Biggest Takeaways from Detroit Lions' Week 6 Win
The Detroit Lions don't lose to the Chicago Bears.
Detroit has won the last five times these two have faced off, with this last matchup providing the Lions' lone victory this season. And as far as takeaways, they don't get much bigger than avoiding 0-16 for the second time in a decade.
It's incredibly unlikely that the winless scenario would have played out again. This was Detroit's first home game against a team that wasn't leading its division. That's a tough slate whether your franchise is headquartered in Green Bay or Jacksonville.
That's important, as are the following five takeaways from Detroit's Week 6 win.
Downfield Tosses Work
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Jeff Seidel of the Detroit Free Press learned from Calvin Johnson that Detroit wanted to make downfield passing an "emphasis" this week. What a concept!
The Lions got back to what quarterback Matthew Stafford does best, and he responded with 405 yards and four touchdowns. And long chunk plays played a huge factor in that success.
Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com pointed out that Detroit had eight passing plays that went for 20 or more yards against the Bears. They had 15 coming into said game.
That success paid off in two ways. First, it took the pressure off the offense to be perfect on every play, since one incomplete three-yard pass can doom a drive when using the dink-and-dunk approach. Second, it opened up more room for the running game.
They won't face a defense as porous as Chicago's every week, but if the Lions can take this wild deep-passing concept and apply it to the rest of their schedule, a winning percentage higher than the current 12 percent is easily in the cards.
There Was Actual Leverage in the Running Game
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There were times against Chicago when the entire left side of the offensive line was two or three yards down the field by the time the running back passed the line of scrimmage.
One of the plays in question even looked to be an infamous outside run.
The line has done a terrible job of getting leverage on these particular plays, instead flowing along or just behind the line of scrimmage. The tape will confirm if it was a schematic change or better execution, but it's still something to build on.
Regardless of the cause, it was downright impressive. It also allowed Detroit to roll up 155 yards on the ground, which is 86 yards better than the team's previous season high.
Although before we move on, let's throw a few grains of salt on the suddenly speeding slug that is Detroit's running game. Matthew Stafford's scrambles and Isa Abdul-Quddus' punt-fake carry accounted for 67 of those 155 yards, tempering any ground-game expectations going forward.
Joique Bell Had Better Be Ready
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Not everything is hunky-dory in Detroit's backfield.
Zach Zenner suffered broken ribs and a partially collapsed lung, per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. The Lions have opted to put him on the injured reserve despite a normal recovery time of six weeks, presumably because roster spots are becoming more costly with DeAndre Levy's continuing issues.
Birkett later tweeted that Detroit intends to promote George Winn from the practice squad.
Winn is a physical runner whose main responsibilities will come on special teams. He cannot be relied on to be a chain-mover by banging between the tackles consistently.
That means Joique Bell must provide an inside presence to balance out Ameer Abdullah and Theo Riddick. He's been battling knee and Achilles issues since last year, and as a result, he's looked extremely slow in his limited appearances this season.
The Lions need Bell to rediscover the slight explosiveness he had before. Otherwise, the running game will have to rely heavily on outside runs and end-arounds.
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Jim Caldwell Is Still Making Questionable Calls
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Hindsight can reveal the wisdom of decisions hidden at the time the choice was made. That's not the case here, despite the evidence.
Head coach Jim Caldwell opted to kick a field goal with just under three minutes left in the game and Detroit trailing by seven. His rationale was he trusted his defense to hold Chicago without a first down, and he had all three timeouts, per Kyle Meinke of MLive Media Group.
That doesn't fly here.
Said defense had already given up 31 points and was struggling up the middle without defensive tackles Haloti Ngata and Tyrunn Walker. And Bears running back Matt Forte came into the game as the league's leading rusher.
Oh, and don't forget that same defense gave up 69 yards in 21 seconds on the Chicago drive that followed.
Detroit was facing a 4th-and-4 from Chicago's 13. That's a short conversion opportunity inside the red zone. It's one thing to kick a field goal (especially from deep) when down multiple scores. It's another to trust a winless team to suddenly find its 2014 form.
It isn't smart football. The ends definitely don't justify the means in this case.
Defense Needs Haloti Ngata to Be a Difference-Maker
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Again, Detroit's defense didn't do much to win this game aside from the drive that vindicated Jim Caldwell for another week.
It was absolutely torched through the air, giving up 353 yards to Jay Cutler. Alshon Jeffery proved especially effective (eight receptions, 147 yards, one touchdown), especially when the Lions opted to use Josh Wilson on him during the final drive of regulation.
The rushing defense didn't fare much better to start. Chicago exploited the reserve defensive tackles, often pushing them two yards off the ball and creating easy yards for Matt Forte.
Things did improve as the game went on, but it's clear Detroit needs another playmaker up front to help ease the pain of DeAndre Levy's absence.
Whether Haloti Ngata can be that player anymore remains to be seen. He's missed half of Detroit's games thus far and hasn't been particularly effective when on the field. The Lions need him to return from his nagging calf issue and do so at a high level to help elevate the team's win total above one.
Brandon Alisoglu is a Detroit Lions featured columnist. He also co-hosts a Lions-centric podcast, Lions Central Radio. Yell at him on Twitter: @BrandonAlisoglu.
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