Notes and takeaways from the Week 3 loss to Vikings

The Detroit Lions dropped a tough one in Minnesota in Week 3. Dan Campbell’s team blew a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter with a combination of questionable play-calling, bad defense and ill-timed bouts of poor execution.

The loss (understandably) overshadows a lot of very real positives from the Lions performance. Reviewing the game film more closely revealed a few fresh takeaways that got glossed over from watching in real-time, as well as reinforcing a few takes from Sunday.

Here’s what I noted from the rewatch of the Lions-Vikings game in Week 3.

Jared Goff was really good

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Normally in a loss, the quarterback bears some fair share of the blame. And while Jared Goff was far from perfect–especially early in the fourth quarter–he played one of the best games he’s capable of.

I’m a big advocate of throwing with consistent, clean mechanics. Some QBs can get away with weird arm angles or wonky footwork. Goff isn’t one of those, and in Minnesota I saw a very clean, composed and accurate Goff confidently at the controls of Ben Johnson’s Detroit offense.

One of the issues that has plagued Goff in his later Rams years and his first one-plus season in Detroit is his choice of target. Goff typically defaults to the safe, quick play. But against the Vikings, he stood tall and surveyed the field. The second completion to WR DJ Chark on the opening drive is a great example. Goff had both Amon-Ra St. Brown and T.J. Hockenson open on shorter, safer throws. A quick swing to St. Brown probably gains 10-12 yards. But Goff stuck with the designed aggression and hit Chark with a pinpoint 17-yard strike that required patience and precision.

There were other examples in the game as well. His receivers let him down more than the other way around–most notably the downfield shot to Josh Reynolds just before halftime that the wideout never saw in the sun. It’s a perfect throw from Goff that should have been six points. I had Goff for just two really poor decisions/throws, and neither wound up being calamitous.

Rough day for the pass rush/Good day for Vikings pass protection

(AP Photo/Craig Lassig)

There are two ways to look at the Lions pass rush on Sunday. And there is truth in both sides of the coin:

1. The Detroit defensive front, notably Aidan Hutchinson and Michael Brockers, did not play well in a pass-rushing capacity.

2. The Minnesota…