Lions-Texans key stats: Eye-popping numbers from Detroit’s defense

What hasn’t already been said about this game? Five interceptions from Jared Goff, three in the first half? No problem, the defense will pitch a shutout in the second half. No Taylor Decker manning the left tackle spot? Next justified man up. Trailing by 16 at halftime, winless when down 10+ points at halftime in the Dan Campbell era? Jake Bates will bring it home from distance.

As we will do every week during the season for this Detroit Lions team, we have some data to crunch through courtesy of PFF that will help us better understand the football the Lions have played thus far – and what we can look forward to in the future. weeks. Let’s take a closer look at the Lions by the numbers after a wild win in Houston.

PFF’s premium stats are an invaluable data point for football fans to better understand the game. Consider subscribing to PFF to get full access to a wealth of stats and grades to keep you informed about the NFL – and college football, too. NFL Pro also provides some innovative and illustrative advanced statistics that are worth checking out for the price of admission.

21 run defense stops

After a month-long stretch of football — which sidelined the Cowboys game — in which the Lions’ defense struggled to stop the run, Detroit’s rush defense had one of its most dominant performances of the Dan Campbell era against Houston Texas. On Sunday night, the Texans had 28 rushing attempts, yielding just 56 yards (2.0 yards per carry). Of those 28 rushing attempts, Detroit’s defense recorded 21 run defense stops per PFF.

To understand it another way, 75 percent of Houston’s rushing attempts was considered an outright failure by PFF’s standards (their 25% success rate was the third-lowest of the week, per NFL Pro). That’s not all that surprising given the raw stats in the box score, but it’s even more impressive when you consider that 25 of those rushing attempts came from Joe Mixon. In his six games prior to this game against Detroit, Mixon ranked t-13. among running backs in yards per carry (4.8), but aside from his 8-yard rushing touchdown early in the first quarter, Mixon averaged just 1.6 yards per carry. carry over. his second 24 carries.

15.0% run defense stop rate, -0.3 average tackle depth

Thought we were done talking about the run defense? After to kind of performance? Watching this game live, it was the most obvious explanation for how the Lions defense kept them in this football game in the first half – and also how they kept the Texans off the scoreboard in the second half.

It was reminiscent of Week 11’s contest against New York Giants in 2022. To jog your memory, the Lions bottled up New York’s ground game, limiting them to 89 yards on 26 carries, but 50 of those rushing yards came on seven rushes from Daniel Jones. The Lions held Saquon Barkley to 22 yards across 15 carries, and Detroit’s run defense officially turned a corner that day — thanks in large part to the efforts of the man in the middle of all that running stuff: Alim McNeill.

Fast forward almost two years and McNeill continues to be a difference maker on this defense. Against the Texans, McNeill recorded one 15.0% run defense stop rate ranked sixth among 52 qualifying inside linebackers in Week 10, and he posted a ridiculous -0.3 yards average tackle depth which ranked third among the same group of players. McNeill was in the backfield all night long against Houston in both phases and was an integral part of the Lions pulling off their walk-off victory.

43% forced incompletion rate

Brian Branch is an All Pro. He is the best safety in football. 44 elections came and went in 2023 NFL Draft and that Green Bay Packers decided to just give up and give the lions the best safety in the league. Instead of spend $68 million on a securitythey should really try this whole draft in the second round, it’s great.

Back from his wrongful ejection a week ago, Branch was out there making plays – plural – in Houston. Not wanting to beat a dead horse here, but Branch was also a game changer in run defense, posting the best run defense grade for Detroit (88.3), the most run stops (4) and an equally ridiculous 0.8 yard average depth on tackle. But enough about the run defense!

Against the Texans, Branch was a ball hawk in coverage, posting one 43% forced incompletion ratea number that put him no. 1 among safeties who were targeted at least twice in coverage in Week 10 – and branch was targeted seven (7) times, another figure that put him first among players at his position. Of the seven targets credited to him by PFF, he forced three incompletions in some sticky coverage and allowed four receptions for just 21 yards, the longest of which was a 10-yard completion to Xavier Hutchinson.

9.7% blitz rate, 13.8% turnover rate

Let’s dig into the concern some have about Goff’s five interceptions because it’s important to understand the context.

When defenses can create pressure by sending just four defenders, it’s a death sentence for any quarterback in this league. Against Goff, if you pack in and crowd the passing lanes over the middle of the field and get pressure without blowing, it’s a wrap – but it’s the highest task for any defense to carry out and sustain for 60 minutes.

Houston only blew on 9.7% of Goff’s dropbacks, which stands in stark contrast to the blitz rate Goff had experienced through the first eight games of the season (40.5%, the second-highest mark among quarterbacks). Houston was able to disrupt Goff with only four defenders, forcing one 13.8% marketable play rate out of the Lions quarterback, the worst number in Week 10. Goff’s completion percentage was just 51.9%, the fourth-lowest mark of the past week. Four of his five interceptions came on plays where the Texans weren’t even shot.

And they were wise not to send that extra pressure Goff’s way considering how incredibly effective he has been against the blitz this season, posting the second-best yards per carry. attempts (10.7), touchdowns (7), completion percentage (76.4%) and passing games. rating (129.8) in the NFL. But what happened in the end? Houston wasn’t able to sustain the kind of pressure they generated without fumbling in the second half, and what do you know, Goff and the Lions’ offense was able to get into a rhythm and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.