Dan Campbell’s brutally honest assessment of Lions should scare rest of NFL
The Detroit Lions have been one of the best teams in the NFL this season. Even after losing both of their coordinators this offseason, Detroit seemingly hasn't lost a step. They come out of their bye week with a 5-2 record, scoring key wins against some of the top contenders in the process.
If the Lions are to be believed, they still aren't playing to their full potential. Head coach Dan Campbell believes that Detroit still has another gear this season. The Lions HC said that they could stand to be better at playing complementary football over the course of the season.
“I really believe we haven't played our best ball yet collectively in all three phases,” Campbell said, per Eric Woodyard of ESPN. “And that's really what we're trying to get to here is how can we sharpen ourselves. We know it's going to take every phase. Every game's different, and one unit may have to pick up the slack, but we need to start playing complete ball across the board. And just keep improving — like with all these teams that we're in the race with right now. So, that's where we're at.”
The Lions have highlighted four key areas for improvement during their bye week. That includes their third-down efficiency on both sides of the ball. Detroit is ranked 22nd in third-down conversion rate this season with just 37.7%, far below their 47% rate last season. On the other side, they're allowing a similar third-down conversion rate on defense, which is higher than their 32.5% rate last year.
The two other areas that the Lions focused on during the bye week are their red zone defense and Jameson Williams' involvement on offense. While Detroit's defense has been generally solid this season, it's allowing a whopping 63.6% of its opponents' red zone trips to end in a touchdown. On the other hand, Williams has had an up-and-down season thanks in large part to his fluctuating target rate. Detroit's offense is at its best when the threat of Jamo downfield opens up the rest of the offense. Finding ways to get him in space is going to be crucial for this team moving forward.
The Lions open the second half of their season with a matchup against the Minnesota Vikings at home. Will Detroit apply what they've installed during the bye week in their next games?
Pittsburgh Steelers rule out two more players for Colts clash
The Pittsburgh Steelers have ruled out two more players against the Indianapolis Colts with safety Chuck Clark and linebacker Cole Holcomb officially being downgraded with illnesses.
Holcomb came back from a severe knee injury this offseason that forced him to miss all of last season. A multi-ligament knee injury, Holcomb’s health has been sterling otherwise this season and the illness that he is dealing with forced him to miss the last two practices.
His backup, Malik Harrison, was on injured reserve and has not played since Week 1 after suffering an MCL sprain, but he will likely be the player to fill in for Holcomb. Harrison was activated from injured reserve on Saturday.
Clark, meanwhile, also has an illness. That issue is something that could thin the lines at safety even more. The Steelers placed DeShon Elliott on injured reserve with a knee injury and Jabrill Peppers is out with a quad injury.
With Clark a no go, the Steelers will likely start Dugger and Juan Thornhill or even Jalen Ramsey at safety. On top of that, Clark has been the key reserve player for the team to allow others to work on special teams, but the Steelers will have to find those snaps somewhere. Darrick Forrest and Jack Henderson are on the practice squad.
