Lions Film Study: Something Arizona did twice against the Lions looked VERY familiar — and that’s the problem
Arizona scored twice using essentially the same two-tight-end concept New Orleans used in Week 1, and the Packers now have two weeks to see exactly how Detroit has struggled with it.
The Detroit Lions beat the Arizona Cardinals 45-21 on Sunday. It was a convincing win, and nobody should take that away from them. However, one thing in that game looked very familiar to me. The Cardinals did it twice, and it worked both times.
Arizona seems to have pulled it straight from the New Orleans Saints’ playbook in Week 1, and Detroit still doesn’t have an answer for it.
The play Arizona ran twice
Both of the Cardinals’ early touchdowns went to tight end Teagan Quitoriano, and both came from the same design.
Arizona lined up in 12 personnel. That means one running back, two tight ends, and two receivers. The Cardinals sent one tight end in motion. Quitoriano then released up and to the right, and the other tight end floated out to give quarterback Jacoby Brissett a second option.
First, look at this play.
Watch the motion before the snap and then watch what happens with the two tight ends after the ball is snapped. Quitoriano gets into the open area, and Brissett has an easy throw for the touchdown.
Now look at this clip.
It’s the same idea.
The second touchdown was the bigger problem. Quitoriano was wide open, and he shouldn’t have been. Lions safety Chuck Clark was clearly out of position on that play, and Detroit had no way of covering it.
Arizona ran it once, saw that Detroit didn’t handle it well, and then went right back to it.
Here’s where it gets even more interesting.
Go back to Week 1 against the New Orleans Saints and look at this play.
Look familiar?
The Saints ran the same concept for a touchdown to tight end Juwan Johnson. Same personnel look. Same type of motion. Same stress on the Lions’ coverage. Same result.
That’s three touchdowns where Detroit has been attacked in essentially the same way.
What the numbers say about 12 personnel
This isn’t a one-game issue. The Lions have dealt with it all year.
Detroit has faced 94 snaps against 12 personnel out of 359 total defensive plays. That’s the third most in the NFL. Opponents use two-tight-end sets on 26.18% of Detroit’s defensive snaps, while the league average sits at 22.79%.
The results haven’t been pretty. On these plays, the Lions are allowing:
- The eighth-highest total offensive EPA
- The 11th-highest EPA per pass
- The 10th-highest EPA per rush
- The 10th-highest opponent pass rate
On top of that, Detroit has been on defense more than any team in the league. That’s a whole other discussion for another day.
What does that mean? Teams know they can line up in 12 personnel and disguise a pass as a run. Everything about the look screams run. You have two tight ends, two receivers, and a running back. Right now, the Lions just aren’t reading it well.
Opponents don’t throw out of this look on every snap. When they do, though, they’re finding success. They run it a lot too, and judging by the EPA numbers, that’s working for them as well.
Why the bye week matters here
I went through all of the film from Detroit’s other games. I couldn’t find another example of a team scoring a touchdown on this specific concept. Still, what struck me is that Arizona ran it, saw it work, and knew it could go right back to it later. The Saints had already shown something very similar in Week 1.
If teams keep seeing this on film, they’re going to run it. The linebackers are having trouble with it. The safeties are having trouble with it. NFL coaches are going to notice.
That brings me to the Green Bay Packers. If I’m Green Bay, I have a good group of tight ends with Tucker Kraft and Jonnu Smith, plus the other options they can rotate through. I would absolutely put this concept into the game plan against Detroit. I’m curious to see if the Packers do.
To be fair, this isn’t the No. 1 problem facing the Lions. But it’s a problem. With two weeks to look it over, this is where I’d spend a lot of film time.
The Cardinals ran essentially the same play twice and scored both times. The Saints had already hurt Detroit with the same basic idea in Week 1.
Detroit needs an answer before somebody tries it again.
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