Thoughts to end the week: A lack of identity, Morton not doing himself any favors, and realities of Lions' screen passing game
Allen Park — Here are four thoughts to end the week as the Detroit Lions prepare to face the Washington Commanders this Sunday.
A concerning lack of identity
Detroit’s offense is under the microscope after a three-game lull where the unit has averaged just 21.7 points per game.
In yesterday’s story about the unit’s struggles, it was highlighted that despite statistical declines across the board, it’s still a relatively potent unit. Points per game? Top three. Yards per play? Top 10. Jared Goff’s passer rating? Fourth (and on pace for a career high).
Yet, despite all of that, I’m struggling to put my finger on the team’s offensive identity in 2025. The unit is too inconsistent with running the ball to be a ground-and-pound unit. They’re nowhere near as explosive as they’ve been in the past, most notably lacking a consistent vertical component to the passing game. And they’ve struggled mightily with balance, routinely failing to spread the ball to their wide-ranging arsenal.
The only consistent things have been Goff’s short and intermediate accuracy and the utilizing of All-Pro receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, who has justifiably seen at least seven targets each of the past seven games.
I’m certain, given the schematic continuity, they wanted to have a similar identity to last season. They want to run the ball and set up the passing game through that success.
But the blocking, led by the remade offensive line, isn’t holding up its end of the bargain. The Lions have popped a few big gains on the ground, but rank in the bottom half of the league in efficiency. That’s leading to the third-and-longs, which is tanking how many plays they’ve had per possession, dropping from 8th a year ago to 25th this season.
On Friday, coach Dan Campbell compared getting the offense on track to getting a fire started. He said the kindling is smoldering, and the coaching staff needs to provide the oxygen through minor tweaks.