By Mark Halpern
Saturday, the Lions faced off against the Steelers in Pennsylvania, and for the first three quarters, it was all Steelers, and the Lions looked like kittens. A surprise was the Big Ben, who was not originally going to played suited up and had a tremendous first quarter throwing for 110 yards and two touchdowns. A surprise from the Lion’s side was that Jared Goff, who started the first preseason game, did not take any reps in this game, neither did 90% of the Detroit starters. The game looked like the New England/Philly game, to be honest. However, the Lions put up 20 unanswered points in the fourth quarter and almost made an incredible comeback.
For the most part, the Lions couldn’t get anything done against the Steeler’s first-string defense, and the Offense for the Lions couldn’t move the ball against the Steeler’s first or second-string players. The good thing for the Lions is that they didn’t turn the ball over once during the game, and neither did the Steelers. The Lions Defense could only muster one sack during the game, which has to be a concern for the Lions Coaching Staff.
There were a couple of bright spots, however. Quarterback David Blough threw an impressive 12/17 competed passes for 140 yards and a touchdown. Rookie Running back Craig Reynolds had five carries for 2 yards and a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Defensive player A.J Parker had eight tackles, and Derrick Barnes had six tackles and a sack.
If they want to be taken seriously this season, the Lions have to step up their game and fast with opening week just two weeks away. Jared Goff needs time to build up a repour with his team, so I expect to see the first-stringers for the Lions play a full half next week, or we could see a Lions team set another record going 0-17. The Lions wrap up the preseason next weekend against the Colts, and I expect to see the Lions starters play close to a half of the game. With more roster cuts coming this week, the Lions have some decision-making to do.
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