Huard: A key stat that illustrated Seahawks’ struggles vs Lions
Oct 1, 2024, 9:57 AM | Updated: 10:06 am
Jahmyr Gibbs of the Detroit Lions scores a touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks during a 2024 game. (Nic Antaya/Getty Images)
(Nic Antaya/Getty Images)
The Seattle Seahawks put together one of their most productive offensive games in recent memory on Monday night against the Detroit Lions.
The Seahawks amassed over 500 yards of offense and a staggering 38 first downs while averaging 6.6 yards per play, but it wasn’t enough to leave the Motor City with a victory.
Rost: What the Seahawks’ 42-29 loss to the Lions tells us
For everything that went right offensively, even more went wrong on the defensive side of the ball in a 42-29 loss on Monday Night Football.
The Seahawks struggled to stop Detroit in both the passing and running game. They allowed 7.8 yards per play and didn’t force an incompletion. And the Lions scored touchdowns on six of their first nine drives.
Detroit was rarely forced into pressure situations on offense along the way, facing just six third downs over their 11 total drives.
“I said yesterday, “Hey man, third downs, these money downs, will probably be the deciding factor,'” former NFL quarterback Brock Huard said during the Blue 88 segment on Tuesday’s Brock and Salk. “Well, they were both 50%. The Seahawks were 5 of 10 on third down, Detroit was 3 of 6 on third down. That number had to be double digits. You had to find a way to get Detroit to third down.”
It was a stark contrast from the first three weeks for the defense. The unit forced Denver into 18 third downs in the opener, New England into 16 in Week 2 and Miami into 12 last week.
However, the Seahawks were facing a much better offense Monday against one of the league’s top Super Bowl contenders. Plus, they were missing five defensive starters, and standout safety Julian Love exited early with an injury and didn’t return.
“(Seahawks head coach) Mike Macdonald knew third downs would be key. (He) told (ESPN play-by-play announcer) Joe Buck as much in the production meetings,” Huard said. “Detroit knew third downs would be key, and the fact that they only had six, that is why they averaged eight yards a play, and it just came back bite you.”
A big key in not being able to get Detroit into those third-down situations was the lack of ability to stop the Lions on first down. Of the 26 first-down plays run by Detroit, only quarterback Jared Goff’s kneel down at the end went for negative yardage. Of the remaining 25 plays, 21 went for positive yards and another featured a defensive pass interference.
In total, the Lions averaged 9.96 yards per play on first downs that didn’t end in a penalty. That included a 70-yard touchdown pass from Goff to Jameson Williams and a 40-yard pass to running David Montgomery that featured a number of missed tackles by Seattle defenders.
“They couldn’t get them (to third down),” Huard said. “… Not one incomplete pass: 18-for-18. Do you know how hard that is to do on a Friday practice versus air? To go 18-for-18 (and) do it in an NFL game, incredible.”
Tune in to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.
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