Comcast Red Zone Recap: Week 6

This post is sponsored by Comcast's NFL RedZone Channel. 

Lions - 0 scores on 1 chance (1 interception)

Just like the Steelers game, the Lions did not spend much time in the red zone against the Packers.  The difference between the Lions' last two games is that aside from the one time they did get into the red zone against the Packers, they only came close to the 20-yard line one other time.  At least against Pittsburgh Daunte Culpepper led the Lions down the field a few times.  That was only to have most of those drives eventually stall or end in a turnover, but against Green Bay that only happened once.  That alone shows you how bad the offense was on this past Sunday.

The one time the Lions got close to the red zone early in the game was near the end of the first quarter when they decided to go for it on 4th and short and were stopped.  The ball was on the 21-yard line on fourth down, so if the Lions had moved the chains, they would have entered the red zone.

The first and only actual trip to the red zone didn't happen until the fourth quarter.  Drew Stanton was the quarterback, and it looked like he was going to put an end to the Packers' shutout.  That didn't happen, though, as Stanton was picked off in the end zone on third down from the 10.  Stanton threw a bad pass on the inside of John Standeford, who was well covered, and it was picked off by Atari Bibgy.

Packers - 4 scores on 5 chances (1 touchdown, 3 field goals, 1 lost fumble)

The score of this game, 26-0, does not reflect just how much the Lions were dominated.  The reason for that is because the Lions' defense was outstanding in the red zone.  After the Packers' first trip to the red zone on their second drive, they were unable to score another touchdown in the whole game despite being inside the 20-yard line four more times.

The next three trips to the red zone resulted in a field goal with the Packers not even being able to get inside the 8-yard line.  The Packers did get down near the goal line on their final trip to the red zone, but Julian Peterson made sure they wouldn't even get a shot at a field goal this time.  Peterson knocked the ball out of Aaron Rodgers' hand, and after it bounced backwards, Larry Foote jumped on it to give the ball to the Lions.

Overall

Just like last week, the offense's biggest problem was that it only got inside the 20-yard line once.  What's even worse about the Packers game is that that one trip produced a turnover rather than points. 

The defense definitely made up for the offense's red zone woes.  This easily could have been a game where the Packers won by more than 40 points, but the defense stepped it up big time and only gave up one touchdown in the red zone despite the fact that Green Bay was inside the 20-yard line five different times.