Have the Lions figured out how to stop mobile quarterbacks?
Last year was tough for the Detroit Lions when it came to stopping the run. The team allowed 1146.5 yards of rushing per game. That was the fourth worst in the league. Where they really got hurt was by the mobile quarterback. Of the 2,491 yards they allowed on the ground, 700 of those yards […]
Last year was tough for the Detroit Lions when it came to stopping the run. The team allowed 1146.5 yards of rushing per game. That was the fourth worst in the league. Where they really got hurt was by the mobile quarterback. Of the 2,491 yards they allowed on the ground, 700 of those yards came from the quarterback using his feet.
Things have drastically changed for the Lions in the run game. Now they're allowing a league best 64.7 yards per game. That's 388 yards through six games. That's a historically low number. Not the best ever, but one of the 20 best ever in NFL history. How much of those 388 yards are coming from quarterbacks? 76 yards. That's 19%
Have they played any mobile quarterbacks? Let's take a look. Here's where each quarterback they've played ranks among their peers when it comes to running the ball.
- Patrick Mahomes: 6th with 185 yards
- Geno Smith: 24th with 42 yards
- Desmond Ridder: 18th with 75 yards
- Jordan Love: 12th with 109 yards
- Bryce Young: 20th with 65 yards
- Baker Mayfield: 19th with 67 yards
The best guy they've played so far is Mahomes and he ran for 50 yards on them. Love is the second best and he mustered -2 yards, but did run for a touchdown.
This Sunday they take on the big dog in Lamar Jackson. The Ravens are fourth in the league in rushing yards with 869 yards and Jackson has ran for 327 of those yards. This a guy that's ran for 1,000 yards twice in his career. He's dangerous and he's going to put the Lions defense to their biggest test yet.
The Lions will also be the biggest test he's face yet as well. In terms of run defense, here's how the teams he's faced are ranking in rushing yards allowed:
- Titans: 14th
- Steelers: 22nd
- Browns: 3rd
- Colts: 19th
- Bengals: 29th
- Texans: 16th
The Browns showed that he can be stopped on the ground. They held him to just 27 yards on nine attempts. The Ravens were still able to win that game 28-3, but you have to wonder if the Browns turning the ball over two times in their own territory had anything to do with that. 14 of the Ravens points came off those.
The Lions are going to have to continue to play clean football against this defense becasue they are no joke. Then they're going to have to make sure they can contain Jackson and not give him a chance to use those feet. That is so much easier said than done.
So back to the question. Have the Lions figured out how to stop the mobile quarterback? We'll find out for sure on Sunday.
Detroit Lions Mailbag: The recipe to beat the Baltimore Ravens
Man, do I love Detroit Lions fans. I asked for mailbag questions this week and I got a ton of them from the fanbase. I can't just choose a few here and there. We're going for a jumbo mailbag today! Let's waste no more time and jump right into it. This Ravens team is pretty […]
