Rapid reactions to Lions' preseason finale

Detroit – Here are some rapid reactions from the Detroit Lions' preseason finale, a 24-17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

● The opening quarter was a predictably one-sided affair, with the Steelers playing many of their starters and the Lions leaning on a mix of second- and third-stringers on both sides of the ball. 

A little more than nine minutes into the exhibition contest, Pittsburgh had already jumped out to a 14-0 lead. Taking the ball after winning the coin toss, the Steelers got an early third-down conversion when Lions cornerback Essang Bassey slipped, allowing receiver George Pickens to come up with a 32-yard grab down the left sideline. 

Two snaps later, running back Cordarrelle Patterson burst through the heart of Detroit’s defense for a 31-yard touchdown. Undersized lineman Mekhi Wingo got moved out of his gap by a double-team, creating the initial hole, while linebacker Ty Summers got sealed out of the lane. Safety Brandon Joseph, the last line of defense, missed a diving tackle attempt after charging forward from his deep alignment. 

The Lions picked up a quick first down to start their response drive, before quarterback Hendon Hooker ate three consecutive sacks when backup linemen Michael Niese, Kingsley Eguakun and Colby Sorsdal lost their respective blocks.

To make matters worse, on the final of the three sacks, Pittsburgh linebacker Nick Herbig stripped the ball and recovered the fumble, giving his offense excellent starting field position. 

The Steelers needed only five plays to return to the end zone. The big play was a 22-yard toss to tight end MyCole Pruitt, down to the 2-yard line. On second-and-goal, Lions edge rusher Mathieu Betts overcommitted to the quarterback on a zone-read look, leading to a walk-in touchdown for Steelers running back La'Mical Perine. 

Detroit's offense continued to struggle until late in the first half, punting their next four possessions, prior to Pittsburgh's backups entering the game and the contest turning more competitive. 

● The game script flipped once Pittsburgh's reserves joined the fray.

With more yardage lost on sacks than passing yards through the first five possessions, Hooker finally settled into a groove, leading a 12-play, 72-yard touchdown drive. Running back Jake Funk contributed gains of 11 and 15 yards on the ground and capped the series with a 2-yard scoring grab in the right flat. 

Despite only having a couple of minutes remaining before the break, the Lions were able to knot things at 14 after undrafted rookie Isaac Ukwu forced a fumble by driving the left tackle into Steelers third-string quarterback Kyle Allen. The recovery gave the Lions’ offense possession at the Pittsburgh 33-yard line with 1:53 remaining in the second quarter. 

Hooker opened that series with a 15-yard pass to Kaden Davis, beating tight coverage, then picked up another first down with a scramble to the 4-yard line. Two snaps later, running back Jermar Jefferson punched it in from a yard out. 

Hooker continued to play well coming out of the break, despite a dropped deep ball intended for Daurice Fountain. But the Lions would eventually stall deep in the red zone and Jake Bates missed a 30-yard, go-ahead attempt. 

Bates is a conundrum going into cutdown day. At his best, his leg is a lethal weapon, capable of bombing boots from 60 yards and beyond. But his consistency on the practice field, which has shown up in the preseason games with this short miss and botched extra point last week, continues to give pause. 

I think the Lions will stick with him a bit longer because of the ceiling, but if he can't develop reliablity inside 45 yards, he'll eventually get the ax, similar to Riley Patterson last season. 

● Hooker offers a ton of upside, particularly with his feet. He rushed for 93 yards on 10 carries, regularly extending drives, before exiting midway through the fourth quarter. Admittedly, he still needs to slide more. 

As for his accuracy and pocket presence, they both need continued development.

As he adjusts to revamped mechanics, he needs to rediscover his ability to hit receivers in stride. On the dropped deep ball to Fountain, it was underthrown significantly. And on many of the horizontal patterns, Hooker oscillates between throwing behind his target and putting the ball too far in front, which he did with Isaiah Williams in the third quarter, resulting in an interception when the ball deflected off the slot receiver’s outstretched hands. 

As for the pocket presence, we can acknowledge Detroit's protection didn't hold up well against the Steelers’ top defensive players. Still, Hooker has to do a better job making the quick read, even if that's throwing the ball away. You simply can’t eat five sacks in one half.

● The top contenders for a receiver job didn’t make compelling cases. Donovan Peoples-Jones didn’t catch any of his three targets and had a drop. And Fountain dropped his lone target, the aforementioned deep ball. It’s tough to justify keeping either.

Williams had a relatively quiet day, with one catch for 17 yards on two catches, but it still feels like he’s earned a job with the overall body of work.

I said this to another reporter before the game, but Maurice Alexander feels like a true dark horse for a job. He just does all the little things right, has return ability, and delivered four catches for 60 yards to pace the Lions in Saturday’s final audition.

I’m more interested in whether the Lions keep Ukwu or James Houston, because that’s looking like an either/or decision. Ukwu had the sack that forced a fumble, while Houston also had a slick inside move for a sack, also in the second quarter.

● If you’re looking for hints on potential roster decisions, a couple players perceived to be on the bubble who didn’t play were cornerback Kindle Vildor and linebacker Ben Niemann.

● After the first two preseason games, there had been some complaints about the color match of the blue stickers on the helmets and the blue on the uniforms. It looked much better Saturday afternoon, which led many to wonder if there had been a change. 

The answer there is no. It looks like the shading discrepancy is the result of how the sticker is reflecting sunlight outdoors. 

The team is exploring options, including a slight modification to a darker shade for the helmet sticker, to compensate for how it appears in the sun, but there's been no official decision on that. 

● How excited is this fan base for the season to come? The team sold out of standing-room-only tickets for this preseason contest. Wild.