Lions renewed rushing attack comes alive in preseason opening win over Tampa Bay - BionicBeard52's Dynasty

BionicBeard52's Dynasty Blog

Lions renewed rushing attack comes alive in preseason opening win over Tampa Bay

Posted on February 17, 2018 at 01:39 AM.

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Detroit Lions
Feb 17, 2018	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-1)	3	0	3	13	19
Detroit Lions (1-0)	7	3	3	14	27

Team Stats Comparison
	TAM	DET
Total Offense	362	438
Rushing Yards	137	246
Passing Yards	225	192
First Downs	23	13
Punt Return Yards	47	18
Kick Return Yards	0	26
Total Yards	409	482
Turnovers	3	1
3rd Down Conversion	6	3
4th Down Conversion	1	0
2-Point Conversion	0	0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	0/3	1/2
Penalties	15	101
Posession Time	32:09	27:51

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
PASSING	C/A	YDS	TD	INT
J. Winston	7/13	58	0	0
J. Rudock	16/30	196	1	2
RUSHING	ATT	YDS	AVG	TD
R. Burkhead	28	101	3.6	0
P. Barber	3	12	4.0	0
J. Rudock	3	10	3.3	0
A. Collins	1	4	4.0	0
R. Turbin	1	4	4.0	0
J. Winston	1	3	3.0	0
L. Pryor	1	3	3.0	0
RECEIVING	REC	YDS	AVG	TD
J. Lampman	5	69	13.8	0
D. Lucien	5	40	8.0	0
R. Burkhead	4	36	9.0	1
O. Howard	3	20	6.7	0
A. Auclair	2	41	20.5	0
P. Barber	1	12	12.0	0
L. Pryor	1	10	10.0	0
A. Collins	1	12	12.0	0
T. Bulaga (R)	1	14	14.0	0
DEFENSE	TACK	SACK	INT	TD
B. Breeland	9	0	1	0
W. Compton	8	1.0	0	0
M. Clairborne	8	1.0	0	0
J. Evans	6	0	0	0
KICKING	FG	XP	PTS	LONG
A. Vinatieri	4/4	1/1	13	48
PUNTING	NO	YDS	AVG	IN20
B. Anger	5	228	45.6	2
PUNT RETURN	RET	YDS	AVG	TD
J. Evans	3	29	9.7	0
D. Jackson	1	18	18.0	0

Detroit Lions
PASSING	C/A	YDS	TD	INT
M. Stafford	4/7	28	0	0
B. Hoyer	10/18	154	0	1
C. Macpherson (R)	4/6	28	1	0
RUSHING	ATT	YDS	AVG	TD
T. Green	8	110	13.8	1
D. Figurs (R)	2	67	33.5	1
A. Abdullah	11	45	4.1	0
T. Riddick	4	17	4.3	0
B. Hoyer	1	7	7.0	0
RECEIVING	REC	YDS	AVG	TD
K. Golladay	3	63	21.0	0
J. Billingsley	3	33	11.0	1
A. Abdullah	1	22	22.0	0
T. Jones	1	20	20.0	0
T. Green	1	17	17.0	0
M. Roberts	3	16	5.3	0
R. Westbrooks (R)	2	16	8.0	0
T. Riddick	1	15	15.0	0
G. Tate III	1	9	9.0	0
DEFENSE	TACK	SACK	INT	TD
B. Chubb	9	1.0	0	0
A. Robinson	9	1.0	0	0
K. Hyder Jr.	8	1.0	0	0
Q. Diggs	7	0	1
KICKING	FG	XP	PTS	LONG
M. Prater	2/2	3/3	9	36
PUNTING	NO	YDS	AVG	IN20
S. Martin	6	279	46.5	1
KICK RETURN	RET	YDS	AVG	TD
J. Agnew	1	26	26.0	0
PUNT RETURN	RET	YDS	AVG	TD
J. Agnew	2	17	8.5	0

When new Lions head coach Matt Patricia took over the franchise he made it priority number one to fix Detroit's awful running game. Well so far it seems that this focus on the rushing attack has paid off. Granted it was just preseason game, the Lions ran for 246 yards on the ground in a 27-19 victory over Tampa Bay.

Rookie first round pick DeAndre Figurs only carried the ball twice in his debut in a Lions uniform, but that's all he needed to show the fans why he was taken with the 20th overall pick. On just his second carry of the game, Figurs took the handoff to the right and cut to the left for open field and a 66-yard touchdown. 2nd-year back Tion Green also had an explosive 91-yard touchdown run in the 4th quarter that would seal the win for Detroit. Meanwhile Ameer Abdullah, who has been the subject of trade rumors, had a quality game with 11 carries and 45 yards in limited action. Right now it is a wide open battle for carries in the Lions backfield and it should be interesting to see how Patricia handles who will receive the carries once the regular season starts.

Although quarterback Matthew Stafford didn't throw a touchdown in his one quarter of action, he completed 4 of 7 for 28 yards in what seemed like a slow start for the Lions offensively. New backup Brian Hoyer struggled early on, throwing a pick on his first drive. He would bounce back with 154 yards through the air. The only passing touchdown of the day came from undrafted rookie quarterback Cody Macpherson. The University of Pittsburgh product saw limited action in the 4th quarter, but the made the best of it with a 17 yard scoring strike to Jace Billingsley.

On defense, the Lions looked like an improved unit up front only giving up 137 yards on the ground. Meanwhile the pass rush was able to out pressure on Jameis Winston and former Detroit backup Jake Rudock with 5 total sacks. The one negative for the Lions defensively came in the discipline department. 101 total penalty yards gave the Buccaneers more chances to extend drives then there should have been.

Tune in next week as the Lions host the Washington Redskins and former Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith.