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Carmen Vitali
NFC North Reporter
Every team’s success depends heavily on its ability in the trenches — particularly the offensive line. Everything starts up front, as coaches say.
Few teams have taken that to heart more in recent years than the Detroit Lions, and it may have more to do with necessity than philosophy.
The Lions first started to unequivocally focus on their offensive line after acquiring Jared Goff in the trade of Matthew Stafford. By 2021, they had identified a few good, young players and signed them to multi-year deals.
Center Frank Ragnow is one such player. He’s only 27 years old and signed through 2026. But he was the latest lineman to go down with an injury in Sunday’s win over the New Orleans Saints. He suffered a knee injury in the second quarter and Goff wasn’t at all the same quarterback in the second half.
The first quarter — rather, the first seven minutes — saw the Lions score three times and go up 21-0 over the Saints, silencing the Superdome in the process. After Ragnow left the game, Goff only threw for 86 more yards, 48 of which came on one throw to tight end Sam LaPorta. And after all that, the Lions settled for a field goal on the drive. They scored just one touchdown in the entire half, which came on a 19-yard end-around by wide receiver Jameson Williams.
Goff was ultimately 9-of-15 in the first half, passing for 127 yards and two touchdowns. In the second half, he went 7-of-10 for 86 yards and no touchdowns, while Detroit’s offense looked positively anemic for most of the final two quarters.
The Lions looked to have dodged a severe injury to Ragnow, but head coach Dan Campbell wouldn’t put a timetable on his return.
In Goff’s worst game of the season — a brutal last-minute win over the Chicago Bears, who the Lions will face again this weekend — Goff didn’t come alive until the final four minutes of the game. He completed 23 of his 35 passing attempts…
Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/jared-goffs-issues-reinforce-his-lions-reliance-on-excellent-offensive-line-play
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Publish date : 2023-12-05 20:39:03
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