When teams start losing games, they tend to rely on their best players to get them out of a rut. They are the ones who feed the target or hold the ball in their hands and let it cook.
So did the Lions. But their best player is the right tackle who disrupts everything.
I'm sure you've heard it before—The Lions won a football game in which Jared Goff threw five interceptions.. The absolute worst-case scenario happened to Detroit, but they won anyway. In fact, they may be a team of destiny.
They got back into the game thanks to an incredible defense (DC Aaron Glenn, DT Alim McNeil, CB Carlton Davis III) and an offense led by RT Penei Sewell. He showed his true potential by relying on him and putting him in spaces. Sewell is a monster in the open field, creating holes for the Lions' skill position players in space and creating explosives in that area.
Detroit hit hard on several plays that highlighted Sewell's movement. The first play of the second half was this toss play that put Sewell and running back Jermil Gibbs into space. WR Amon-Ra St. Brown gets a good block on the EDGE and Sewell breaks out into space. If he gets into space, he might as well get off Highway 58. Sewell's block on cornerback Kamari Lassiter ultimately led to two points. texans Once they take each other down, Gibbs starts making explosive plays again.
The next shot was a cheeky little swing screen to Jahmil Gibbs on a nice play call against Cover 1. The receiver ran the defender backwards and Highway 58 started moving, with Gibbs right behind him. Look at the speed Sewell showed on this run and the casual power that tipped LB Azeez Alshayer to follow the cutback to Gibbs to gain more yards. By prioritizing movement in space, he will always be the ace of the Lions' attack.
Running behind Highway 58 is always going to be a good plan for Detroit, but I also liked this crunch run, which was a huge blow to a Houston defense that relies on verticality and getting up the field in a hurry. The crunch is a combination of a trap run and a wham run, where the tight end is used to block the defensive tackle and the guard wraps around to block the opposing defensive tackle. From the end zone angle, you can see that the gap between Sewell and the right guard is a little wider. This is because they are trying to influence the defensive tackle to come onto the field so that he gets trapped. And given the Texans' defensive end coverage, this difference is bigger than the Suez Canal.
The Lions may legitimately be the best team in the sport. The fact that they were able to overcome the Jared Goff tragedy is a testament to the team the Lions have built. At 8-1 and with a game against the Jaguars coming up, there is a chance this team will definitely advance in the NFC. If so, I can promise you it's when you're driving down Highway 58.
