Dan Campbell was brimming with hope when the Detroit Lions opened training camp in late July.
“We got the pieces here to mix it up with just about anybody,” Campbell said in his first news conference of the summer. “Now it’s on us to find a way to win.”
How many of the right pieces the Lions have is up for debate, but one thing is for certain as they reach the midpoint of Campbell’s second season as head coach: They have not won enough games.
At 2-6, the Lions are tied for the second-worst record in the NFL. They lost five straight before last week’s win over the Green Bay Packers. And they have not taken the step forward many expected after last year’s disappointing three-win season.
The Lions have squandered winnable games with calamitous coaching decisions and terrible turnovers, and while there have been some bright spots – the offensive line fueled a high-scoring start to the season and four rookies are starting on a young defense that just played its best game – they’ve been both few and far between.
The Lions have a favorable second-half schedule that starts Sunday against the Chicago Bears, but barring a miraculous run, they will miss out on the playoffs for the sixth straight year.
It is not time to give up on what Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes are building, but at the midseason marking period, it’s OK to want more.
With nine weeks left in a season that appears destined to end with another top-10 draft pick, here are my midseason grades:
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Quarterback
Jared Goff is nowhere near the Lions’ biggest issue this season, but he has done nothing to change popular opinion that he’s a bridge player keeping the quarterback seat warm. Goff has 10 turnovers in eight games – only Matt Ryan and Matthew Stafford have more – and his meltdowns against the New England Patriots and Dallas Cowboys helped cost the Lions games.
Goff looked serviceable early in the season, when his supporting cast of skill players was fully healthy. I thought he played his best game at Minnesota, when he threw for 277 efficient yards, but he was kicking himself after the game for not demanding his coach keep the offense on the field on a crucial fourth down.
Goff’s accuracy has been an issue – he has thrown a half-dozen more interceptable balls – and his pocket awareness has been problematic at times. He has played well in spurts, like when he threw for 378 yards and four touchdowns against the Seattle Seahawks, but has wilted in too many key moments (his fourth down fumble against the Patriots, and a missed fourth-and-1 throw against the Dolphins) to be counted on. Grade: C-minus
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Running backs
D’Andre Swift is one of the most electric backs in the NFL when on the field. He had a 50-yard run in each of the Lions’ first two games and is averaging a hearty 7.3 yards per carry for the season. Yet Swift has only played 28.7% of the Lions’ offensive snaps. For grading purposes, I can’t knock him for his health. He has dealt with legitimate shoulder and ankle injuries most of the season. But his absence has contributed to the recent offensive woes.
Jamaal Williams has been more productive than expected as Swift’s replacement, a bruising between-the-tackles back who wears down defenses with physical play. He has scored eight rushing touchdowns, five from 2 yards or less, and is on track to set a career high in single-season rushing yards this week.
Williams did have one costly mistake, a goal line fumble against the Cowboys, and he has dropped three passes out of the backfield, according to Pro Football Reference. Neither Craig Reynolds, who landed on IR with a rib injury this week, nor Justin Jackson has done enough to factor into these grades, though Jackson looked competent last week. Overall, the backfield has been solid, but with Swift out of the lineup, the group has not delivered many difference-making plays. Grade: B-minus
Wide receivers/tight ends
Injuries have hamstrung the Lions’ receiving corps, too, as DJ Chark, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Josh Reynolds and Quintez Cephus have all missed one or more games. St. Brown (39 catches, 399 yards) has been the Lions’ most reliable pass catcher, and early in the season he was a master at turning short catches into long gains.
Chark has been most disappointing. He hasn’t played since Week 3 because of an ankle injury and was a nonfactor (seven catches, 98 yards). Reynolds had strong showings against the Patriots and Vikings while playing through injuries. He has been a security blanket for Goff on medium-range boundary plays, but dropped a would-be touchdown against the Dolphins and has a career-worst 7.1% drop rate.
The Lions underutilized tight end T.J. Hockenson before trading him to the Minnesota Vikings earlier this month. Hockenson had a huge 179-yard day against the Seahawks, but topped 50 yards in just one other game this year. The receivers and tight ends are above average blockers and have had a big hand in the team’s rushing success. Grade: C
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Offensive line
The Lions rank ninth in the NFL in rushing yards (134.1 ypg) and have the fourth-lowest sack percentage (4.7% of dropbacks), and they’ve done it without their projected right guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai and while starting four different combinations on their line. Linemen have been at fault for 11 of the 14 sacks the Lions have allowed (including one on a two-point play that does not show up in stats), and several of those may fall more on the quarterback.
Penei Sewell has been the Lions’ best lineman. He’s a punishing run blocker who ranks ninth among tackles by Pro Football Focus, though he has allowed two sack-fumbles this season (Goff was too deep in his pass drop on at least one). Taylor Decker has been solid but less steady at left tackle. He struggled vs. Matthew Judon and gave up two sacks to Micah Parsons when the Lions were in a late-game catch-up situation.
Frank Ragnow ranks fifth among centers by PFF, despite playing through a toe injury. Jonah Jackson, who has played three games since returning from a finger injury, had the key block on Williams’ two-point run last week. And Evan Brown has stabilized the right guard spot after Vaitai hurt his back in the preseason and the Lions got inconsistent play from Logan Stenberg. Stenberg gave up sacks in the Lions’ first two games and was at fault for a missed assignment on a key third-and-2 loss against the Patriots.
The Lions have converted only 5 of 11 runs on third- or fourth-and-1. But the unit has shown impressive depth and is a big reason the offense was so lethal early. Grade: B
Defensive line
The Lions have struggled in every aspect of defense this season. They rank last in the NFL in points and yards allowed, 31st in run defense, 30th in sack percentage and are the worst third down defense in the league. Their pass rush has been nonexistent at times and some of their highest-paid players have been a non-factor.
Rookie Aidan Hutchinson has a team-high 4.5 sacks. His production has mostly come in two games, but the Lions are pleased with his growth. They tweaked their defensive approach at the bye to better fit his skills, moving him away from tight ends (open side of the formation) and juggling the responsibilities of their interior defenders.
Isaiah Buggs and Alim McNeill have been solid against the run, but neither has made an impact behind the line of scrimmage; McNeill has two tackles for loss, Buggs has zero, and veteran lineman Michael Brockers has been phased out. John Cominsky and Charles Harris are the only other linemen to record a sack this season – they have one each – and both have missed time with injury. Rookie second-round pick Josh Paschal has shown promise in his first three games back from hernia surgery, but the Lions have left too many games kicking themselves for assignment errors and missed opportunities up front. Grade: C-minus
Linebackers
Collectively, the Lions have gotten their most consistent play defensively from their linebackers, but just like with the defensive line, the unit has not done enough. Alex Anzalone, Malcolm Rodriguez, Derrick Barnes and Julian Okwara have 3.5 sacks, zero forced fumbles and zero interceptions between them.
Anzalone and Rodriguez have seen most of the playing time at inside linebacker. Anzalone does not fare well in PFF rankings, but leads the Lions with 62 tackles and rarely comes off the field. After a choppy first season in Detroit, he has cut his missed tackle percentage way down and is blitzing more. He has come up with some timely stops, like on a third-and-1 misdirection toss to Tony Pollard against the Cowboys, but it’s impossible to divorce him from a run defense allowing more than 5 yards per carry and 149 yards per game.
Rodriguez has been the defense’s most pleasant surprise as a sixth-round pick. He has shown advanced instincts and has a team-high five tackles for loss, but remains a work in progress in coverage. Barnes had the best game of his career against the Packers with 12 tackles, including a big goal line stop on AJ Dillon, one sack and his helmet was in the right place to deflect an Aaron Rodgers pass that led to an interception. Both he and Okwara, who has not had a sack in seven games, have been limited to rotational duty. Grade: C
Defensive backs
The secondary was so bad in the first half that Campbell fired defensive backs coach Aubrey Pleasant. The move seemed preemptive in nature, but the fact is the unit has been rife with missed assignments and poor play.
Amani Oruwariye, coming off a six-interception season, has been the most disappointing defensive player. He was benched early, regained his starting job, then lost it again. He had a six-penalty game against the Vikings, was a liability in run support and has a 114.3 passer rating against this year, according to Pro Football Reference. Jeff Okudah has been a revelation in his return from a torn Achilles. He had 15 tackles against the Cowboys and was a bright spot in losses to the Eagles and Dolphins, but had tough moments in coverage against D.K. Metcalf and Allen Lazard.
Beyond Oruwariye, the Lions have shuffled personnel at slot corner and safety. Mike Hughes lost his nickel job and has been better in a part-time role outside, AJ Parker fared little better inside and DeShon Elliott briefly lost his starting safety job because of his tendency to freelance. Will Harris was exposed as Oruwariye’s replacement, but seems more at home in the slot. And the Lions have missed Tracy Walker’s leadership in the back end. Rookie Kerby Joseph has two interceptions and two forced fumbles in five starts since Walker suffered a season-ending injury, but like the rest of the defense, the secondary is light on playmakers. Grade: D-minus
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Special teams
After finishing last season near the top of the NFL’s most respected special teams rankings, the Lions are now considered middle tier in the kicking game. Injuries and personnel issues have hindered their punt coverage, and poor kicking contributed to losses against Minnesota and Seattle.
Austin Seibert missed two long field goals in a four-point loss to the Vikings, and his replacement, Dominik Eberle, missed two extra points and sent a kickoff out of bounds vs. the Seahawks. Seibert re-tore the groin he injured last year. The Lions have since found some stability in Michael Badgley.
Jack Fox has punted well, though his net average is a career-low 40.5 yards, and he has handled kickoffs since Seibert’s release. The Lions rank second in the NFL in kick return average and continue to challenge opponents with fake punts. Fox has thrown for one first down and C.J. Moore has run for another. Charles Harris blocked an extra point vs. Washington. Grade: C
Coaching
Campbell has rightly caught grief for his 5-19-1 record. His win percentage (.220) is worse than Matt Patricia’s at the same stage of their Lions careers, and Pleasant was the second in-season coaching change made to his staff in two years.
There is no doubt Campbell cost his team the Vikings game with his decision to kick a 54-yard field goal rather than punt or try and convert on fourth-and-4, and he made two other critical game management mistakes that backfired in the first half of the season: The Lions never should have tried to convert a fourth-and-9 in the first half of a close game with the Patriots, and they mismanaged the clock at the end of the first half of their loss to the Eagles. Overall though, I approve of Campbell’s aggressive approach to fourth downs and think he has taken the right amount of risk on fake punts and challenge flags.
Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson has shown creativity in play calls and personnel packages while navigating injuries. The Lions schemed their way to a few big gains early in the season, and there have been more chunk plays available that Goff has not hit. Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn has not pulled the right levers to get his defense turned around, though he said he’s hopeful last week’s win can be a springboard. He was outmaneuvered by Seahawks offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, who broke tendency to gash the Lions for big plays, and he had no answers for Miami’s passing game.
Winning in the NFL is primarily a function of talent, so Campbell and his staff can only shoulder so much of the blame. The Lions are better than their record, though, and that’s a poor reflection on their coach. Grade: C-minus
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.