It can only get better from here, but our first introduction to the Ben Johnson-less Lions offense had very little bite.
Jared Goff’s 42% play action rate on early downs was well below his 50% rate under Johnson last year.
His 38% under center rate on those early downs was way down from the 52% rate last year.
Goff faced man coverage on just 9% of dropbacks.
He was blitzed on just 9% of dropbacks as well, #2 lowest in the NFL.
Even in the first half of the game, before it became a blowout, Goff was playing in an offense that showed little similarity to Johnson’s offense.
In the first half, Goff was blitzed on just 19% of dropbacks and pressured at the #5 lowest rate of any QB (18%).
He held the ball for 3+ seconds on 50% of his dropbacks, the #2 highest rate in the NFL.
And despite hardly being pressured, having plenty of time to throw, and not facing much man coverage, Goff averaged only 1.6 air yards per attempt in the first half.
1.6 air yards on all first half passes.
Despite the fifth-lowest pressure rate.
That was the lowest target depth of any quarterback in the NFL in the first half of Week 1 games.
Goff ended the game with the #3 longest time to throw but the lowest target depth of any QB.
Those things shouldn’t go together, and that combo certainly represents a quarterback who isn’t comfortable or confident.
Combined with a terrible rushing performance, the Lions recorded just four explosive plays, the lowest rate since 2021.
Some of the credit obviously goes to the Packers defense, but the Lions offense was highly problematic everywhere.
Case in point, the red zone.
Here’s where we don’t have to worry as much about target depth, because the entire field is condensed.
Just call good plays and score touchdowns.
The Lions made four trips into the red zone but scored just 1 touchdown.
Here’s where the loss of Johnson really stands out.
In the red zone, the Lions ranked:
#29 of 30 offenses in success rate (23%)
#25 of 30 offenses in EPA per play (-0.37)
Over the last two years, the Lions ranked top six in both metrics.
Detroit’s offense is bound to improve, but they play the #3 toughest schedule in the NFL and have very little margin for error.
