ALLEN PARK -- The Detroit Lions know they need to be better against mobile quarterbacks the next time the challenge presents itself. But they aren’t feeling completely down regarding their run defense moving forward.
They struggled to contain quarterback Jalen Hurts in the 38-35 season-opening loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Hurts ran 17 times for 90 yards and one touchdown. The quarterback also forced a couple of personal foul penalties, with the second eventually leading to safety Tracy Walker’s ejection.
And if that weren’t enough, Eagles running back Miles Sanders ran 13 times for 96 yards and one score. Sanders also helped put the game away, with a 24-yard run on third-and-2 leading into the final two-minute warning.
“Yeah, so we’re talking about the quarterback runs, which we understand we have to contain,” Lions linebacker coach Kelvin Sheppard said. “That’s a new element. It’s coming from college football. It’s hitting the league by storm, and it is a sucker because they will always be plus-one, and when I say they, you don’t account for the quarterback in the run game because you can’t. We have 11 players. They have 11 players. So when the quarterback has the ball, they will always be plus-one, and whoever the free player is, nine times out of 10 it’s your post safety. So that just comes with the nature of the beast, and next time we play a mobile quarterback, we’ll have a plan for that.”
Sheppard said he likes how his group has played against running backs, adding that the linebackers only had a couple of mental errors. He acknowledged the need to improve against dual-threat quarterbacks while sounding optimistic about the work versus more traditional running games.
“Because the quarterback accounted for 90 (yards) of those, and that’s what’s going to happen when you play a mobile quarterback like that,” Sheppard said. “Now is that acceptable? No, but it’s reality. We’re in coverage with our backs turned. Now the d-line has got to win. Coach (Todd) Wash will tell you that, but those types of things are going to happen. You go to the running back room. The running backs, we held them in checkup until the last point, which was a critical moment in the game. He (Sanders) had a 27-yarder, which created 97 (total yards). But you take that one away, and who ran the ball on us? Who lined up and ran on us? And I’m dating back to the preseason.
“But the facts are the facts. Who’s lined up and run the ball between the tackles on us? The facts are the facts, guys. I’m going to keep it real, and I’m going to tell you the truth.”
Related: What happened to the Detroit Lions’ run defense?
Sheppard was asked what he thought about leaving a spy player for the next time Detroit sees a true dual-treat quarterback. And he was quick to make it known he doesn’t believe in that method when it comes to stopping the elite mobile gunslingers.
“You show me tape where the spy stuff works,” Sheppard said. “What you do is you waste a defender when you operate like that, and you’re playing prevent defense in a sense. Show me where a spy has tackled Hurts, (Ravens quarterback) Lamar Jackson, (Cardinals quarterback) Kyler Murray in open space. So, to each his own. Whatever you believe in, but I’ve seen that get torched on the college level and the NFL level.”
In the preseason opener, Falcons quarterbacks Desmond Ridder and Marcus Mariota first revealed those concerns against mobile quarterbacks. Running backs Tyler Allgeier (three carries for 25 yards) and Qadree Ollison (five carries for 33 yards) had decent days, with a pair of runs going for more than 15 yards that day. But, the Colts running backs had no such luck in the second preseason game. Detroit’s defense held them to 28 yards on 16 attempts, with no running back breaking a run of more than 5 yards. It was also solid in the exhibition finale -- Steelers running backs combined for 11 carries and 33 yards.
But that’s the preseason. Detroit’s defense allowed 4.4 yards per run last season, which was 21st in the league. And the 5.5 yards per attempt they allowed in Week 1 slots 26th to open the year.
The task is different this weekend against the Washington Commanders. Carson Wentz isn’t going to present the challenges Hurts did. But there is still a dangerous running back and a wild card worth tracking on the other side.
Antonio Gibson leads the charge out of the backfield. He’s a unique running back at 6-foot-2, 220 pounds, with serious receiving ability and speed. Gibson had 14 runs for 58 yards, adding seven catches for 72 yards last week. He had double-digit touchdowns as a rookie, then topped the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the first time last season.
The Commanders also worked wide receiver Curtis Samuel into the rushing mix in their season-opening win against the Jaguars. Samuel ran four times for 17 yards and one touchdown while being the team’s most targeted player.
“Oh, the running back. The offense damn near goes through him,” Sheppard said. “This kid is a legit player. I don’t know why he doesn’t get promoted in the national spotlight, but this Gibson, this (No.) 24, he’s a real dude, man. They do a good job with the schematics of marrying what he does well. He’s an excellent zone runner. That’s the scheme that they do. They’re going to try and stretch you out, and if he can put his foot in the ground and get vertical, it’s a problem. So it starts there with stopping the run. This week we have a real challenge with stopping this run game with this 24. Because, in my opinion, he’s a real dude.”
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