A Look At Who Dominated And Who Disappointed In Week Three Against Atlanta.
Who Led The Pride?
Darius Slay had one of the toughest assignments a cornerback can have as he faced Atlanta Falcons star receiver Julio Jones. While Jones did have seven catches for 91 yards, he did it on 12 targets and was kept out of the end zone. This was due to Slay being in good positioning all night, allowing him to break up three passes on the day, two of which came while covering Jones in the end zone. Not only that, but Slay also had two interceptions in this game with one of them coming in the red zone. Slay did a great job slowing down one of the league’s top receivers and helped the Lions stay close against the former NFC champions.
Matthew Stafford really impressed today and showed that he is continuing to develop as a quarterback. He showed on several passes today that he has really improved his accuracy and touch on intermediate-deep throws. While the Lions lost in heart-braking fashion in this game, Stafford’s ability to get the Lions in a position to win at the end, deserves recognition.
Glover Quin was the other defensive back that really stood out today. Quin was all over the field was a catalyst in Lions regaining momentum in this game. The Lions were down multiple scores early until the Lions safety made a great pre-snap read and jumped in front of a pass intended for Julio Jones and took it back for six points. Quin also did a good job in run support with the linebackers struggling. Glover ended the game second on the team in tackles with eight.
Glover Quin is so good at what he does. Cerebral, sure-handed, durable, leader. One of the NFL's most underrated.
— Justin Rogers (@Justin_Rogers) September 24, 2017
Lions In Famine
Eric Ebron had arguable the worst game of his career. He had trouble blocking in space and in the passing game. Ebron dropped three passes in the second half of the game, with two of them coming on third downs, ultimately ending drives. Ebron was target seven times and came down with two receptions for nine yards.
The line-backing corps. as a whole really struggled today. They were very inconsistent against the run. They had stretches of a couple of plays where they really stuffed the Atlanta run. But with Jarrad Davis gone, the linebackers did not attack downhill as aggressively and got swallowed by the Falcons offensive line as a result.
Watching these LBs gives me nightmares from last year
— Logan Lamorandier (@LLamorandier) September 24, 2017
DJ Hayden had the worst day of the Lions defensive back group. Consistently, Hayden was out of position in zone and trailing in man coverage. He had no pass breakups and was covering receiver Tyler Gabriel through much of the day who totalled 79 yards, one touchdown, from five catches on six targets. Hayden also had two penalties called on him to compound with his poor performance.
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