Tag: kalif raymond

Lions Dan Campbell credits Ravens, says 38-6 loss was self-induced

Five reasons the Lions were embarrassed; with injury updates

Until Sunday at Baltimore, the Lions prided themselves on playing complementary football. The 5-1 record was a result of solid play by all three units. If needed one would step up when the other faltered. Under Dan Campbell they were poised no matter the situation.

It was all different on Sunday when the Ravens pounded the Lions, 38-6, in a smackdown that no one saw coming. The Ravens were a slight favorite but most expected a close, hard-fought game. Not a total embarrassment.

“It’s self-induced. Those guys played well, they kicked our ass. It’s a credit to them. Lamar (Jackson) beat us, he hammered us with his arm. He threw the ball extremely well, he ran when he needed to and we did not handle it well,’’ Campbell said. “Our energy was good which was crazy but our detail and discipline which has been so good over the last 4-5 weeks was not good enough. 

“Self-induced that was a combination of a lot of different things. Just like we win as a team, we lose as a team and that was one of those,’’ the coach added.

The offense’s first two series were three-and-outs while the Ravens scored touchdowns on their two possessions. It’s a hard recipe to overcome. Baltimore led 28-0 at the half.

“Offensively we never got in a rhythm early. They were playing with house money, you get up by a certain portion in that game then they’re kind of doing whatever they want to do,’’ Campbell said. “They’re out of their tendencies because why not.’’

So now the Lions are 5-2, still in first place in the NFC North, and they’ve got an extra day to prepare for the Las Vegas Raiders who they will play on Monday Night Football on Oct. 30 at Ford Field.

Campbell said last week this team would go through a rough patch and the true test would be how they handle it. He echoed the same thought after the loss.

“You don’t want these (losses) to happen, when it does it re-centers you, it refocuses you. And that’s all I know. I don’t want it to happen, nobody wants it to happen,’’ Campbell said. “Nobody likes to look over there and watch them having a great time because they kicked our ass. Nobody thinks that’s fun. I know that motivates me for next week and that motivates our team. … The shame would be if we don’t use this to get better for next week and it bleeds over into the Raiders. That would be the ultimate shame.’’

Five of the many reasons the Lions lost:

1. Lamar Jackson had a career day. He was scary good, but it was, at least in part, because the Lions’ defense appeared clueless. Campbell said it was execution rather than gameplan. “The combination of not getting much pressure and having to cover a long time, we didn’t handle it well,’’ Campbell said. Ravens’ pass catchers were typically wide open. They allowed 10 explosive plays of 20 yards or more (eight of them in the first half). Jackson finished 21 of 27 for 357 yards and 3 touchdowns plus nine carries for 36 yards and a rushing touchdown. The Lions were down 28-0 at the half, so if you’re searching for a silver lining, the defense gave up just 10 points in the second half.

2. Jared Goff didn’t get much time to operate since the defense couldn’t get the Ravens off the field. When he did, he didn’t look like the Goff we saw in the first six games. The Lions’ only score came on a 21-yard touchdown run by Jahmyr Gibbs in the fourth quarter. After just 97 net yards in the first half, they improved in the second half finishing with 337 yards. Goff was 33 of 53 with 284 yards and one interception.

3. This loss just can’t be pinned on one guy or one unit. It was not due to too many turnovers or an abundance of penalties. “That was a combination of a lot of different things. Just like we win as a team, we lose as a tema and that was one of those,’’ Campbell said. Yes, they missed RB David Montgomery and CB Jerry Jacobs but those absences are no excuse. Let’s call it “uncomplementary football.” Just bad. Really bad. Still, it’s not the end of the season.

4. Wide receiver Jameson Williams was not the reason for the loss, but he showed no signs of progress. He was targeted six times and didn’t make a catch. He dropped at least two. One deep pass late in the game hit him in the facemask. 

5. With David Montgomery out, rookie Jahmyr Gibbs was the top guy. He scored his first NFL touchdown on a 21-yard scamper and finished with 11 carries for 68 yards and nine catches for 58 yards. “I thought he took a step forward today,’’ Campbell said, adding that the more he plays the better he will get. 

NOTES: Mo Ibrahim, who injured his hip in the third quarter returning a kick, had surgery at a Baltimore-area hospital and will spend the night there. It was his first NFL snap. … Kerby Joseph led the defense with 10 tackles. He took a helmet-to-helmet hit late in the game by Odell Beckham Jr. and went into concussion protocol. No penalty was called. … WR Kalif Raymond left the game late but it was just cramps. Campbell said he’ll be fine. … The Lions defense never sacked Jackson while Goff was sacked five times. … LB Malcolm Rodriguez started at fullback. Campbell said they’ve been intrigued by him and wanted to find another way to use him. He hasn’t played much on defense, but is a key on special teams.

NEXT UP: Raiders (3-4) at Lions (5-2), 8:15 p.m., at Ford Field on Oct. 30. Las Vegas lost to the Bears, 30-12, on Sunday.

Lions pull off huge 20-17 win over Jets to keep playoff hopes alive

It’s a sign of maturation and growing confidence that the Lions grabbed a big road win when they needed it most.

Detroit fought for a crucial 20-17 win at the N.Y. Jets on Sunday to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Lions have now won six of their last seven, three straight and three straight road games. After a 1-6 start, they’re amazingly at 7-7.

“It feels great, it does. You’ll never take away from winning, not in this league. I told our guys nobody knows that better than we do,’’ Campbell said.” We’re not going to talk trash about a win, a win is a win and we’ll take that because we earned that. But the reality is moving forward we do have to clean a few of these things up that could have cost us today. A win feels great. The guys, they believe. Now here we go  this is another win but we had to find a different way to win. Every time that happens, you continue to grow and figure things out and your confidence grows.’’

Halftime adjustments can be huge whether Xs and Os or otherwise. Campbell said he talked to the team at the half because he felt they were making some mistakes because they were afraid to fail.

“More than anything that to me is going to be critical, I don’t think it’s about taking the cheese, all of that, because we can play, we’ve got a good enough team to play,’’ Campbell said . “Our deal has got to be we can’t become so tense and start doing things we weren’t doing (previously). There’s a reason we’ve gotten to this point and we’re beginning to win. If we start becoming too tense and uptight, so afraid we’re going to lose, you’re not going to win that way. We’re getting better as a team.’’

Five of the reasons the Lions won:

1. Late in the fourth, down 17-13, on a fourth-and-inches play,, Jared Goff connected with tight end Brock Wright for a 51-yard touchdown play. It gave the Lions a 20-17 lead which they were able to hold onto. It seemed the offense had played more conservatively most of the game, so that call caught a few by surprise including the Jets. “It’s a great call, it’s an easy read, an easy completion if we do it right and we did it right,’’ Jared Goff said. “We’ve got Brock with some speed, didn’t know he’d be that open, but when they are it’s pretty good.’’ Wright got some key blocks and was able to get into the end zone. It was his only catch of the game, he had dropped one earlier but that had not eroded confidence in him from Goff or the coaches.

2. After that touchdown, with 1:49 left all the Jets needed was a field goal to tie. Quarterback Zach Wilson had been erratic but had connected on several chunk plays. The defense held them just enough so their field goal attempt was from 58 yards. It was no good. “We stopped them, we came up with some critical sacks, hurries, we covered well. It was great and I think that’s part of the maturing process, the growth, everything,’’ Campbell said. “I don’t know if we would have made those plays early in the year — something would have gone the other way — but that just shows we’re getting more mature, we’re becoming more disciplined in the critical moments.’’

3. The Lions offense wasn’t as prolific as in recent games, but give the Jets defense credit. They are tough and the Lions expected that and they got it. Goff finished 23 of 38 for 252 yards and one touchdown. “We hadn’t done much offensively the whole game, specifically the second half hadn’t really done anything. I certainly wasn’t playing my best ball in the second half,’’ Goff said. But then he hit Wright on that touchdown play.  

4. Zach Wilson was sacked four times and the pressure was on most of the game. Romeo Okwara, who was playing in just his second game this season, had a pair of sacks. John Cominsky had a huge sack on the Jets’ final drive on a second-and-10 play that pushed the Jets back 8 yards. Rookie James Houston set off the sack fest in the first quarter on a third-and-2 play. It was Houston’s fifth sack in four games. Campbell said he was happy to have Okwara back and expects he’ll be even better next week.

5. Punt returner/wide receiver Kalif Raymond was given a game ball. His punt return for a touchdown in the first quarter got the Lions on the board. He also had five catches for 53 yards. “He’s our Iron man,’’ Campbell said.

(Photo courtesy of Detroit Lions.)

(Next up: Lions (7-7) at Carolina Panthers (5-8) who lost 24-16 to the Steelers on Sunday.)

Five things to know about Lions 24-14 loss to Bears

In the first three losses, the Detroit Lions showed flashes on both sides of the ball, but never could put it all together. The team took a step backward in Chicago on Sunday with a 24-14 loss to the Chicago Bears.

Injuries played a factor but every team has injuries so that is not going to fly as an excuse.

The ugly loss was on everyone from Dan Campbell on down. 

Communication was a problem in the last-second loss to the Ravens the previous week so they worked on it last week, but it remained an issue all-around.

The Lions scored on a pair of touchdown passes from Jared Goff to Kalif Raymond in the second half, but it was too little too late. That always seems to be the case.

Five things to know about the loss:

  1. The Lions fumbled the ball twice in the red zone. Center Frank Ragnow appeared to snap the ball early, Goff was not looking for it and the Bears recovered in the first quarter. Then later in the half, Goff fumbled when sacked by Robert Quinn on Chicago’s 3-yard line. Khalil Mack recovered for the Bears.
  2. Instead of going for a field goal from the Bears’ 5-yard line on fourth-and-goal, the Lions went for it and Goff’s pass intended for D’Andre Swift was deflected and incomplete. Again late in the game with a fourth-and-one — and down by 10 points — instead of going for the field goal Goff threw an incomplete pass. Six points is six points. Not enough to win but enough to matter.  Goff finished 24 of 38 for 299 yards and no interceptions.
  3. Lions defense allowed too many chunk plays. Bobby Price, a safety just converted to corner, could not keep up. But it was not all on him.  Rookie Justin Fields completed 12 of 18 pass attempts for 215 yards with one interception.
  4. The Lions looked unprepared for the Bears. They didn’t know until Saturday that Justin Fields would start at quarterback but Campbell said earlier in the week he didn’t think Chicago’s offense would change no matter who got the nod. So, again, no excuse. Not to say Campbell and his staff don’t work hard, they certainly do. But along the way whether it’s on the players or the coaches the team did not look ready. They know they can’t get in a hole early and they were down 14-0 at the half.
  5. At 0-4 the Lions are at a critical point. Dan Campbell can’t lose the team. He has said all along the margin of error was small in part because the team is so young. 

NEXT UP: Lions (0-4) at Vikings (1-3) on Sunday, Oct. 10. The Vikings lost 14-7 to the Browns on Sunday.