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Five things to watch as Lions face Commanders; plus prediction

The second week in the NFL can’t produce a must-win game. However the Lions need a win over the Commanders to get to 1-1. When losses snowball it’s never a good thing, ask any Lions fan.

The Lions played in front of a raucous and loud crowd in their opening loss to the Eagles. They want to keep the fans in the game and winning is a surefire way to accomplish that.

Coach Dan Campbell said he’s not talking about winning to the team.

“I’m talking about playing better, and let’s clean up our details. Because if we do, that winning is a byproduct of that. That’s got to be our sole focus, and so man, let’s just play better than we played last week,’’ Campbell said. “To a man, let’s coach better. I’ve got to coach better, our coordinators have got to coach better, the position coaches, and the player’s got to play better. And if we’ll just – everyone of us get a little bit better and clean up these issues, and the same issues that have bitten us or bit us last week, they don’t show up again, we’ll be that much better. That’s all we’ve got to worry about.”

Here are five things to watch as the favored Lions (0-1) face the Commanders (1-0):

1. The offensive line injury woes continue. Center Frank Ragnow (groin) has been ruled out and likely will be replaced by Evan Brown. Left guard Jonah Jackson (finger) was downgraded to doubtful on Saturday. And remember, starting right guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai (back) was placed on IR before the opener. He was replaced by Logan Stenberg who had a rough first series but calmed down. Stenberg could line up at right guard again or shift to left guard. It’s likely Drew Forbes, who has been with the Lions for two weeks, will start at one of the guard spots. Campbell said the rash of O-line injuries changes what they do a bit. “Just the style at which we need to play and you just – you will have to shift the burden a little bit, other places of the load to other places on our team, which is OK. It’s what we got to do. It’s what we’re charged with,’’ Campbell said. Last season the five O-line starters never played together in one of the 17 games due to injuries.

2. In his second game in this new offense, quarterback Jared Goff needs to step up. The offense seemed to find a rhythm in the second half on Sunday against the Eagles when the Lions scored three touchdowns.There was plenty to like last week.Goff threw both of his touchdowns on third downs. “I think the stuff that we loved was we scored every time we got in the red zone and we were really efficient on third down. And typically those numbers are resulting in wins and ultimately, this one didn’t,’’ Goff said this week. “But I think if we can continue that trend, it’ll be good for us.”

3. The defense struggled more than the offense giving up 38 points to the Eagles. Of course Washington quarterback Carson Wentz is not as mobile as Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts which should make a huge difference. Rookie Aidan Hutchinson is expected to take another step in his development (he wasn’t bad in his debut, but perhaps more was expected). Cornerback Jeff Okudah, coming back from a torn Achilles in the opener a year ago, impressed, finishing second in tackles with 10.

4. Running back D’Andre Swift sparked the offense against the Eagles with 144 of the Lions 181 rushing yards. Swift (ankle) is on the injury report and listed as questionable, but should be able to go. Will he be 100 percent? Not likely. Still the Lions need to be able to count on the running attack. “It’s helpful for any passing attack. I think it’s a quarterback’s best friend when you can have that and have the play-action off of it and the keeper’s stuff off of it, the roll outs and whatnot,’’ Goff said. “So, it’s super helpful and it’s fun to watch Swift take off too..” If Swift is gimpy, Jamaal Williams can help pick up the slack.

5. Perhaps you’ve heard this from previous seasons and coaches, the Lions need to finish. This team is better than last year’s bunch but there’s a long way to go. The Lions were down 17 points in the third quarter on Sunday, but the comeback came up 3 points short. It’s all in the details.

PREDICTION: Lions 27, Commanders 21. The Lions know this is a big home game against a beatable opponent.

Lions Hank Fraley leans on experience dealing with rash of injuries

ALLEN PARK — Hank Fraley had a good story to tell about his offensive line group.

The Lions offensive line coach said when they came off the field after the first possession in Sunday’s loss to the Eagles, his focus was on right guard Logan Stenberg who was a first-time NFL starter, filling in for the injured Halipoulivaati Vaitai.

In that first series, Stenberg was whistled for back-to-back false starts.

His offensive line teammates had his back.

“Logan jumped off twice, you can’t imagine how pissed off I was. We have to stay even keeled. We can’t go up, we can’t go down. If we do that as an O-line you’re going to fold. We get emotional and all that,’’ Fraley said on Wednesday.

“You’ve got to love the O-line when they’re coming off. I’m just eyeing Logan — and we scored so it was a little different — we were up 7-0. The vets running by me said, ‘Let him go.’ That’s what you have to love about the group. ‘That’s our guy, let him go.’ OK, (so I) just told him don’t let it happen again and he didn’t (for) the rest of the game. I would say they’re very close as a unit,’’ said the coach who was an NFL center for 11 seasons.

“It’s all about comfort. Once I settled down and got comfortable I played a really good game. I was excited to see that on film,’’ Stenberg said.

Fraley needs this group to remain close because while they’re preparing for just their second game, they’ve been dealing with injury woes.

Starting right guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai underwent back surgery this week and it’s uncertain how many games he will miss. Fraley has texted with him since the surgery and said he’s in great spirits and told him he’ll be ready to go.

“I can’t wait for him. He’s great for the room too. He’s the big teddy bear in the room,’’ Fraley said. “Big V is the loose, childish kind of guy that we love in our room. Every O-line room needs one and that’s him. … It’s a big loss.’’

While center Frank Ragnow played every snap on Sunday he has been dealing with a sore groin. He sat out practice on Wednesday. It’s uncertain if he’ll be ready to go on Sunday against the Washington Commanders.

“(Frank) makes you proud, that’s what you want all your guys to do – across the team. Who knows what his percentage was, how healthy he was. He battled, he had a mistake here and there but he plays physical, he’s a leader, he wasn’t going to come out of the game,’’ Fraley said. “It was fun to see him battle through it. You want that in the middle, his leadership, his mind, his focus, his control.’’

Three other offensive linemen appeared on Wednesday’s practice report. Left tackle Taylor Decker (calf) and guard Tommy Kraemer (back) did not practice. Left guard Jonah Jackson (finger) had limited practice.

From Fraley’s comments, Stenberg will start again at right guard on Sunday against the Commanders. Fraley’s been there which gives him a better understanding of Stenberg’s situation.

In fact, in his first NFL start with the Eagles in 2001, Fraley fumbled the ball on the exchange to quarterback Donovan McNabb.

“Let’s see what he does from here. I take myself to my first start, there’s a lot I had to clean up,’’ Fraley said. “So he’ll clean it up and we’ll see it from there. I’m excited for him, he gets to write another chapter in his book, chapter 2, week 2.’’

(Commanders (1-0) at Lions (0-1) at 1 p.m. on Sunday at Ford Field. Game will air on FOX with Kenny Albert and Jonathan Vilma on the call and Shannon Spake on the sidelines.)

Five Lions’ positives taken from opening loss to Eagles

ALLEN PARK — After watching film of the Lions 38-35 loss to the Eagles on Monday, coach Dan Campbell said he felt better than he did right after the game at Ford Field.

That’s a positive sign and not the only one.

1. Running back D’Andre Swift could not have played much better with 144 rushing yards and a touchdown, and three catches for 31 yards. “It goes without saying Swift is special and we know that. Just getting him his touches, he’s the one, he’s the one that’s the secret sauce,’’ Campbell said. “He can turn routine plays into explosive plays that will hurt you if you’re the opponent.’’

2. Rookie linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez, a fan favorite already, had a solid start. “All in all I thought he did a nice job, there’s a couple plays I know he wishes he could have back,’’ Campbell said. “For a rookie who went in and played a substantial role for us I thought he did a nice job. He was physical, he was aggressive, zeros MA’s (missed assignments) he was on top of it. That was good to see. Now we need more out of special teams from him which we’ll get.’’

3. Campbell made a point to mention the fans. “That place was fricking booming. They keep doing that, that gives us a great chance,’’ Campbell said. Seweel said the crowd noise was so loud that at one point he couldn’t hear quarterback Jared Goff and had to kneel down in the huddle to block out the noise. He was not complaining, by the way.

4. Right tackle Penei Sewell said the difference in the offense is night and day from last season. That starts with Goff who threw one interception in the first half but found a groove in the second half. “There were some rough moments early but I loved the way he responded in the second half to get us back into it. I thought he settled in and did some really good things, he gave us a chance. I was very confident when we get this ball back we’re going to go down and win this game. I felt very good about where we were at offensively with him,’’ Campbell said.

5. Rookie defensive lineman Aidan Hutchinson had his ups and downs and notched just one tackle on the stat sheet despite playing 90 percent of the defensive snaps. Campbell is not worried. “The takeaway I had, and I think we all had, was ‘OK, This is what it’s like, this is it. This is the true taste of the NFL and adjusting to that caliber of athlete in a full game,’’’ Campbell said. “Now, there are certainly some things to where it looks like he’s got to make that play, but he needs a little help too. … Honestly I’m not even worried about him, he’s going to adjust from this. He’s prideful, he’s a pro. We already know that about him as a rookie I think we all do. He’s going to want to better himself, he’s going to learn from this and he will be better.’’

(Up next: Washington Commanders (1-0) at Lions (0-1), at 1 p.m. on Sunday at Ford Field.)