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When it comes to righting the Detroit Lions ship, to Jonah Jackson it’s all about finishing.
Dagger Time jokes aside, the offensive guard was asked for his opinion on what the line needs to clean up following a particularly brutal 24-14 loss to the Chicago Bears.
“Keeping the depth of the pocket, keeping the pocket clean for Jared (Goff). The strip sack that happened in the red zone — just executing, just finishing,” he said on Tuesday. “It’s 11 as a whole, you know what I’m saying, it’s not just one person. So — just finishing. That’s all we gotta do.”
The offensive line has been arguably the strongest unit on the team so far this season. But injuries have taken their toll, and the original lineup hasn’t had much of a chance to shine. Jackson said those who have needed to step up — have stepped up, but execution is key.
“The group that came in — Evan (Brown) came in, Penei (Sewell) came in — and yesterday we were able to drive up and down the field pretty easily but it’s just a matter of finishing,” Jackson said.
It’s undeniably frustrating to practice those high stakes situations and not be able to carry them out. For Jackson, finishing strong is key to getting things right going forward.
“A win would be huge. It would be huge for everything and hopefully we get it this week.”
And onto the rest of your notes.
- The Athletic’s Chris Burke explains how Sunday’s debacle marks the first real crossroads of the Dan Campbell era in Detroit. (Subscription required.)
- I offer a second piece from The Athletic after we’ve all slept on the loss, including Penei Sewell’s struggles but some breakthroughs at wide receiver. (Subscription required.)
- Speaking of Sewell’s struggles...
Penei Sewell allowed 2 sacks, 7 pressures and was Detroit's second-worst offensive player per PFF. Now has back-to-back games with worse grades than Taylor Decker has ever had in his career.
— kyle meinke (@kmeinke) October 4, 2021
Just a reminder for those who are about to lose their mind when Decker returns at LT.
- There are some things to clean up in the run game, but overall it was a nice job by (Evan) Brown to step in and handle things in the middle.” Detroitlions.com’s Tim Twentyman and Mike O’Hara offer their thoughts on the loss.
- Really enjoyed this piece by Detroit Free Press’s Shawn Windsor on how losses like Sunday’s can lead to going numb — but Dan Campbell promised these Lions wouldn’t. (Subscription required.)
- As you probably already knew, the Lions are utilizing their rookies a heck of a lot through four games:
Most snaps played by rookies through 4 weeks:
— Mike Renner (@PFF_Mike) October 5, 2021
Jets 1,198
Steelers 1,050
Lions 826
Chiefs 826
Packers 781
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