Lions Lowdown

ALLEN PARK — Lions wide receiver Marvin Jones spent the first four seasons of his NFL career playing for the Bengals. So it will be a homecoming of sort when the Lions play at Cincinnati on Sunday.

He downplayed the significance.

“I’m just going to see a couple friends I have there, but other than that there’s no significance,’’ Jones said. “Not nostalgic or anything, it will be cool to go there and just play.’’

Jones is just 30 yards shy of his first 1,000 receiving yards season. Since he averages 69.2 receiving yards per game, there’s a good chance he’ll reach that milestone on Sunday against the Bengals.

(Photo courtesy of Detroit Lions)

“It’s always a milestone for a receiver to go over a thousand, I’m looking forward to it,’’ Jones said.

After 14 games he has 54 catches for 970 yards (a career high) and eight touchdowns.

Since he signed with the Lions as a free agent in 2016, Jones and Matthew Stafford have developed a solid connection.

“Marv’s put a lot of work in. I think our system and the system he came from in Cincinnati is quite a bit different, and he did a great job of adjusting, putting the work in. And then, on Sundays he just goes out there and makes plays,’’ Stafford said on Wednesday. “I’m giving him chances on certain throws, and he’s going up and making me right more often than not. So, it’s nice to have.”

The most recent example was a 58-yard completion on third-and-18 in Saturday’s 20-10 win over the Bears. He wasn’t paying attention to anything around him.

“Just go get the ball, that’s it. Locating the ball, running as fast as I can to go meet it and just catch it,’’ Jones said.

“I wasn’t really worried whoever was behind me, I just said I have to get up and get it. I jumped early so I had to wait. That’s kind of what I thought. I jumped early I just had to stay up there for a little bit,’’ Jones said.

He said that was a ball only Matthew Stafford could throw.

“Whenever he breaks out of the pocket, I’m looking and I say, ‘OK.’ I just put my head down, I run, I look up and there it goes,’’ Jones said. “… I see his eyes and I just take off.”

Coach Jim Caldwell has commented through this season about how hard Jones worked to improve in the offseason.

“I think just precision and his route running has gotten a whole lot better, and with that has come separation at the top of routes and all that kind of stuff, the better you get at running them. And like I said, some of the routes that we’re asking him to run here are probably different than what he had done in the past, so it took some time, and some effort, and some concentration, and focus on those details and he’s done a nice job with that,’’ Stafford said.

So it just makes sense that Stafford has developed more confidence in Jones who had 55 catches for 930 yards and four touchdowns in 2016.

“I think the more and more you play with guys the more you understand their body language at the top of routes and whether or not they can win,’’ Stafford said. “And I’m getting that with all of our guys at the moment, so just trying to continue to put the ball in a good spot, let those guys go and make plays like they’re doing.’’

BONUS: Wide receiver T.J. Jones was placed on injured reserve after injuring his shoulder on Saturday. He’s being replaced on the roster by wide receiver Andy Jones, who spent time on the Lions’ practice squad. Of course, they join Marvin Jones. Apparently it’s key for the Lions to have two receivers named Jones.

 

ALLEN PARK — If  Matthew Stafford is sacked twice in the final two games, it will tie his career record for being taken down.

Not exactly what GM Bob Quinn was thinking when he made the offensive line a priority last spring by signing veterans Rick Wagner and T.J. Lang.

Injuries happen and certainly the Lions’ offensive line has had more than its share in the first 15 weeks.

It’s difficult to keep track of who is where to start each game and then, typically, it’s not the same group that is on the field when the game wraps.

(Photo courtesy of Detroit Lions)

Graham Glasgow has been the only lineman to start all 14 games so far and he’s moved from left guard to center in two games.

Joe Dahl got his first significant playing time this season on Sunday, starting for Glasgow at left guard. He just came off injured reserve last week.

“Joe did some good things out there, and he hung in there pretty well,’’ coach Jim Caldwell said.

Center Travis Swanson (concussion) and right tackle Rick Wagner (ankle) were out and it’s too early to know if they will return on Sunday at Cincinnati.

“I’ve got to give credit to Ron Prince who does a great job with them. I mean, we’ve had more guys in and out on our line than probably as much as anyone I would assume,’’ Caldwell said on Monday. “But what he does and what the rest of our guys do, they just face the challenge. They prepare extremely hard. Even though a guy may not have gotten a whole lot of playing time previously, we treat him as if he’s supposed to play well and supposed to handle whoever he faces like a guy like (Akiem) Hicks, who’s as good as they come up front last week. But I think it’s attitude, determination in terms of their preparation, and the fight of the young men who’s plays for us. So, I think all of those things play a part in it.”

The line is not responsible for all of the sacks, but the blame falls on their shoulders for plenty of them.

Stafford was sacked a career-high 45 times in 2014 and will match that mark with two more sacks.

Only Indianapolis Colts quarterback Jacoby Brissett has been sacked more often — he’s gone down 49 times.

Only Tom Brady (4,163 yards) and Ben Roethlisberger (4,025) have passed for more yards than Stafford (3,920). Brady had been sacked 31 times, it’s only 21 for Roethlisberger.

In Sunday’s 20-10 win over the Bears, the LIons’ offensive line featured the ninth configuration of starters in 14 games with left tackle Taylor Decker, Dahl at left guard, Glasgow at center, right guard T.J. Lang and right tackle Corey Robinson.

The line also of course opens up gaps for the run game which has been another issue with the Lions this year.

Caldwell admitted that depending who is starting on the offensive line, they may adjust the play-calling.

“There’s certain things you do that you may not – I think what you have to try to do is try to make certain that you know thyself and then make adjustments accordingly, which we do,’’ Caldwell said. “I mean, that’s at a number of different spots. When you’re up front, there’s some guys that pull better than other guys, so how many times you pull a guy that depends upon how well he does his job. Now, it’s something that you’re always trying to improve upon, but we still try to make certain that we’re judicious and try to be prudent in selection of plays with certain individuals.”

The Bengals defense has sacked opponents 38 times which is tied for seventh most in the NFL. It will be another test for the Lions offensive line whoever it is that may play on Sunday.

DETROIT — In the last three games, Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford has completed 85 of 106 passes for an 81.8 completion percentage.

That’s astronomical.

And Stafford offered a Stafford-like answer on his accomplishment.

“I’m throwing it, they’re catching it,’’ Stafford said.

Perhaps there is a little more to it.

“Matthew has been on a tear lately, playing well, he’s been playing well for a while. He hangs in there, delivers the ball. he’s got some receivers making plays for him,’’ coach Jim Caldwell said. “That catch by Marvin Jones and a couple of the guys making some things happen for him.’’

Jones was on the receiving end of a beauty of a Stafford pass that flew 58 yards.

Stafford was 25 of 33 for 237 yards and a pair of touchdowns in Saturday’s 20-10 win over the Chicago Bears.

(Photo courtesy of Detroit Lions)

Five thoughts from Stafford following the game:

1. The quarterback said trust is the key to the offense. “I mean, I think that’s the key to success on offense, is having trust in each other. You know, I put a couple up to Kenny (Golladay) today, he made a great catch on one. He got called for OPI (offensive pass interference), but great play. And then the one to Marv was an exceptional play,’’ Stafford said. He completed passes to eight guys.

2. The Lions ran the ball for 77 yards in the first half, then just 14 in the second half. Still a decent effort for the Lions whose run game ranks at the bottom of the NFL charts.

“I think we plan to go out there and try and run it every game, you know? And our guys up front were doing a good job of moving them, our backs were finding some seams and just getting that extra yard. You know, we didn’t have any – I don’t think we had any big, big runs today, but guys were getting four (yards) on first down and, you know, getting seven there on second down, whatever it was,’’ Stafford said. “We did a nice job being efficient running the ball. Our guys did a good job. Like I said, getting hats on hats, letting our backs fall forward, all that is a positive for us.”

3. Tight end Eric Ebron, who has been playing well since the bye week, had another good game with five catches for 33 yards including an 8-yard  touchdown pass in the third quarter.

“The first one i overshot. I wish I had that one back, check at the line, I got a good check to him. I just missed it,’’ Stafford said. “Frustrated at that one and wanted to come back to him and give him a chance. I think you slide a piece of paper under his feet and he went up and got it.’’

4. Stafford was sacked four times in part because the offensive line was banged up and patched up. Center Travis Swanson and right tackle Rick Wagner were out. Right guard T.J. Land went out in the first half.

“Yeah, I mean, that’s a tough (defensive) front, too. I mean, those guys are big and physical on the inside. They make it tough to run the ball, they’re good pass rushers, too,’’ Stafford said. “So our guys did a great job, you know, hung together, hung tough, communicated well and we got the win.”

5. After four interceptions in the past four games, Stafford was able to protect the ball against the Bears. “It’s a tough balance. You know, I mean, there’s going to be times where there are going to be throws that I wish I had back and there’s going to be other times where I make great plays,’’ Stafford said. “So, you know, I think it’s just trying to be as calculated as you can with those chances that you’re going to take and understanding the game situation as much as possible helps.”