4 Winners and 6 Losers from the Lions’ preseason loss to the Raiders

Winners

RB Ameer Abdullah

Abdullah was only on the statsheet for four carries and 16 yards, but they were hard-earned yards, including one for a touchdown. He also had a couple of positive runs that ended up being called back due to penalties, as well as a nice grab for seven yards. Abdullah was thought to be a fringe player heading into training camp and is already doing his best to solidify a roster spot. And I’ve got to say, I’m rooting for the comeback.

RB Kerryon Johnson

All aboard the Kerryon Johnson hype train. Even without the 57-yard run that was called back, KJ had himself a day with 7 carries for 34 yards and 4.9 yards per carry. His burst and vision were on full display against the Raiders’ reserves, and I don’t think there was a better performance than the show that he put on.

Honestly, you could have singled out the entire running back position as a winner, as nearly every running back played extremely well. That’s extremely encouraging for the run game.

Drafted rookies

Kerryon wasn’t the only rookie to perform well in Week 1. Frank Ragnow, Da’Shawn Hand and Tyrell Crosby all had key plays, including Ragnow and Crosby winning their battles and opening up a hole for Abdullah to run through for a score. Hand also made a couple of big tackles in the run game close to line of scrimmage (one to force a fourth down). Tracy Walker didn’t flash much, but amassed three total tackles, including a nice hit on the ball carrier.

Health

Always good to end a game without suffering any major injuries. That’s really what’s most important at this point.

Losers

First-team defense

It got ugly fast for the starters. Whether it was missed assignments in the passing game or getting pounded by the opposing run game, things did not look good for Patricia’s defense. I’m not one to panic after one preseason game, and I think the defense looked very vanilla, but you’ve got to have guys winning more of their one-on-one matchups than we saw last night. The defensive tackles, especially, looked brutal in Oakland and were unable to muster up any semblance of a pass rush.

WR Bradley Marquez

When you’re as low on the depth chart as Marquez is, and you’re potentially fighting for that fifth receiver spot, or simply a spot on the practice squad, you’ve got to make the most of the opportunities that you get. Marquez had two early drops and struggled to separate and come back to the ball on a couple of occasions. It was not a good showing for the fourth-year pro.

S Rolan Milligan

Milligan was responsible for multiple big gains. He had issues holding contain in the run game and struggled in coverage as well.

Backup QBs

Dear Lord, they are bad.

Chris Spielman

I guess it’s preseason for the announcers, too. If you were watching the FOX2 broadcast, then you may have heard Spielman botch Derek Carr’s name several times (calling him by his brother’s name), as well as knocking some pretty clear-cut calls.

The viewers

Watching a 10 p.m. game on the east side is rough.

Watching a 10 p.m. game on the east side with nearly 20 total penalties is a damn nightmare.