The Detroit Lions had the most proficient offense in the NFL last season. They scored the most points (564) and had the most first downs (410). They also posted the second-most total yards on offense (6,962), including the second-most passing yards and third-most rushing yards.
That's why watching them put up 246 total yards in the first game of the post-Ben Johnson era was alarming. The Lions struggled to move the chains, and their only touchdown of the game came with 0:55 left to play. Nevertheless, as much as there are plenty of reasons for concern, new offensive coordinator John Morton isn't losing any sleep.
John Morton Says The Offense is Being Fixed
“It’s being addressed, it’s being fixed,” Morton said on Thursday. “Again, taking some of these plays out where there’s not a lot of communication, you know, going on the road, we didn’t do a lot of shifting and things like that. It’s going to be fixed.”
The Lions moved on from Johnson's trickery and pre-snap movement, and Morton called a very predictable game for the most part. Granted, the Green Bay Packers have a championship-caliber defense, but Morton made Jeff Hafley's job a whole lot easier.
On the bright side, they had more first downs (16 to 14), went 3-of-4 on fourth down, and controlled time of possession (35:25), but that doesn't mean much when they're only putting up 13 points.
Even with Penei Sewell holding down the fort, the pocket collapsed over and over, with Jared Goff holding onto the ball for too long and taking four sacks.
The Lions' Running Game Isn't a Concern
Perhaps the biggest concern revolved around the running game. They had 21 carries for 46 total yards, which was good for just 2.1 yards per attempt. David Montgomery led the team with 25 yards on 11 carries, and Jahmyr Gibbs added 19 on 9 touches. Even so, Morton also believes they will be much better at home in Week 2:
“We just got to make sure we give them the right looks, all the different type of right looks, and to make sure they know exactly what they’re doing, and that’s what we’ve done,” Morton said. “I think that’s what you got to do now. It’s an easy fix. It’s an easy fix. Again, they’re not in panic mode, all right. But 2.1, that ain’t gonna cut it. That ain’t gonna cut it, that should never happen.”
Things should be a little easier against a Chicago Bears defense that gave up 4.6 rushing yards in the season opener.
But unless they shake things up and bring a little juice to this uber-talented offense, there will only be so much their stars can do. Having weapons is nice, but it's meaningless if they're not used to the fullest of their talents.