Lions at Jaguars: First Half Rapid Reactions
By Zac Snyder
The Detroit Lions and Jacksonville Jaguars have headed into the locker room for halftime of preseason game number three.
52. 13. 50. Final. 14
Here are some rapids reactions and observations from what we saw in the first half.
- Giving up a 15-play touchdown drive wasn’t what the Lions were looking for in their first defensive series but it wasn’t all bad as the run defense was stout. The Jags managed just 20 yards on seven carries, with 11 of those coming on a scramble by quarterback Blake Bortles.
- Despite the poor start overall, it’s hard to get too worked up over the early performance of the defense with expected starters Haloti Ngata, Jason Jones, Ziggy Ansah, DeAndre Levy and Tahir Whitehead not playing. Marcedes Lewis was able to take advantage of the matchup with Travis Lewis instead of Levy. If the decision to play Lewis instead of Whitehead was to give Lewis a test, it was a test that was not passed.
- Not a good night for Rashean Mathis, who was beat for the first touchdown (although it looked like he should have had safety help that wasn’t there) then was called for pass interference in the end zone that led to the second touchdown.
- There shouldn’t be any doubt that Golden Tate is the real deal after the season he had a year ago but he has only confirmed it this preseason, including again tonight with a pretty 62-yard touchdown catch. It was a thing of beauty all around as Tate ran a nice route, exploded late to gain separation as the ball arrived on the money from Matthew Stafford. If Stafford can throw deep that accurately with any consistency this season, it will be a fun year.
- There is no doubt Zach Zenner is one of the Lions’ four best running backs. The question will become how heavily the Lions weigh special teams play in making final roster decisions because that is looking like the only way George Winn gets the call over Zenner.
- Let’s hope Matt Prater’s missed extra point was just a weird preseason thing…
Next: Second Half Rapid Reactions