Falcons-Lions Key Matchup: Kyle Pitts vs. Lions' Linebackers

Can Lions' linebackers keep Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts in check in Week 3?

The Detroit Lions are back at Ford Field Sunday for another matchup with a team featuring a dynamic running back-pass-catcher tandem. After taking on the Seahawks' duo of Kenneth Walker-DK Metcalf a week ago, Detroit will be tasked with attempting to limit the production of the Atlanta Falcons' Bijan Robinson and Kyle Pitts in Week 3.

Robinson has been the more productive of the two Falcons offensive weapons thus far this season. The Texas product – and No. 8 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft – is coming off a career-best 19-carry, 124-yard game against the Green Bay Packers. Meanwhile, Pitts has accumulated just four receptions for 59 yards through two games.

Yet, on Sunday, Detroit might have a tougher time handling Pitts.

It's because of the fact that coming into this Week 3 contest, the Lions have allowed the ninth-fewest rushing yards (172) and the 11th-lowest yards-per-carry average (3.6).

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Aaron Glenn's defense has permitted the most receiving yards to tight ends – 175 yards – through the first two weeks of the season. Remember, just last week against Seattle, Detroit's porous pass defense allowed the Seahawks' trio of tight ends – Noah Fant, Will Dissly and Colby Parkinson – to record nine catches for 132 yards.

In order to curtail Pitts' production Sunday, Detroit's linebackers group, led by Alex Anzalone, will need to produce a better performance in pass coverage than it did a week ago against Seattle.

Of the Lions' top four linebackers, only Derrick Barnes has a Pro Football Focus pass-coverage grade north of 60.0 (66.0). Meanwhile, the rest of Detroit's core linebackers – Anzalone, Jack Campbell and Malcolm Rodriguez – possess PFF pass-coverage grades south of 55.0. In case you were wondering, Rodriguez is the worst of the bunch, with a PFF pass-coverage mark of 43.9. 

If the Lions' linebackers don't take steps to rectify the above issue, Pitts – a Pro Bowler in 2021 – will likely be in store for a big day.

"I think it’s only a matter of time when (Pitts) does break out,” Glenn said of the third-year tight end earlier this week. “Not against us, but that guy’s a really good player and (there) was a reason why he was drafted the way he was drafted. There’s a reason why he did the things he did when he came in as a rookie. So, man, he’s a good player, and we’re aware of him.”

In Pitts' lone other meeting with the Lions (in 2021), he amassed six catches, on six targets, for 102 yards. On Sunday, I believe the Florida product will compile five receptions for 70 yards against Anzalone and his defensive counterparts.