You can always count on Dan Campbell's Lions to play hard. Whether they can play sound, smart football on top of that is the question.
The answer in Week 1 was the same as last year: Not quite. Blunders and blown assignments were the Lions' undoing in a 38-35 loss to the Eagles.
"There were three benchmarks going into this game that are kind of no-brainers," Campbell said Tuesday on the Stoney & Jansen Show. "We felt like we just needed to hone in on the effort, the details and then win the turnover battle. It was that simple. The effort was great, it was outstanding, but the details and the turnover battle were not. And it’s rare that you win in this league if you’re not getting two out of the three."
The only turnover probably decided the game. The Lions spotted the Eagles seven points when Jared Goff threw a pick-six on a miscommunication with T.J. Hockenson late in the first half. And while it doesn't qualify as a turnover, Campbell also gifted the Eagles great field position on a failed and (needless) onside kick early in the second half that Philadelphia turned into a touchdown and a 38-21 lead.
The Lions only made things harder on themselves with sloppy play on defense. A lack of discipline in the front seven allowed the Eagles to rush for over 200 yards against Detroit for the second year in a row. The Lions frequently lost contain on Jalen Hurts, allowing the quarterback to extend a number of drives with his legs. He ran for 90 yards and a touchdown. And running back Miles Sanders averaged over seven yards per carry.
"We gotta clean a lot of stuff up, man," said Campbell. "We got some guys that went rogue. They’re trying to make a play with the energy in that building and man, we gotta dial it back and focus on the details."
The Lions were so scattered on defense that rookie linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez, in his first NFL game, was sometimes the only player doing his job. Campbell said Monday that Rodriguez had zero missed assignments, which he couldn't say for anyone else.
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"Everybody’s got a responsibility. And if you trust where you’re supposed to be and get where you’re supposed to be when you’re supposed to be there, and let your teammate do his job and you do your job, the play will come to you," Campbell said. "Those little things, like keeping Hurts bottled in in the pass game, everything works in unison in the pass game. We’re all a piece of this puzzle."
The Lions will try to put it together again in Week 2.
On the bright side for the defense, cornerback Jeff Okudah played well in his first game back from a torn Achilles.
"I thought Okudah took a step in the right direction," Campbell said. "It was good to see him get out there and challenge. He didn’t back down, he played fearless. Like everybody, he’s just gotta clean some things up. It wasn’t a perfect game, but it was a good start."
As for No. 2 pick Aidan Hutchinson, one of those players guilty of letting Hurts run free, Campbell said, "Look, that’s his first full game, full speed against real NFL dudes. He’s going to learn from this and be better. He’s going to be a ton better next week, and you can say that about all of our rookies."
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