Lions film review: Separating fact from fiction regarding the defense's handling of mobile quarterbacks this season
Allen Park — Earlier this week, Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell was asked if he bought into the narrative that his team struggles against running quarterbacks. The coach immediately flipped the question back on the asker.
“Do you buy that?”
The snappy retort is valid. Moments can have a stronger place in our memory than trends. In 2022, the response to Campbell would have been, ‘Um, yeah.’
Quarterbacks ran wild on the Lions that year, more so than any defense in the past decade. Former Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields was the primary culprit, racking up 279 rushing yards across two meetings. Overall, Detroit allowed a staggering 700 rushing yards to the position that season.
They’ve been better the past couple of seasons, surrendering 419 yards in 2023 and 454 yards this season. Those totals still rank closer to the bottom of the league, but not egregiously far off the NFL's 344-yard average this past season. Broken down further, we're talking a difference of 6 yards per game.
Regardless, the topic merits additional exploration ahead of Saturday’s playoff game with the Washington Commanders and fleet-footed rookie QB Jayden Daniels, who finished second in rushing yards for his position.
How big of a concern is Daniels’ ability to do damage with his legs, not just because that’s who he is, but because of Detroit’s preparedness to stop it?
Ahead of this weekend's matchup, I reviewed the tape from the Lions’ eight games against quarterbacks who finished the year with at least 250 rushing yards. Against Detroit, those QBs registered 49 carries, 331 yards and three touchdowns. That accounts for nearly three-quarters of the position's rushing production against the team in 2024.
What showed up in the tape from those games and how equipped are the Lions to handle what Daniels is bringing to Ford Field this week?