​Cade Mays' Lions debut validated decision to sign with Detroit

Cade Mays looked angry to have missed the first five games of the season, like he had some pent-up frustration to take out on the opponent. On the Lions' first touchdown, Mays hit a double-team on a defensive tackle with Christian Mahogany, then found a linebacker and planted him into the turf.

"Early on, just get the butterflies out, and just go fly around and try to hit stuff," said Mays after the Lions' 20-17 win over the Packers.

Mays wasn't perfect in his Lions debut. He didn't expect to be after missing several weeks due to a fractured bone in his wrist. He put a ball on the ground on a fumbled snap -- both Mays and Jared Goff took the blame -- and got beat on the Packers' lone sack. And yes, he inadvertently caused another fumble when he knocked the ball out of the hands of Jahmyr Gibbs while pushing a pile in the second level.

But Mays, for the most part, showed why the Lions gave him a three-year, $25 million deal this offseason and then plugged him in at center as soon as his wrist healed, despite how well Juice Scruggs had played in his stead. Mays is a big, strong body who can anchor in pass protection and get out in space in the run game.

"We signed him for a reason," is how Dan Campbell put it last week.

"I wasn’t naive," said Mays. "I knew there would be rust to knock off, and obviously game shape is different than practice shape. It’s going to get better every week. Just tried to go out there and play hard, communicate and try to do my job."

"Big Cader came back," said Penei Sewell.

It was tough sledding on the ground for the Lions. Nearly half of Jahmyr Gibbs' carries went for two yards or less. Eight of them were stuffed, four of which went for losses. He wound up churning out 116 yards on 29 carries, but both the scheme and communication up front left lots to be desired.

Campbell pointed Monday to missed targets due to poor technique and mental errors as the root of the negative runs.

Take the 4th and 1 that nearly doomed Detroit late in the game. The Lions called a slow-developing run behind a jumbo front, with Gibbs eight yards deep in the backfield. Despite having eight bodies on the line and a tight end in motion, they left a blitzing corner unblocked on the back side of the play. He dropped Gibbs for a two-yard loss.

"That's our own doing," said Campbell. "We certainly helped on that (stop), in a bad way. As long as we're all on the same page, we got a chance there."

Or take the second play of the game. With the Lions in 13 personnel and all three tight ends on the line, Goff appeared to check into a run that sent Gibbs directly into a corner blitz for a loss of two. It never should have happened with that many bodies up front.

In the second quarter, on the first play of a drive that started deep in Detroit territory, Mays and Mahogany blocked the same defensive tackle, while Penei Sewell and extra O-lineman Larry Borom were drawn to the same linebacker, allowing defensive tackle Anthony Campbell to crash through the line unimpeded and drop Gibbs for a loss of three.

Later that drive, Isaiah McDuffie charged into the backfield untouched on a double linebacker blitz and would have dropped Gibbs for a loss of five had it not been for Gibbs' spectacular juke that left McDuffie on his face. Goff might have been better off checking into a different play, with the Packers showing such an aggressive run defense.

"I do think getting Cade back, that was a good game for him to get in there and get his feet wet again," said Campbell. "He’s only going to get better and better, man, physically and mentally, and the more that he and the rest of those guys now can play together, that’s going to go a long way."

The Lions were better at picking up blitzes against the pass. Goff finished 22 of 32 for 302 yards and two touchdowns. He was fortunate to not be picked by safety Evan Williams on an errant throw over the middle, but was pinpoint for most of the game. Goff credited Mays for "getting his feet back underneath him and making the calls," especially with the way Green Bay adjusted its defense without starting middle linebacker Zaire Franklin.

"They did a lot of stuff defensively that was different when they had 44 out of the game," said Goff. "They changed a little bit of what they were doing with the front pressures and whatnot, and I thought (Mays) handled it really well."

On the sack, Mays was driven into Goff on a bull rush by Campbell, the hulking defensive tackle who caused problems all game. On the fumbled exchange that led to a short field and a touchdown for the Packers, well, depends who you ask. Goff, who was under center, said that "I came out a little early, I’ve got to stay in there," while Mays said, "Botched snap's on me, miscommunication is always (on) the center." Either way, it has to get ironed out. That was one of the fears in swapping out Scruggs.

Goff, Mays and the offense will have to be even more alert next Sunday against Minnesota's hyper-aggressive defense under Brian Flores that gave Detroit fits last season. The Vikings have been even more blitz-happy and more dangerous this year, allowing just 12.3 points per game -- by far the fewest in the NFL. They deploy a complex scheme that puts lots of stress on the center to help the quarterback get into the right plays before the snap.

Over the course of 68 snaps Sunday, Mays "felt like I settled in well." He was pleased to come out of the game healthy. He was thrilled to come out on top. Making his Lions debut in a big a win over a division rival in a raucous environment at Ford Field was validation of his decision to sign here in the offseason.

"Absolutely," said Mays. "The fans were rocking, it was incredible. What a great week to come back."

On a choppy day for the offense, the Lions still averaged 6.3 yards per play against Green Bay, a good bit above their average through the first five games. They found several explosives through the air, with the protection as sturdy as it's been all year. Goff was pressured on just six of his 33 drop-backs, per PFF. Mays was stout at the point.

"We're investing a lot right now in the run, and that's where we gotta be better," said Campbell.

With Sunday's result, the Lions have won back to back games for the first time in more than a year. They're two games behind the 6-0 Vikings, as the race for the division heats up.

"And we got another hot team coming in right now, where we’re going to have to be on top of our game," said Campbell. "We gotta play a lot cleaner than we did against Green Bay, but man, there are some things that we’re definitely getting better at. I’m excited about this O-line playing together. Now that we’ve got those guys going here, we can get those five settled in and just soak them in reps together in real games and let them grow."