The Detroit Lions have the third-highest scoring offense in the NFL, but offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is targeting improvement in three major areas coming out of last week’s bye.
Johnson said he met with his offense as a unit Monday and gave them three points of emphasis for the final 12 games: Better communication; improving fundamentals and technique; and playing better football in critical situations.
“That’s what’s shown up in the first five games, whether it’s short yardage, third downs, two-minute, four-minute, all those where we could potentially close the game out or end the game with the ball,” Johnson said. “We have to be better there. So I think the guys took that to heart, they understand the direction we need to go and really excited about how coach (Dan Campbell) is approaching this week with pads on, a little bit more intensity, cause that’s going to help us in terms of the communication part and the fundamentals and technique.”
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The Lions (1-4) led the NFL in scoring and total offense through four weeks, but hit a speedbump in Week 5 when they beaten 29-0 by the New England Patriots.
The Lions set a modern NFL record for most fourth down attempts (six) without a conversion in that game, and failed to convert runs of fourth-and-1 (twice) and third-and-2.
They rank 29th in the NFL in power rushing success, a stat that charts a team’s conversion rate on runs on third- or fourth-and-2 or less, and in short goal-to-go situations, according to Football Outsiders.
The Lions are converting 53% of those runs, with three first downs in six run attempts on fourth-and-1, and one in three tries on third-and-1. NFL teams are converting 65% of those plays.
“To me that’s the disappointing part of it is the short yardage because we take a lot of pride, particularly in our run game, of being able to get a yard when we need a yard,” Johnson said. “And so, when you look back at it, I think a lot of it stems back to execution on a lot of levels. It’s little details that are slipping through, and so starting this week we’re going to put a little bit more emphasis on it. Not that we weren’t before, but I think the guys are feeling the heightened awareness here on third-and-1, fourth-and-1.”
The Lions entered the week eighth in the NFL in rushing at 151.4 yards per game, second at 5.45 yards per carry and tied for fewest sacks allowed (seven). D’Andre Swift is expected to return from a shoulder injury for Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys, when the Lions could be starting their fifth offensive line combination in six games.
Johnson acknowledged the Lions’ rotating cast of interior linemen could be a contributing factor to their short-yardage woes.
Pro Bowl left guard Jonah Jackson missed three games with a finger injury, center Frank Ragnow missed one with a turf toe injury that remains bothersome, and the Lions have yet to settle on a replacement for injured right guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai, though Evan Brown is the best bet to man that position going forward.
“It’s on our shoulders,” Jackson said. “If we don’t get it going, nobody can get it going, so it’s on us and that’s how we like it.”
That won’t be easy against a Dallas defense that is one of the best in the NFL. The Cowboys lead the league with 24 sacks, rank in the top 10 in red zone and third down defense, and have a star in do-it-all second-year linebacker Micah Parsons, who Johnson said “might be the best defensive player in the NFL right now.”
“They present a challenge, but there again, I like our O-line, I like our tackles,” Campbell said. “We’ll have a plan. We can’t let those guys wreck the game. But yeah, that’s an issue and it’s caused a lot of teams a lot of problems. That’s why this is one of the better defenses in the league.”
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.