Houston, we have a problem: Detroit Lions ‘unleashed’ rookie sack-machine on Thanksgiving

Detroit Free Press

Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell made an announcement a few days before playing the Buffalo Bills.

“Houston — we have a problem!” Campbell said, while informing his team that James Houston, a practice squad linebacker, was going to get elevated and make his NFL on Thanksgiving Day.

“He’s an animal,” Chase Lucas, a fellow rookie, said.

“He doesn’t seem like a problem,” I said.

“Nope,” Lucas said. “He’s the problem for everybody else.”

Well put.

Houston recorded two sacks, becoming the first player in franchise history to log a multi-sack game in his NFL debut. He also added a fumble recovery — in his very first NFL play.

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“Thanksgiving, national television, in Detroit, 60,000 — it was great,” he said. “I loved it. I think I loved it a little bit too much. I was a little bit too excited and started cramping up. But I’m very thankful and grateful like that God put me in this position.”

Yes, the Lions lost 28-25 because of a long list of mistakes — the kind you can’t make against a Super Bowl contender: missing a field goal, taking a sack in the end zone, committing a boneheaded roughing-the-passer penalty that lead to a touchdown, mixing in questionable time management and blowing a chance to score a TD late when Jared Goff heaved a horrible pass to a wide open DJ Chalk.

And that is one story from this Thanksgiving Day loss.

But I took away something else. I saw several young players play outstanding. Or continue to impress. And in the big picture, that is encouraging. That’s the bright spot in this mistake-filled loss.

Houston “has some special pass rush abilities that we’ve been seeing for weeks,” Alex Anzalone said of Houston. “Just trying to find a way to get him up. He definitely capitalized on his opportunities and they were not ready for him. It’s fun to watch when young guys like that get an opportunity and capitalize on it.”

Youth movement

The Lions have been trying to get Houston, a sixth-round NFL draft pick last spring, onto the field but haven’t had a chance.

“Houston did a good job,” Campbell said. “We’ve been excited about getting him up. We’ve been looking to try and work it out for a while now and it just hadn’t worked out maneuvering through the roster. You know, we knew we needed a little rush and we thought he could provide that. You don’t think the first game he’s going to get straight off there will be two sacks. But some of the things he’s able to do doesn’t surprise us. Good to get him up.”

And it’s just the latest example of rookies who have had a fantastic performance for the Lions.

Aidan Hutchinson, one of two first-round picks, didn’t do much against the Bills — he didn’t record a single stat. But he was coming off being named the NFC Defensive player of the Week.

Safety Kerby Joseph, the third-rounder who was the player of the week earlier this season, was credited with six tackles.

Malcolm Rodriguez, the other sixth-rounder, made a great play, blowing up a screen. And he also caused a turnover, leaping high in the air, tipping a pass and it was intercepted by Anzalone. Rodriguez had six tackles, including a tackle for a loss.

Tight end James Mitchell, the fifth-round pick, had a catch for 22 yards.

And Jameson Williams, the other first-rounder, still hasn’t played, and second-rounder Josh Paschal was hurt.

So while the Lions played the Bills tough, there’s more talent coming.

“We got a lot of really good young guys on our team,” Houston said. “I feel like our whole team is really, really young. And I feel like that that gives us a lot of opportunity to continue to get better and continue to learn and grow with each other.”

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Prime-time advice

You want to know who gets the credit for Houston playing defensive end?

It was Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, the Jackson State coach, who suggested Houston move from middle linebacker to the edge.

“Deion was the start,” Houston said. “I probably would never be playing D-end, rushing the passer or anything like that without Deion.”

Houston was a middle linebacker at Florida. But Sanders saw an NFL edge rusher.

The Lions did, too.

“We had a talk and it was like, if you want to go to the NFL, I feel like this is gonna be your shot,” Houston said.

He is the first to admit that he wasn’t ready earlier this season.

He has grown and developed. And that might be the most important part of this story.

At least in the long term.

The Lions front office saw potential, and the coaching staff figured out a way to pull it out of him in his first NFL game.

“They unleashed me today and it showed,” Houston said.

Unleashed a problem for the Bills.

And that’s encouraging.

You want to know the only problem now?

The Lions gotta figure out a way to keep him on the field.

Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @seideljeff.

To read his recent columns, go to www.freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel.

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