DETROIT (AP) — Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell thought his offense should have a clean day.
“We turned the ball twice and one of them went for seven points. That’s the difference in the game,” he said.
Well that, and a porous defense.
Jared Goff passed for 378 yards and four touchdowns, but Detroit struggled against Geno Smith and the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday in a wild 48-45 defeat. Smith was good for 369 yards and three touchdowns, and Rashad Penny rushed for 151 yards and two TDs.
Seattle never used his punt. The Seahawks scored on seven drives, missed a field goal on the eighth and took a knee to finish the game on the ninth. They also scored on Tariq Woolen’s 40-yard interception return in the second half.
“Defensively, we just weren’t good,” Campbell said. “Of course we have to clean everything up and I’m going to look at that with (defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn). We look at the schedule and the staff, and we will find the best match. Not just to get a chance to win our next game, but to win three or four games later. If that means we have to play more young boys, then we will.”
Campbell said Glenn and his staff will help revise the defense, but their own performance will be a part of it.
“We’ll look at everything,” he said. “I think AG is a great coach – that’s why I hired him – but we’ll look at everything about our defense. I think now is the time for a deep dive.”
The Lions conceded 467 points last year – 31st in the league – while going 3-13-1. They have allowed a league-worst 141 this season. That’s an average of 29.0 points in Campbell’s first 21 games as a coach.
The Lions are the 30th team in the Super Bowl era to score at least 140 points in their first four games. The top 29 went 109-7 (.940) while Detroit is 1-3.
“If your offense scores 45 points, I think you should win the game,” said Lions rookie defender Aidan Hutchison. “Props to the offense for scoring those points, but that was a poor defensive performance. We have to be better than that.”
Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone doesn’t think it’s a talent problem holding the defense back.
“This is the NFL and everyone is good enough to play in this league,” he said. “We know a man like DK Metcalf is going to make plays. It’s the mental mistakes and the undisciplined football that gets you in trouble. That’s kind of where we are now as a defense, and we all have to do our part of the puzzle.”
Metcalf had taken a sighted shot at Lions cornerback Jeff Okudah earlier in the week and said he hadn’t proven himself as a shutdown corner because he got safety help on deep balls. Metcalf finished with seven catches for 149 yards, including two long plays while matching Okudah.
“Hats off to him – he’s a good corner,” Metcalf said, repeating the phrase he used earlier this week.
Okudah said he didn’t see the match as a grudge match between the two.
“I don’t necessarily know if there was a back and forth,” he said. “He is clearly one of the best receivers in the league. As a competitor, of course I want to win the one-on-one fights with him.”
Campbell thinks Detroit’s defensive problems may have an underlying cause. Unfortunately, it’s not one that he can fix.
“I think we don’t have confidence – it shows very clearly,” he said. “To get that, you have to have production in games and be successful. You have to stop playing and stop playing – things of that nature. We lack that and that is why we make mistakes.”
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