“Sometimes it’s just not your day.” This phrase can be applied to days in life when nothing, not even the smallest things, seems to go as it should. The Detroit Lions had such a day in Week 7, losing to the Baltimore Ravens 38-6.
Playing in front of their home crowd in Baltimore, the Ravens jumped over the Lions from the jump. In the NFL, games are rarely decided after the first quarter, but after 15 minutes, this game was pretty crazy. 22-6 in games played, 104-6 in total yards and a 12 to three minute difference in time of possession – all in the Ravens’ favor.
Contributing to these lopsided numbers were three three-pointers from the Lions’ offense, and their inability to stay on the court for extended periods early in the game made life even more difficult for their defense. For most of the first half of the season, the Lions did a good job playing complementary football. Against the Ravens? Not as much.
Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken and quarterback Lamar Jackson appeared to be in perfect sync against the Lions, with their first four drives ending in touchdowns. And losing 28-0 so early to a Baltimore defense that prides itself on beating opposing quarterbacks was a recipe for disaster.
With the defense on its heels and the offense having to stop the running game before the end of the first half, Baltimore was able to take control of this game early and pull out a big home win.
Let’s get to the All-22 film of the Ravens’ offensive phase against the Lions. For the purpose of this study, we will focus on some of the play-action and run-pass options that the Ravens used to break down the Lions’ defense.
First-and-10 on the Baltimore 38 with 13:46 left in the first quarter
Under Monken, Jackson has seen fewer designed quarterback runs in 2023, which is what the Ravens’ leadership wanted to keep their quarterback healthy long-term. Don’t get it twisted, they’re still going to incorporate some quarterback power concepts, and their RPO play was something of a clinic in Week 7 (more on that later).
Jackson had more money in the first six games, and despite some silly narratives, he excelled in them. His pocket presence and ability to stay calm looking downfield were on full display against the Lions.
From the shotgun, Jackson takes the snap and fakes a handoff to running back Gus Edwards, who fires into the flat to Jackson’s right. Outside left tackle Ronnie Stanley are fullback Pat Ricard, tight end Mark Andrews and wide receiver Zay Flowers.
Ricard stays on the line to support Stanley on the edge with Lions’ EDGE Aidan Hutchinson and defensive tackle Alim McNeill, while Andrews plays an in-breaker just behind linebackers Alex Anzalone and Derrick Barnes. Seeing Andrews run into his face, Lions safety Kerby Joseph runs toward Andrews, leaving a gap in the middle of the field.
Flowers understands his leverage well against defender Will Harris and gives Jackson plenty of room to make the pass over the head of Barnes and Anzalone. 46 yards and what would be the first of many big plays for the Baltimore offense.
Fourth-and-1 on the Detroit 7 with 10:37 remaining in the first quarter
Later in the opening series, the Lions defense takes Baltimore to a fourth-and-1. The Ravens have 13 players, with Ricard moving to the wide side of the field before the snap. The Lions face the strong performance with nine players in the penalty area and a five-man defense.
At the top of your screen you will see rookie linebacker Jack Campbell and defensive lineman John Cominsky circled on the line of scrimmage. Unfortunately for the two of them, this is where Monken starts putting on his game-winning duffel bag.
The Ravens throw a fake power look to the right and pull left guard John Simpson. Along with Simpson, Ricard acts as if he is also the lead blocker for the play fake to Edwards. At the same time, left tackle Ronnie Stanley shuffled outside and acted as the primary blocker for Jackson, who would head into the end zone for the first score of the afternoon.
Trying to close the gap left by Stanley when he shuffled left, Cominsky tries to tackle Edwards as Campbell bites down on the fake so hard that Lions safety Kerby Joseph gets caught by Stanley until the end of the End zone is escorted.
Just a really cool design from Monken that was executed perfectly by his offense.
Third-and-3 to the Detroit 12 with 3:11 remaining in the first quarter
While Baltimore’s first goal came easy due to the Lions defense’s undisciplined looks, the Ravens’ second goal came courtesy of Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic, who hit a three-pointer against a defender covered all over him. Sometimes a superstar just plays a role.
Once again, the Lions defense has the opportunity to leave the field for a much-needed break, but instead the secondary defense had to run around and almost cover ten seconds. The Lions pass rush does a good job of keeping Jackson in check. Defensively, this is defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn’s preference when it comes to mobile quarterbacks: keep them from breaking up the pocket and let it slowly collapse around them.
And the defense does it so well at first that Jackson actually runs into the back of his left defender before turning around and regaining his composure. Hutchinson, working against right tackle Morgan Moses, turns and reaches for Jackson. Momentarily losing his balance, Moses clings to Hutchinson’s chest and drives him about five yards across the field. It’s hard to blame Hutchinson, who was just trying to make a play, but Jackson ends up escaping to the right where Hutchinson was supposed to provide containment and finds Flowers, who ends up hitting Lions defenseman Brian Branch. uncovers.
Again, the Lions played pretty well for well over eight seconds, but the score still came due to the question of who was playing quarterback for the Ravens.
First-and-10 on the Baltimore 39. 3:00 left in the second quarter
Because his team was beaten so badly in Week 7, Lions coach Dan Campbell has said several times that the defense simply has to do its job. Against a former MVP like Jackson, doing something outside of his assigned responsibility can get you burned. And as you probably already know, the Lions have been burned several times.
On the first play of the second quarter, Jackson was in action with running back Justice Hill to his right and Mark Andrews and Pat Ricard outside Ronnie Stanley and Morgan Moses. The Lions are in man coverage (note that Barnes is traveling with Ricard while pointing to the right of Moses), with only Kerby Joseph over the top as a deep safety.
The other three receivers all run well past the first-down marker, with Ricard staying in for a moment to block before releasing and making himself available to Jackson. Initially the Lions only rush five, but after Barnes doesn’t see Ricard immediately free as a receiver, he decides to rush the passer.
The result is a 300-pound fullback running around the open field while only Kerby Joseph is there to make the play. Someone orders Joseph a Jets pizza with pepperoni and extra cheese, well done. The poor guy had a week.
First-and-10 at the Baltimore 49 with 9:20 left in the second quarter
At this point, the Ravens’ score is already 21-0 and the Lions’ defense is reeling. Baltimore is completely shocked at the defense’s attacks and starts breaking off chunks on the ground.
Lamar Jackson rounded right end for 9 yards. Gus Edwards to right for another 20. First-and-10 and the Ravens are back in business. They consist of 11 players (one tight end, one running back), with wide receiver Nelson Agholor moving along the bottom of the screen.
Before the snap, Lions defensive tackle Isaiah Buggs is lined up at the zero-technique (over the middle) and John Cominsky is lined up at the five-technique (directly above the tackle). Due to Agholor’s movement, both players push down at the line of scrimmage, with Anzalone and Barnes also sliding behind them.
Offensively, there’s nothing special here. Only the Ravens offensive line wins at the point of attack, resets the line of scrimmage and creates an alley for their running back.
Thanks to the shift, the Ravens offense is posting numbers on the weak side. Left guard John Simpson moves Buggs, McNeill is locked down and Baltimore center Tyler Linderbaum is able to scramble and block safety Tracy Walker.
Hill squeezes through a gap and sets off to race.
First-and-10 on the Detroit 24 with 8:39 left in the second quarter
Justice Hill’s next play shows how Monken began stacking concepts on top of each other, much like Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson does. Similar concept, similar setup – different game.
This time the Ravens are again represented with 13 players and use three tight ends in a group formation on the right side. Once he receives the snap, Jackson sprints to his right as Moses, Ricard and Hill move in front of him to block – making it seem like the Ravens are using a variation on quarterback power.
Andrews, split wide in the group formation, didn’t even try to point out his block. He actually connected with both Jack Campbell and Derrick Barnes before making his way behind the dirt and knocking down another 22-yard block for the Ravens’ offense.
I don’t think anything drastic needs to be changed about the Lions’ program, personnel or anything of the sort. Were there any oversights or missed tasks? Absolutely. But Lamar Jackson could be a leading candidate for the MVP award this season, and before it’s all said and done, I’d bet the Ravens are major players in the AFC.
Furthermore, this is the NFL, and there are weeks when you just don’t have enough juice. Learn from it, move on and get back in the win column in Week 8 against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Ford Field should rock.
Read more