The memory of Josh Allen is seared in Aaron Glenn's mind: "He burned us a couple years ago on Thanksgiving in a two-minute situation." It was the Lions' biggest moment yet under Dan Campbell, a three-game win streak on the line against a Super Bowl contender on national TV. Their first real chance to make a statement to the NFL.
The Lions had tied the game with 23 seconds to go, and here came Allen and the Bills' offense. With three timeouts from their own 25, they needed about 35 yards to enter field goal range. On the first play of the drive, Allen threw a laser over the middle to Stefon Diggs for 36. From there: timeout, scramble by Allen for three yards, timeout, designed run by Allen for 9 yards, timeout, 45-yard game-winning field goal. Devastation in Detroit.
Two years later, Allen and the Bills are returning to town. This time, it's one Super Bowl contender against another. Glenn's defense is playing better than ever, despite being ravaged by injuries. Now one of the top coordinators in the NFL and a future head coach, Glenn reflects on that heart-breaking drive as an important lesson in his career.
"That’s one area where I think I’ve grown tremendously, and I think every coach tries to," Glenn said Thursday. "I mean, now they have these (clock-management specialists) that are actually handling that, and that’s one thing I want to be able to learn on my own, just every second with timeouts."
Campbell and the Lions simulate such scenarios often in practice. Glenn is grateful for it: "I actually enjoy those times," he said.
"Dan does a hell of a job of putting us in those situations and allowing me to have to think fast and make calls we have to make. And I teach our players the same thing, so they understand exactly what I’m going to call. They’re doing a good job in those situations," said Glenn.
On Sunday, 30 seconds (or 20, or 10) at the end of either half could decide a game between the two highest-scoring teams in the NFL and their MVP-worthy quarterbacks. For a good offense, "it's an eternity," said Glenn, "especially if they have timeouts." A smart defense can make the clock tick more quickly.
"No timeouts, depending on where you are on the field, you can take advantage of when they throw the ball inbounds. And then being able to do things defensively to help yourself as far as making the time go away and what type of calls you want to be in," said Glenn.
Allen accounted for six touchdowns in the Bills' shootout loss to the Rams last week, three with his arm and three with his legs. The week before that, he managed to throw and catch a touchdown on the same play. He's having "as good of a season as I can remember out of him," Campbell said this week, "and he’s had good seasons every year."
"He’s doing an excellent job taking care of the football, playing within the system and then when they need him to become Superman, he shows up," said Campbell. "That’s why he’s in that (MVP) debate."
Priority No. 1 for Detroit's defense, said Glenn, is simple: "We have to stay in coverage, and our DB's know that." It's easier than it sounds against a cast of receivers featuring Amari Cooper, Khalil Shakir and rookie Keon Coleman. The ever-present threat posed by Allen is that, unlike the Lions' MVP candidate, "he can extend plays."
"We have to make sure we don’t allow him to make these off-schedule plays that he’s made throughout his career," said Glenn. "And when we do have him, man, we have to wrap up. It has to be population to the ball to make sure that we get him to the ground. It is hard to tackle this guy, we all know that, but I think our guys look forward to that.”
You rarely stop elite quarterbacks like Allen. You try to contain them in critical situations, said Glenn, because that's when "they really have a chance to change the game: third down, red zone, two-minute." The Lions' defense ranks fourth in the red zone, second on fourth down and first on third down, which explains why they've allowed the second fewest points in the NFL.
The Bills have scored the second most. When crunch time arrives on Sunday and Allen takes the snap, "we just have to be better than him," said Glenn. "That’s what it comes down to. In any situation there is in this game, we have to be better than him.”