Lions vs. Bills: Rapid Reactions to the Preseason Finale
By Zac Snyder
The Detroit Lions‘ 2015 preseason has come to a close with a 17-10 win over the Buffalo Bills.
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Here are some quick thoughts from tonight’s game.
- Joseph Fauria went to the trainer’s table to have his right knee looked at after the first offensive series, highlighting why the Lions were smart to trade for Tim Wright. Fauria has been known for two things so far in his career: touchdown dances and an inability to stay healthy. He was back out there for the second series, but if the Lions can’t count on him to be available on gameday, they can find a better use for that roster spot.
- Sam Martin was in regular season form with a booming punt to end the Lions’ first possession but even more impressive was Quandre Diggs’ stick of a tackle on the play. For a player like Diggs fighting for a roster spot, showing well on special teams is just as, if not maybe even more, important than coming up with a play on defense.
- Greg Salas looked to be on his way to wrapping up spot on the final 53-man roster with a pair of nice first quarter catches but was knocked out of the game with a knee injury. This is a situation to watch as tough roster decisions are made in the coming days.
- It’s a good thing Matt Prater made his 41-yard field goal to get the Lions on the board look easy because word was spreading through twitter that Kyle Brindza had made a 57-yard field goal for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers tonight.
- It is clear from the way playing time at quarterback was divided tonight that Kellen Moore is the odd man out if the Lions choose to keep only two quarterbacks. Dan Orlovsky has had the superior preseason through the first three games and his night was done before the first quarter was over.
- That being said, Moore turned in his best performance of the preseason and should be in good position to make the final roster.
- While it looked like Salas would be the wide receiver to solidify a roster spot early on, it may be TJ Jones that actually did that in the end. A nice punt return then a 64-yard touchdown catch and run showed he can be an asset on offense and special teams.
Thankfully, the preseason is now over and we can move on to worrying about games that count. The Lions get the regular season underway a week from Sunday with a road game against the San Diego Chargers.