Tag: houston texans

Five Lions standouts from 24-17 preseason loss to Miami Dolphins

DETROIT — After the Lions dominated the Dolphins in two days of joint practices this week, the Dolphins showed up in their 24-17 preseason win at Ford Field on Saturday afternoon.

Both teams sat their starters, relying on second-and-third team players vying to make the roster cut.

“We had an opportunity to win at the end and we just weren’t able to finish out,’’ coach Dan Campbell said.
“You want to know you’re playing complementary football, it’s a big deal with me … As long as one of your units is keeping you alive you can weather the storm then we hit the rough patch in the fourth quarter,’’ he added.

The Lions led 14-7 at the half after touchdown throws from Kyle Allen to rookies Jackson Meeks and Isaac TeSlaa. Detroit was mostly shut out in the second half with Hendon Hooker at quarterback, although Jake Bates kicked a third-quarter field goal

“A lot of guys made some plays when they had the opportunity,’’ Campbell said. “Really the story for us as far as the loss is there were way too many penalties.’’

It’s an issue that will be on next week’s to-do list. The Lions had 13 penalties costing them 86 yards while the Dolphins had 9 for 60 yards.

Five Lions’ standouts in Saturday’s loss in no particular order:

ONE: Rookie WR Isaac TeSlaa, the home state kid who grew up a Lions fan, has gotten off to a quick start, proving the NFL isn’t too big for him. A third-round pick out of Arkansas, he has turned heads in training camp and did so again on Saturday finishing with 4 catches for 41 yards and a touchdown. It was his second TD in the last 2 games. In the first two preseason contests he had four catches for 64 yards. “(TeSlaa) continues to grow. (Jackson) Meeks has grown every day, every competitive setting he’s taken a step up and TeSlaa is the same way,’’ ‘Campbell said. “TeSlaa is continuing to grow, he’s getting more confident and he’s making more plays. Every time those (plays) happen you gain trust in those players.’’

TWO: Rookie WR Jackson Meeks, an undrafted free agent out of Syracuse, also had his second touchdown catch in the past 2 games to open Detroit’s scoring against the Dolphins. He hauled down a 11-yard TD catch on a fourth-and-7 play from Kyle Allen. He also provided a spark  in the fourth quarter with three catches for 36 yards. Overall he had seven receptions for 93 yards.

THREE: LB Grant Stuard, who was drafted with the final pick in the 2021 draft by Tampa Bay has also played with the Colts. He is easy to see on the field with his long mane hanging down his back. If that doesn’t give you a clue, just look for him near the ball on defense or special teams. Credit him for four solo tackles against the Dolphins, a forced fumble  and two kick returns for a total of 50 yards.

FOUR: Veteran QB Kyle Allen didn’t need Saturday’s game to tighten his grip on being the No. 2 quarterback, but his performance could not hurt. He played every offensive snap in the first half, completing 14 of 17 for 124 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Late in the second quarter, he headed the Lions two-minute drill that ended with an 18-yard touchdown catch to TeSlaa to give the Lions a 14-7 lead. 

Afterward Campbell noted that Allen is playing better than Hendon Hooker (who played in the second half.) “So I would say right now if you’re saying if you had to go in with a 2 right now who would you trust more, yeah I would use Kyle more because he’s proven more these past two games. We’re still going to coach Hooker up,’’ Campbell said.

FIVE: RB Sione Vaki, a second-year player, saw most of his action on special teams in 16 games in 2024. Along with his five rushes for 30 yards on Saturday, he forced a fumble on a punt. 

NEXT UP: The Lions (1-2) wrap up preseason action on Saturday, Aug. 23, against the Texans at 1 p.m. at Ford Field.

Lions look for more offensive efficiency in 2nd half of season

Dan Campbell, Jared Goff agree it’s an area of focus

ALLEN PARK — Walking off the field after the comeback win in Houston on Sunday, quarterback Jared Goff had a few words for coach Dan Campbell: “We’re just different.”

Campbell  agrees. The Lions are 8-1, own the best record in the NFC and show no signs of impending disaster despite a slew of injuries on defense. It’s a good place to be in, they know it and they’re fighting to maintain the same level of play.

“Every team is different, my notion is that the adversity we’re built for is different than every other team in the league,’’ Goff said on Wednesday. “I think I said it after the game, it truly is. There are a lot of good teams in our league but it would be hard-pressed to find some who have been through what the core group of this team has been through.’’

The 1-6 start of the 2022 season comes to mind.

Any game like that (in Houston) where you dig yourself in that big of a hole, knowing we’re built for that and built to come back in those instances,’’ Goff said.

What is the word for that type of resiliency? Oh yes, grit.

That does not mean there isn’t work to do.

Campbell said that offensive efficiency is one area of growth he’d like to see in the second half of the season. He’s seen efficiency in spurts but not consistent enough.

“ I’m not even talking about where you’re scoring touchdowns every time. You just want to get out there knowing you’re converting first down, first down, first down. Does that lead to a field goal or did you have to punt, but at least you’re moving the football because that gets us in a rhythm,’’ Campbell said on Wednesday.

He said some of that is the fundamentals.

“Don’t try to do too much early, let the game come to you and if we convert the next first down that gives us another three or four plays, convert the next one, get another three or four opportunities,’’ Campbell said. “Pretty soon we gain our momentum and we’re really good about that. I think that, in general, just getting our flow back a little bit. It’s not something I’m concerned with, but I feel it’s an area that I feel like we can improve and will improve.’’

Goff agrees with his coach. He had his worst game of the season throwing five interceptions in the win at Houston.

The last three games, the Lions have won beating the Titans 52-24, the Packers 24-14 and the Texans 26-23.

“I think the Tennessee game was somewhat of an outlier, when we weren’t in the red zone we weren’t really moving the ball down the field. Green Bay conditions and whatnot and we weren’t able to be as explosive as we wanted to and obviously last week (at Houston) wasn’t as explosive as we wanted,’’ Goff said. “He’s absolutely right. It starts this week for us.’’

It’s a good week to get the offense on a roll, playing Jacksonville (2-8) on Sunday at Ford Field. The Jaguars own the NFL’s worst total defense allowing 390 yards per game — 129 rushing and 261 passing.

Five reasons the Lions roared back in second half to top the Texans, 26-23

Lions kicker Jake Bates answered the bell and kicked two 50-yard plus field goals in the fourth quarter on Sunday night, including the 52-yard game winner.

With his leg, Bates led the Lions to a 26-23 win over the Texans in Houston. The Lions won their seventh straight game and improved to 8-1 while the Texans fell to 6-4.

The Lions were down 23-7 at the half and it wasn’t looking good from the outside. Inside the locker room they made adjustments at halftime, came out and played a gritty second half. It worked.

“Every team gets punched in the mouth and the good ones respond. We responded,’’ said quarterback Jared Goff who threw five interceptions and a pair of touchdowns.

Houston was coming off a loss to the Jets and was fired up in front of their home crowd which included many Detroit fans.

“We had to fight our way back in there. I’m proud of the guys. There are things that obviously we have to clean up, but our guys wouldn’t go away. For our defense to play the way they played, I thought our defense played good early, we just had one play here or one play there that hurt us,’’ Campbell said.

“Second half you come out it’s four punts, two picks and a missed field goal. That’s huge. We talked about it at halftime, we needed to get our takeaways. I knew we’d wake up on offense, it was just a matter of time,’’ the coach added. “Once we were able to pull within one score you felt now we’re starting to find our way.”

Campbell said after nine games he feels really good about his team. “They haven’t done anything that would surprise me negatively,’’ Campbell said.

Five main reasons why the Lions won:

ONE: Jake Bates, a hometown Houston kid, got a well-deserved game ball. Both of his long field goals were good by inches. Hey, they all count the same. Campbell was confident in Bates in part because at the end of practice Thursday they went through an end-of-game drill and Bates hit that field goal outdoors in the wind. “I felt he was going to make it,’’ Campbell said.

TWO: Jared Goff proved once again he has ice flowing through his veins. Despite the five interceptions (he had four in the first eight games), the quarterback hung in there. Credit the Texans’ defense for pressure on Goff. He led the Lions to score 19 unanswered points in the second half. “I honestly didn’t feel like I was playing all that bad, I was seeing things well, I was throwing it well. I had some unfortunate things happen early,’’ Goff said. “I’ve been through a whole lot worse than that. I’ve been to the bottom mentally, some unlucky plays aren’t going to throw me off my game.’’

THREE: It was a sloppy game for both sides. The Lions had five giveaways and just two takeaways. A minus-3 ratio in turnovers doesn’t often lead to wins in the NFL. Carlton Davis III had both of the Lions interceptions, his first career two-interception game. 

FOUR: While WR Amon-Ra St. Brown was double-covered most of the game, he had six catches for 60 yards and a touchdown. The biggest reception was on third-and-6 on the last possession when he caught a 11-yarder for the first down. Three plays later Bates kicked the game-winner. 

FIVE: It was a total team defense. Campbell said he challenged the defensive line during the week to step up and help the secondary which has been playing solid football. They held the quarterback C.J. Stroud and the Texans scoreless in the second half, after allowing 23 points in the first half. Detroit’s defense had seven tackles for loss including two sacks in the first half so they weren’t playing horribly to start, just a few big plays including a 41-yard pass interference penalty hurt them. Alim McNeill, Josh Paschal and Pat O’Connor each sacked C.J. Stroud. Safety Brian Branch finished with two pass defenses, a tackle for loss, a quarterback hit and a team-high 10 tackles.

BONUS: A close, sloppy win like this can pay dividends down the road and perhaps in the playoffs. In the second half, the Lions dug deep and found what kind of team they were. 

NEXT UP: Jacksonville Jaguars (2-8) at Lions (8-1), 1 p.m. on Sunday at Ford Field.