Detroit Lions film review: Breaking down play-action success, big runs, and some thoughts on PFF's interior o-line grades
Allen Park — Well, that was something.
After failing to get the ball into the end zone during the first 59 minutes of the season opener, the Detroit Lions exploded for seven touchdowns and 52 points against the Chicago Bears on Sunday.
It was the sixth time in franchise history the Lions have scored 50, replicating a pair of 52-point outputs from a season ago. It was also confirmation that the team is capable of maximum destruction without Ben Johnson, Detroit's former coordinator, who is now leading the victim of Sunday’s onslaught.
But like a bad loss, the Lions must quickly flush the good vibes from this one and move on to the next, a primetime tilt in Baltimore against the Ravens. That team is another contender for the league’s most-explosive offense.
Before we turn our attention to Lamar Jackson and company, let’s do what we typically do on Tuesday and explore the film from the previous week’s game. We’re going to start with what I felt was the key to the Lions getting on track: a scorching hot play-action attack that facilitated getting the ground game going.
Lions quarterback Jared Goff was dealing after faking a handoff, completing 11-of-13 for 195 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. That added up to a perfect 158.3 passer rating.
Let’s go through each of those throws. It was a clinic of play-calling, usage of motion and execution.