The Detroit Lions put the overblown Week 1 "are we worried about John Morton?" narrative to bed in dramatic fashion in Week 2, which shouldn't have been hard to see coming. But for a team that expects to be a Super Bowl contender, it's way too early in the season to buy into your own hype. And the Lions' offense showed they still have a glaring weakness while dismantling the Chicago Bears.
The win was obviously wildly impressive, but if you were watching closely, you may have pinpointed a couple of players who weren't: Tate Ratledge and Graham Glasgow. It might be too early to hit the panic button, but this is a bad sign in Week 2.
Complacency Not an Option as Graham Glasgow, Tate Ratledge Continue to Struggle in Lions’ Week 2 Win
When the entire offense is clicking, it can be tempting to look past any struggles. And when the offensive line is largely playing well as a unit, that's especially true of any individual player in the group. Conversely, ignoring early red flags like we just saw from Glasgow and Ratledge (and Christian Mahogany, to a lesser extent) is a recipe for disaster, and complacency after one big game won't do the Lions any favors.
Credit where it's due: The line (including the trio on the interior) completely turned around their pass protection from Week 1. Pro Football Focus only charged them with two pressures allowed (down from 12 in Week 1). It can sometimes be hard to pick out an individual interior lineman's performance in pass protection (they're not working in true 1-on-1 matchups nearly as often as tackles), but none of the three seemed to struggle the way they did in Week 1. That's important progress.
Where They Struggled
The run blocking was another story. Electric running back duo Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery were able to work their magic against the unimpressive Bears front seven, but the interior line didn't do them any favors. Glasgow should be one of the most important parts of that unit, and he was maybe the worst of them all in the running game.
PFF grades don't exactly tell the whole story of a game, but in this case the run blocking grades certainly match the eye test. The group's run blocking looked better than it did in Week 1, but it still wasn't nearly good enough.
Player | Week 2 | Week 1 |
|---|---|---|
Graham Glasgow | 51.6 | 34.4 |
Tate Ratledge | 52.7 | 64.1 |
Christian Mahogany | 55.3 | 58.1 |
What it Means Moving Forward
Now I'm not saying it's time to sound the alarm. Mahogany had only ever played 75 offensive snaps before starting in Week 1, and Ratledge is a rookie. They lack experience, and being in between them makes things a lot harder on Glasgow; however, ignoring these struggles would absolutely come back to haunt the Lions against better opponents.
Offensive coordinator John Morton staying the course after a poor debut in Week 1 makes a lot of sense. The talented offense has proven they're still an elite group, and there was no reason to waver early in the year. But now, coming off a win and with the team's confidence back in full force, it's time to start making some adjustments.
Is it a shift in play-calling? Scheme changes to better play into the strengths of his interior linemen? Creative blocking assignments to get them better leverage? Whatever direction he goes with, the tweaks and experimentation need to begin now, before it's too late.
Three of the Lions' next four games come against opponents who ranked top-seven in PFF's run defense grade last year: the Cleveland Browns, who also rank No. 1 so far in 2025, the Baltimore Ravens, and the Kansas City Chiefs.