Detroit Lions in their 38-10 loss to the Denver Broncos.
Quarterback
Jared Goff had another mediocre day, completing 24 of 39 passes for 215 yards, though as with everything Sunday, his performance must be measured by the Lions’ weird week. The Broncos batted down four passes at the line of scrimmage, which was mostly a function of the pressure they got against the Lions’ offensive line. Goff did miss an open Shane Zylstra on second-and-1 in the third quarter, and he overthrew Kalif Raymond on a deep ball two plays later. He said he’d like a redo on a third-down incompletion near the goal line, when he was caught between running and passing, and he made a poor throw on his interception, when Justin Simmons made a phenomenal play for the turnover but Goff threw behind tight end Brock Wright. Grade: D-plus
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Running backs
Craig Reynolds is an NFL-caliber running back. Reynolds had 83 yards on 11 carries in his first action since the preseason and kept the Lions afloat in the first half. He showed great patience on a 35-yard run early in the second quarter, when he broke a tackle by linebacker Kenny Young, and displayed excellent vision bouncing outside on several cutbacks. Godwin Igwebuike had a much rougher performance. He lost a key fumble on the second play of the third quarter and nearly had another turnover on the goal line. Igwebuike had played well in limited use in recent weeks, but he wasn’t ready for a bigger slice of the workload. Grade: C-plus
Wide receivers/tight ends
With D’Andre Swift and T.J. Hockenson out with injuries, Amon-Ra St. Brown took over as Goff’s go-to target. St. Brown had another strong day, finishing with eight catches for 73 yards. He slipped a tackle on an 11-yard gain on the final play of the third quarter, and his chippy playing style seemed to frustrate Denver defenders. One negative: St. Brown could have run a better wheel route on a third-and-6 pass that fell incomplete just before halftime. No other Lions receiver made a significant impact, though Brock Wright had a hand blocking in Reynolds’ strong rushing day. Grade: C-minus
Offensive line
Ryan McCollum had a rough go in his first career start. The rookie center gave up a sack on the opening series, when he was knocked off balance by Dre’Mont Jones; he gave up the penetration on one of Denver’s tipped passes, when Goff’s pass hit Jones in the helmet; and he was flagged for holding on a fullback dive to Jason Cabinda that erased a first down. Taylor Decker was flagged for a false start on the next play. Mike Purcell beat Jonah Jackson to meet Reynolds in the backfield on the final play of the first quarter, but the line gave Reynolds a few nice holes to work with. Halapoulivaati Vaitai led the inside push on a third-and-1 pickup by Igwebuike, but he stepped on Goff’s foot, tripping the Lions quarterback on the goal line. Penei Sewell allowed a pressure to Bradley Chubb early, but kept Chubb mostly out of the backfield. Grade: D-plus
Defensive line
The Lions got pushed around up front defensively most of the game, starting with the opening series. Dalton Risner knocked Levi Onwuzurike sideways to give Melvin Gordon a crease for an early 13-yard run, and John Penisini got knocked off the ball on a 9-yard run by Gordon and Javonte Williams’ first touchdown. Rookie Alim McNeill and Charles Harris split a coverage sack in the first half, and Harris beat Garrett Bolles to throw Gordon for a short loss on the next play. But the line had few other highlights as Gordon and Williams combined for 184 yards rushing on 39 carries and seemed to get to the second level without much effort. Grade: F
Linebackers
The Lions’ linebacking corps was almost unrecognizable Sunday after Alex Anzalone left with an early ankle injury. Josh Woods, who had played almost exclusively on special teams until last week, made a game-high 13 tackles and handled the defensive play calling responsibilities, though he did fly past Gordon on a run blitz when Gordon broke free for a 16-yard gain. Derrick Barnes is going through some rookie growing pains. Barnes got beat on a 32-yard pass to Noah Fant in the first quarter, three plays after he got dragged for extra yardage on a 9-yard Williams run. Corey Lemonier and safety Dean Marlowe missed tackles on an 11-yard Gordon run, and Lemonier was offsides on a spike play that moved a long Broncos field goal 5 yards closer on the final play of the first half. Grade: D
Defensive backs
Will Harris had one of his most effective games of the season. Harris made a nice pass breakup on a sideline pass to Tim Patrick in the first half, and his coverage in the slot appeared to create the sack for McNeill and Charles Harris. The Lions lost starting cornerback Jerry Jacobs to a serious left knee injury on the opening series, but Dan Campbell said he was pleased with the play of Jacobs’ replacement, Nickell Robey-Coleman. Robey-Coleman did have one pass interference penalty, and one or both of Barnes and safety Jalen Elliott was late reacting on Teddy Bridgewater’s touchdown pass to Williams, which was a well-time call against the Lions blitz. Grade: C
Special teams
It was a relatively non-descript day for the Lions special teams as Jack Fox punted twice for a net of 46.5 yards and Riley Patterson made his only field goal attempt from 36 yards out. The Lions had two penalties on extra points, a false start on Scott Daly and an unsportsmanlike conduct on Charles Harris. In the return game, Kalif Raymond lost yardage on his only punt return, and the Lions missed a tackle on Diontae Spencer on one of his returns. Grade: C-plus
Coaching
The Lions were playing against a stacked deck Sunday, and as much as Campbell did not want to use it as an excuse, the reality is they stood little chance of winning after losing six players to COVID-IR and with their two best offensive weapons injured. Campbell was aggressive in trying to extend possessions for his offense, including when the Lions quick-snapped on an early fourth-and-1 conversion. Aaron Glenn settled his defense down briefly after a rough first two possessions, but things got away from the Lions quickly in a turnover-filled third quarter and when one of Campbell’s fourth down gambles backfired. This wasn’t a game the Lions coaches will highlight on their resumes, but they were hardly to blame for the loss, either. Grade: C
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.