The Detroit Lions will be looking to rebound from a loss when they host the Washington Commanders in Week 10 and everything is pointing toward a “get right” game. The Commanders lost starting quarterback Jayden Daniels to a dislocated elbow last week and the Lions' offense could use some better fortune after Jared Goff was pressured constantly in last week’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
The offensive unit received even better news when Commanders linebacker Frankie Luvu was suspended for repeated violations of the NFL’s rules against hip-drop tackles earlier this week. Luvu was ruled out for one game after a hit on Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njiba on Sunday night, marking a third violation of the rules and potentially knocking him out of the Week 10 matchup against the Lions.
But according to NFL Senior Vice President of Football & International Communications Michael Signora, hearing officer Derrick Brooks has overturned the suspension and reduced the punishment to a $100,000 fine, making Luvu eligible to play on Sunday and throwing a wrench into the Lions' preparations.
Detroit’s Protection Problems Are About to Get a Big Test from Frankie Luvu and the Commanders\
As they prepare for the Commanders, the Lions need to clean some things up that surfaced in last week’s loss to the Vikings. Issues along the interior of the offensive line came back to haunt them in Week 9 as Christian Mahogany and Graham Glasgow combined for five pressures according to Pro Football Focus. Jahmyr Gibbs also had his issues against the Vikings’ blitzing linebackers, allowing a team-high seven pressures on 15 pass-blocking snaps.
Issues like this could become massive once teams have a chance to dissect them and Washington could take advantage by blitzing more often. According to Pro Football Reference, the Commanders have blitzed on 25.1% of their defensive snaps this season and Luvu is the most likely player that be thrown at Goff if they want to take advantage.
According to Pro Football Focus, Luvu hasn’t been the same pass-rusher he was one year ago when he logged a career-high 42 pressures and eight sacks, logging just nine pressures and two sacks on 131 pass-rusher last season. But head coach Dan Quinn could adjust his gameplan to attack the middle of the field, which would have been more difficult if he didn’t have Luvu.
Instead, it may be the Lions that need to adjust. Dan Campbell has already hinted that a shift along the offensive line could be on the way after Christian Mahogany suffered a significant injury last week against the Lions. It’s also possible Detroit could use David Montgomery more in pass protection after Gibbs struggled in that area last week.
Either way, the break Detroit thought it was getting is no more and Luvu could go from watching the game at home to being a major factor in the Lions preparation for Sunday’s game.