Detroit Lions have struggled to execute at a high level in the third quarter the past four games.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 John, as you know, the Lions don't play very good football in the third quarter.
00:03 Really, they've played their worst football of all season in the third quarter consistently.
00:08 What has been the issue for the Lions, you think, coming out of halftime up to this point in the campaign?
00:14 Yeah, Vito, it's a real head-scratcher.
00:15 Dan Campbell's been asked about it repeatedly.
00:17 What is going on when the Lions come out after halftime on both sides of the football,
00:23 but against the Bears, it was really noticeable offensively.
00:26 The execution, the mistakes, the sloppiness.
00:30 Coming out of the half, you would think that the Lions would be a football team that would execute at a very high level,
00:36 having the opportunity to talk to the coaches, to rest and regroup at the break,
00:40 and then come out and play at a high level.
00:42 The Lions were playing well against the Bears.
00:44 A slow start in the first half, but they were able to gain some momentum and make a play defensively,
00:51 and that propelled the Lions offensively.
00:53 You saw the touchdown by Jameer Gibbs, gave the Lions a little bit of life.
00:56 But then after the half, it was completely, really a performance that was really subpar for the Lions.
01:03 A lot of mistakes, a lot of three-and-outs, questionable play calls, just really not being in sync in any capacity.
01:10 And it's a head-scratcher because you recognize the talent level that the Lions possess offensively,
01:16 and, Vito, it kind of, when you start to dig deep in the film and look,
01:20 teams have kind of figured out what really bothers Jared Goff, and that's obviously pressure.
01:26 They're forcing him to throw to the outside. They're taking away the middle.
01:29 So I think that the Lions have to adapt and have to kind of change it up.
01:34 I think they go into these games with a specific game plan.
01:37 They're too stringent upon their game plan, not willing to adapt in-game.
01:42 And I think in the third quarter, I think the Bears really ratcheted up in terms of their pressure.
01:46 They were able to really disrupt Jared Goff and get him off his game.
01:51 So, Vito, you're starting to see the Lions truly are the hunted.
01:54 Now they have to adapt and find ways to counterpunch when opponents take away their strengths.
02:00 They're not going to let Amon Ross St. Brown just simply beat them.
02:03 They're not going to just let Jameer Gibbs and David Montgomery run all over the place.
02:07 The Bears definitely featured a strong run defense, and so it forced Jared Goff into being more of a playmaker, more of a leader.
02:14 And unfortunately against the Bears in the third quarter, it was a complete disaster this week.
02:18 Yeah, Goff fell short for a fourth straight week. Really underperformed.
02:22 John, thanks for all the time.