The Lions had four plays all game where they needed to gain just one yard in Week 6 against the Chiefs.
They passed the ball all four times.
One of the plays was the trick play on fourth and goal from the 1 that didn’t count due to a penalty.
The other three ended the game: Second and 1, third and 1, and fourth and 1 with 2:14, 2:07, and 2:03 left in the game.
I’m mentioning those times for a reason.
They wouldn’t run the ball in the most optimal situations to run the ball.
Instead, the Lions called runs on 54% of first downs.
In the first half of the game, they called runs on 77% of first downs.
Those runs?
They averaged -0.01 EPA per rush and a 39% success rate.
But when they passed the ball on first down?
+0.58 EPA per pass and 91% success rate.
Jared Goff was 11 of 11 and averaged 11.0 yards per attempt.
Last week, I mentioned the Chiefs were the #32 defense against play action, and the Lions had been using it at the #1 highest rate.
The Lions used play action on just 29% of early down passes, #17 in the NFL.
Detroit could have easily shifted those first down runs, which were averaging negative EPA, into first down passes, which were the best in the NFL last week, with 55% of them gaining another first down.
This was one of the first big games with John Morton calling the shots and needing to scheme up to take on a good defense, and he failed miserably.
Too many runs when they should have passed the ball, and too many passes when they should have run the ball.