Lions film review: Diagnosing red zone woes and where is Sam LaPorta?
We kicked off the morning by taking a deeper look at the Detroit Lions’ defensive performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Now we’ll shift our tape study to the disappointing offensive showing, starting with the red zone woes.
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The Lions were one of the NFL’s best red zone performers in 2023, converting two-thirds of their trips inside the 20-yard line into touchdowns. This year, through two games, they’re sitting at 27.3% thanks to a 1-for-7 outing against the Bucs.
Let’s go through the six failed trips, one-by-one, to diagnose the breakdowns.
Trip one
After the team’s opening drive ended with an interception on the first snap, quarterback Jared Goff responded with a pristine, in-stride deep ball to Jameson Williams to set the Lions up first-and-10 at the 20. That turned into first-and-goal from the 10 after linebacker Yaya Diaby was flagged for roughing Goff the next play.
The Lions tried a little misdirection with the fresh set of downs, motioning a third option to the Goff’s left and having him initially look that direction after taking the shotgun snap as running back Jahmyr Gibbs released to the opposite flat with right tackle Penei Sewell accompanying him as a lead blocker.
The Buccaneers were in man coverage, with linebacker K.J. Britt responsible for Gibbs and driving hard on the backfield route. Not liking the way the look was developing, Goff opted to turf it, although the tape indicates this was a hasty decision and Gibbs had enough space plus Sewell’s block to make something happen in space.
An effective right-side run by David Montgomery on second down created a more manageable third-and-goal opportunity from the 3-yard line, but Goff made another poor decision, unnecessary forcing a quick throw to his first read, Williams, despite the receiver being double-covered by Tampa’s zone look on the short out route. It’s unfair to speculate on the next read in the QB’s progression, but Tim Patrick had inside leverage on a post pattern had Goff’s eyes panned left.