3 Things Lions Must Clean Up
The Detroit Lions are not presently playing a winning brand of football.
They've gone just 2-2 in their last four games, and have multiple issues to resolve in order to get back on the right track.
With that said, here are three things Dan Campbell's team must clean up – and immediately – in order to return to the win column.
Tackling
Seemingly all season long, the Lions have had a major issue with wrapping up individuals with the football in their hands.
Most notably, Aaron Glenn's unit has struggled with bringing down mobile quarterbacks. Instead of doing so, Detroit has allowed dual-threat passers, like Justin Fields, to have big days on the ground against it.
Just a week ago in Chicago, Fields evaded Lions defenders on multiple occasions, including on an 11-yard scamper to the end zone in the fourth quarter. And, in his earlier outing this season with Detroit, he amassed 104 yards via his legs.
There's no denying the fact that Lions defenders need to clean up their tackling and do a much better job of finishing plays against opposing quarterbacks.
Also, the Lions’ secondary needs to increase its level of efficiency in finishing plays against opposing ball-carriers and receivers.
If the tackling doesn't improve, there's no doubt in my mind that Detroit's defensive woes will continue to rear their ugly head.
Protecting Jared Goff
The offensive line must be more proficient in protecting Goff over the final four weeks of the regular season.
The veteran passer has been under constant duress since the start of the second half of the season.
In fact, he's been sacked a total of 10 times in the Lions’ five games since the bye. And, it's undoubtedly had a direct correlation to Goff's recent turnover woes.
The O-line must also cut down on the penalties. It committed four this past Sunday against the Bears, including three of the false-start variety.
The line must play more disciplined and do a much better job of keeping Goff upright in Week 15 and beyond.
Turnovers
Oh, the turnovers. The Lions have become a mistake-prone bunch in recent weeks, and Goff certainly deserves a fair share of the blame for it.
Specifically, over the last four weeks, he's played some very careless ball. In this aforementioned span of games, the veteran signal-caller has turned it over a total of eight times. Five of those turnovers have been interceptions, and each of them has come against Chicago.
In Detroit's most recent tilt with the Bears, Goff tossed two interceptions, and played a major role in the Lions dropping the NFC North divisional contest.
The eighth-year quarterback must clean up his erroneous ways now. If he doesn't, Detroit could very well go into a tailspin to close out the 2023 campaign; thus, jeopardizing its chances of capturing its first division crown since the 1993 season.
