Lions Film Study: Ahmed Hassanein had 2 sacks against the Bengals, but the film shows something even more exciting
Ahmed Hassanein had 2 sacks against the Bengals. The Detroit Lions should be even MORE excited about what happened on the plays that didn’t become sacks. Because when you go back and watch the film, something else really stands out.
If there’s one guy who stood out for the Detroit Lions on Thursday night against the Cincinnati Bengals, it was second-year edge rusher Ahmed Hassanein. What a performance for a guy who looked like he could be a major contributor for this team.
You saw the two sacks that he had that game, and we plan to highlight those, but I wanted to put together the first film study of the year and take a look at some of the stuff the highlight reel didn’t really catch. Let’s jump into it.
Clip 1: The first sack
Dalton Risner has been in the NFL since 2019. This guy is a veteran starter, and Hassanein just ate him up on his first snap of the game. He shook him off and then ran inside, and Risner just never had a chance on this one; Hassanein sacks Burrow. This is where Hassanein can be dangerous for Detroit. They now have some real options beyond Alim McNeill when it comes to rushing inside.
Clip 2: You have to picture him screaming in this one
In my opinion, this is the play that best describes Hassanein. It’s a quick throw from Burrow, so there’s no time for pressure; he turns around and then takes off as if to scream, “Ahhhhhhhh, I have to hit someone!” Then he gets credited with the tackle on a play he seemingly wasn’t even involved with a second before. When Lions head coach Dan Campbell said he doesn’t take a play off, this is what he was talking about.
Clip 3: Half a second late from three sacks
That’s Hassanein going up against Orlando Brown. A veteran, career starting right tackle, and he just bullies him off the line with his explosiveness. Brown does sorta get a win here because he pushes Hassanein off at the last second, and that one second prevents a sack, but it definitely didn’t prevent the pressure or the hit. This pass wound up being incomplete, so it’s a bigger win for Hassanein.
Clip 4: Another hit, maybe a hold?
If I were a ticky-tacky ref, I might call holding on Corey Robinson here. Still, it’s yet another hit that Hassanein lays on a Bengals quarterback in this game.
Clip 5: This is essentially what the Lions’ defense hopes to be
Look at this one. Hassanein gets the pressure here, but I isolated this clip really as an example of what the Lions want their defense to be. Run-stopping first, and then good coverage downfield, opening up opportunities up front. Johnson had all day here, but had nowhere to go, and that gave the line time to find their spot; in this case, that spot was Hassanein getting free and causing an errant throw. These are the kind of things that cause interceptions more than they do sacks. These are also the kind of plays that make time to pressure a difficult stat to rely on.
Clip 6: The sack fumble
I mean, this is how they teach it to you right here. You might not get the full-on tackle right away, but put your arms out and swat at something. Go for the ball before the body. It worked. Hassanein swats the ball out. The Lions don’t get possession, but had they got it, that’s way cooler than a sack any day of the week.
Detroit Lions News