The Lions’ lone home preseason game ended with a 17-13 win over the Washington Commanders on Saturday, but the bigger value was in the film. Detroit got another look at backups, a better sense of what’s working behind the starters, and, just as importantly, a few ugly reminders of how quickly a roster battle can tilt.
The clearest bright spot was the ground game. Even without Jahmyr Gibbs and Isiah Pacheco taking a snap, Detroit kept hammering away and kept finding yards. Jabari Small exited with a concussion protocol designation, yet the rotation still produced flashes from Jacob Saylors, Trayveon Williams, and Raheem Blackshear.
The blocking up front helped set the tone. Blake Miller recovered after slipping on the turf and still managed to push a defender out of the lane on an eight-yard run.
Tyler Conklin and Tay Martin both delivered key blocks on Joshua Dobbs’ 50-yard touchdown run. Detroit even leaned on Blackshear on fourth-and-two to close it out.
It was the kind of day where the runners and run blockers could all point to the same tape and smile.
The defense also kept the pressure on. D.J.
Wonnum and Derrick Moore made their preseason debuts and each came away with a sack in limited action. Skyler Gill-Howard lived in Washington’s backfield, while Eric O’Neill continued to pop as an undrafted EDGE, this time helping blow up a Commanders drive that had a chance to go ahead.
There were more disruptive moments sprinkled throughout. Levi Onwuzurike brought steady push.
Devin White nearly got to Jayden Daniels on the opening pass of the game. Keith Abney II came close twice on the same drive with nickel blitzes, and Malcolm Rodriguez added a quarterback hit.
Kelvin Sheppard’s defense held Washington to just nine first downs.
But Detroit also gave away too much free yardage. False starts piled up, and in a setting like this, those are the kinds of mistakes that stick out even more.
Seth McLaughlin and Miles Frazier were flagged back-to-back. Melvin Priestly jumped early with the Lions threatening the red zone in the second half.
Larry Borom lined up incorrectly on a strip sack that wound up being recovered in the end zone.
Keith Abney II had his own costly moments too, drawing a holding penalty on what would have been a sack and later getting called for pass interference. Those are the sorts of lapses that can matter a lot over the next few weeks, especially for players trying to carve out a place on the 53-man roster or practice squad.
At quarterback, the story was messy again. Joshua Dobbs opened the game by fumbling on his first pass attempt, then followed it with a risky throw across his body into double coverage on his second drive.
His best work came with his legs. Luke Altmyer showed some flashes, but he wasn’t as sharp as he looked against the Bengals in Week 1 of the preseason.
Altmyer avoided turnovers, though he also took three sacks on one series. Neither quarterback made a clean case that he had seized the backup job.
Injuries may have been the most concerning part of the afternoon. Cedrick Wilson Jr. left with an injury that Dan Campbell described as worrying.
Michael Niese was carted off and later seen leaving the locker room on crutches. Jabari Small entered concussion protocol.
Miles Frazier left at one point before returning. Jacob Saylors, Christian Mahogany, and Chuck Clark all dealt with minor bumps and bruises.
That comes on top of Sam LaPorta’s Week One status already being in doubt, which leaves some early concern around the roster.
For all the good work in the run game, the passing offense never found the same rhythm. When the procedure flags weren’t getting in the way, the pass protection was.
Borom was beaten badly on the opening play and left Dobbs unable to step into the throw, while former Lion Amik Robertson was ready to come blitzing. McLaughlin gave up a sack after assuming a defensive tackle would quit on the play.
Borom also allowed pressure on the interception thrown by Dobbs. Conklin was beaten on a block that led to another sack, and Colby Sorsdal was benched in the second quarter, a move that may have been the final word on his roster hopes.
Detroit got the win, and the run game was a real positive. But the biggest takeaway may be simpler than that: the Lions need their starting offensive line healthy, because Washington’s defense and backups made life miserable for Detroit whenever the ball had to be thrown.
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