Tag: Aaron Glenn

Five things to watch as Lions face Bears; plus injury updates, prediction

Despite a few reports to the contrary, the sky has not fallen for the Lions following a 48-42 loss to the Buffalo Bills. 

Coming up on the short side is just a new phenomena for Detroit which hadn’t lost a game since September.

Heading to play the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on Sunday, the Lions look to keep alive their streak on no back-to-back losses in more than two years.The last time they lost two straight was in October 2022.

It hasn’t happened by accident. 

“You have to identify the issues and you have to attack the next preparation for the opponent, there’s got to be a level of urgency that is extremely high and you have to want to get that taste out of your mouth so bad, the taste of losing, that you’ll do anything it takes to prep yourself and you’re going to play at the highest level that you played all season,’’ coach Dan Campbell said.

He explained that the magic combination includes mindset, preparation and work ethic.

“It’s really that simple. It’s not anything else – I know this, you overreact on one, that’s not good either,’’ Campbell said.

While the Ford Field atmosphere is among the best in the NFL, the Lions have not lost a road game yet this season.

“Our job is to go play football and that’s what we’re going to continue to do. We lost two games, we have a chance to win out and accomplish everything that we want to accomplish,’’ defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said. “So why should we sit back and wallow and think that the sky is falling? It’s dumb.”

Five things to watch:

ONE: Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams  threw three touchdown passes in the second half of their first matchup which the Lions won, 23-20. Glenn said the key is to disguise coverages better because Williams is still learning to read defenses.  “I think he’s playing really good football, and he just continues to get better. He’s taken a few hits, but he just continues to stand in there and push the ball down the field,’’ Campbell said. “He’s mobile, as we know, he can break contain, he keeps his eyes downfield. So, he’s a young quarterback in this League that is really continuing to improve and he’s got plenty of weapons.

TWO: The Lions defense has struggled with all the injuries and that includes a lack of takeaways. While the Bears are winless in their last eight games, in that stretch Williams has not thrown an interception. For the season he has 17 touchdowns and just five picks. “We have really a couple game drought of takeaways right now and that’s got to be a part of our identity. So, we have to get back to what we do and the way that we play because that’s how you give yourself the best opportunity to get takeaways. So, to be able to put some pressure on him and try to force him into making some decisions that are ill-advised, that’s big and that’s big for any opponent that you go against,’’ Campbell said.

THREE: With RB David Montgomery out with a knee injury, Jahmyr Gibbs is expected to carry a heavier load. He’ll have help from either Jermar Jefferson, Craig Reynolds or Sione Vaki. “(Gibbs) brings the explosive element, he’s getting better in the pass game, and then you see what he’s able to do in the run game, so we have a ton of confidence,’’ Campbell said. “I think for him it’s going to be, we’ve got to use and maximize the reps that we have for him, and be careful that we don’t give him too much. Last week the Lions had a season-low 48 rushing yards. Improving that number is an emphasis against the Bears. 

FOUR: In the loss to the Bills, the Lions were down 14-0 in the first quarter. The offense managed just one first down in their first two possessions. So a quick start is another emphasis this week. “Coming from behind, it’s not impossible, but it’s hard. I think we put ourselves behind the eight ball a little bit, so yeah, starting fast and making sure we can get a lead is always great, obviously,’’ Goff said. “But yeah, you just want to keep that game close and stay in it until the very end, and unfortunately, we weren’t able to finish it off.”

FIVE: It’s a rare outdoor game for the Lions. They’ve been preparing for playing at Soldier Field by holding practices outdoors this week. “It brings a different level of juice to those guys outside. The bigs love it, we’ve got a lot of skill guys out there that are running around that enjoy it too,’’ Campbell said. “But yeah, I think that it fits us very well and I think it’ll be good for us out there.” Goff said he looks forward to playing at Lambeau and Soldier Field every season. The forecast calls for a high of 31 with partly cloudy skies. Not bad for Chicago in December..

LIONS INJURY UPDATE: RB David Montgomery (knee) and LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin (neck) are out; DB Brian Branch (calf), G Graham Glasgow (knee) and S Ifeatu Melifonwu (hand) are questionable.

BEARS INJURY UPDATE: OL Ryan Bates (concussion) is out; RB Travis Homer (hamstring) is doubtful; DB Jaylon Johnson (illness), DL Gervon Dexter Sr. (knee), OL Teven Jenkins (calf) and OL Braxton Jones (concussion) are questionable.

PREDICTION: Lions 35, ,Bears 27.

Super Bowl preview? Five things to watch as Lions welcome Bills

In what could be a Super Bowl preview, the Detroit Lions (12-1) host the Buffalo Bills (10-3) at Ford Field on Sunday.

It’s a good angle but not one that the Lions are emphasizing.

“The head coach said it best early this week, we have earned a spot in the tournament based on what we’ve done thus far. We still need to win the division, we still want to get the No. 1  seed, and everything will play out from there. But that’s all way too far out in the future right now,’’ offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said.

While the Bills, who lead the AFC East, are coming off a loss to the Rams, the Lions have won 11 straight despite having 13 defensive players on injured reserve.

No excuses, the Lions just march forward and keep winning.

“This whole year has felt like he’s preparing this club for these type of moments. Not just these type of moments but moments like fourth-and-1 where we were all excited when it happened and when it went down because we understand what we’ve been prepared to do,’’ Lions running backs coach Scottie Montgomery said.

“Coaches, players, administration, everybody we’re on the same page so we understand what’s going on. We’re happy to be in these moments and our guys understand the reason this is a big game is because they’re in it. That’s one big part – it wouldn’t be a big football game if we weren’t playing at a certain level,’ he added.

Coach Dan Campbell said the Lions need to be playing their best football.

“You don’t know what it’s going to take to beat the team that you’re getting ready to play. You don’t know what that’s going to be. We know that this is a good football team, I don’t know what it’s going to take. We know that Green Bay is a damn good team. We did just enough, but you don’t know what it’s going to take with the rest of these teams down the line and you don’t know exactly who’s going to be in, you don’t know – and so are you willing to say that it’s good enough right now? I’m not,’’ Campbell said. “I don’t want to take that chance, so we have to clean some things up and we will.”

Five things to watch:

ONE: The Lions running game was not up to standard in the win over Green Bay. Running backs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs had one of their less productive games but it is not all on them. “You’re going to get four or five opportunities in a game where everything is blocked correctly – everything the perimeter, center, the interior – those have to be explosives. I’m not saying that happened this week but we have got to continue to make sure it happens,’’ running backs coach Scottie Montgomery said. “Then when there’s a 4-yard run you have to be able to get 5.’’ 

TWO: The defensive line welcomes back four who have been injured which will help in pressuring quarterback Josh Allen and  stopping running back James Cook. Alim McNeill, Levi Onwuzurike, Josh Paschal and D.J. Reader are all a go for Sunday.  “We’re going to put a lot on our defense this week. Our defense and special teams are going to play a critical factor in this game,’’ Campbell said. “So, yeah, it’s critical, but it’s going to take all three phases here and I expect our defense to play well.”

THREE: Lions secondary faces challenge in Josh Allen who has completed 64.1 percent of his passes and thrown just five interceptions against 23 touchdowns. Allen’s mobility is also something to watch. “I think they have an offense to where, man, they are distributing the ball to a number of different people, and I know they’re going to get some people back this week who are a huge part of their offense, so that’s going to be something we have to be ready for, also,’’ Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said. “But, man, this quarterback, he’s an MVP-caliber guy, there’s no doubt about that, and we know that. But we’re going to go out there and do everything we can to stop what he’s trying to do. It’s going to be a tough challenge and we know it.”

FOUR: Quarterback Jared Goff has kept the offense running smoothly so far and needs to keep going against the Billls. Goff and Ben Johnson work closely each week to help develop the game plan. “The things that he’s most comfortable with usually work on game days, so we want to give him a lot of liberty early in the week, ‘Hey, I think we can get a post if we do this or that.’ And we’ll try to find a way to make that an alert for him if we can call it against the right coverage,’’ Johnson said. “So, it’s just, call it an hour every day over the course of the week. We’ve got a good process right now from Monday to Sunday that we just keep pressing the reset button every week. We can’t get tired of it. But he’s doing a great job of that.”

FIVE: Lions must continue success on third downs.They’re ranked fourth best in the NFL while the Bills third down defense is near the bottom at 25th. In the win over the Packers, Detroit was four of five on fourth downs, they may be just as aggressive on Sunday while waiting for some key defensemen to heal up and get back in the game. 

LIONS INJURY UPDATE: LB Trevor Nowaske (concussion) is out. All others, who are not on injured reserve, are cleared.

BILLS INJURY UPDATE:CB Rasul Douglas is out. OL Tylan Grable, S Damar Hamlin, TE Dalton Kincaid, TE Quintin MOrris, S Taylor Rapp, DE Dawuane Smoot, LB Baylon Spector and DE Casey Toohill are questionable.

PREDICTION: Lions 35, Bills 31

Injury-depleted Lions find a way to beat the Packers, 34-31

Five reasons Detroit pulled out the big division win

DETROIT — All grit, no excuses.

The Detroit Lions are the team that always seems to find a way to win. They did it again on Thursday night, defeating the Green Bay Packers, 34-31, with a game-winning field goal by Jake Bates.

But make no mistake it was a total team effort. The Lions are now 12-1 and have won 11 straight and are 4-0 in the NFC North. 

With the win, they clinched a playoff berth which coach Dan Campbell wasn’t aware of until after his post-game talk with the team.

“I love the fact that we just find a way. The narrative going in, we weren’t buying any of this stuff about where we were at, no excuses,’’ Campbell said. “Our guys knew where we were at, they don’t need to talk about being tough, they don’t need to talk about being resilient, we live it. It’s what we are. We just proved it again.’’

The Packers fell to 9-4 and are in third place in the division behind the Lions and the Vikings (10-2). It was the Lions’ second win over Green Bay – they beat them 24-14 on Nov. 3.

“I told the team this will be one you’ll never forget,’’ Campbell said.

Not many will.

Five of the reasons the Lions won:

ONE: Campbell knew going in that the offense was going to have to carry the load. So it wasn’t really a surprise that they went 4-of-5 on fourth down plays, including two touchdown passes on fourth and short. “Look, the guys knew, the players knew, the coaches knew, don’t ride the wave we can be up two scores, we can be down two scores but just because we’re one or the other we have to play our style of game. That meant the risk was there,’’ Campbell said. 

TWO: Despite having 13 defensive players on injured reserve, coordinator Aaron Glenn put together an effective game plan even with players who were acquired on the weekend. “We wanted the defense to let it loose, just go play. Effort, finish. Man, they did that. God, they did that,’’ Campbell said. “Helluva job by AG, those guys just laid it on the line. We call them the Northern Savages.’’

THREE: Wide receiver Tim Patrick has played well all season but until Thursday he had not caught a touchdown. And, in the win, he caught two of them. “What a great addition he’s been. He just continues to make plays for us in the run game and the pass game, stepped up big here,’’ Campbell said. 

FOUR: Jared Goff was steady even after throwing an interception that led to a Packers’ touchdown three plays later. Going for it on fourth down? He loved it that the coach showed his faith in the offense. “Bigger than anything, that’s all you want from a head coach is to believe in you,’’ Goff said. 

FIVE: Running backs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs once again provided the foundation for the offense. Montgomery carried 14 times for 51 yards including a touchdown and also caught five passes for 33 yards. Gibbs carried 15 times for 43 yards and caught six passes for 30 yards including a touchdown. Gibbs surpassed 1,000 rushing yards for the first time in his career. 

UP NEXT: The Buffalo Bills (10-2) at the Lions (12-1), 4:25 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 15.