Special teams misadventures cost the Lions dearly in Week 4 loss
Detroit’s offense in Week 4 was great, scoring 45 points. The Lions defense was inept, surrendering 48 to the visiting Seahawks. But what about the third unit, the special teams?
It was an interesting afternoon for coach Dave Fipp’s punt and kick units.
Early on, special teams was about the only thing working for the Lions. Rookie LB Malcolm Rodriguez forced a fumble on Jack Fox’s first punt. Detroit quickly cashed that takeaway in for a pretty Jared Goff-to-T.J. Hockenson touchdown strike. Later in the first quarter, Fox found Quintez Cephus with an accurate dart and converted the fake punt on fourth down. Maurice Alexander, called up from the practice squad, had a nice kickoff return in there too.
Fake punt! The Lions successfully converted from inside their own territory.
Video: @Lions pic.twitter.com/n9qmCCdgD8
— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) October 2, 2022
Yet even the good special teams came with some warts. Kicker Dominik Eberle, signed off the practice squad on Saturday due to an injury to Austin Seibert, missed the extra point after the first Hockenson touchdown. Eberle booted a kickoff out of bounds, leading to a Seahawks field goal. Alexander ran into a wall at the 16-yard line on the subsequent Lions return, setting up some bad field position.
But Eberle wasn’t done. He missed a second extra point late in the second quarter. What should have been a 24-17 deficit was instead a two-score margin at the half. In a game where the Lions defense did not stop the Seahawks once, every point was critical.
Think about it this way: if Eberle hits those two routine extra points, the Lions are going for the tie on their last touchdown — or even another 2-pt. conversion and the potential late lead.
