Strong up the middle: Veteran defensive lineman Alim McNeill has had a good start to camp. He wrecked two straight plays in an early team period Tuesday when he beat center Cade Mays inside for a tackle for loss. On the next play, McNeill was so quick off the snap that he beat the pulling right guard to the spot and forced the running back outside for another no gainer. McNeill looks to be back to his 2023 and 2024 form before the ACL injury.

Play of the day: That belongs to quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and second-year wide receiver Dominic Lovett. During a team period, Bridgewater rolled right out of the pocket and saw Lovett with a step on nickel cornerback Roger McCreary down the right sideline. He laid a perfect ball deep for Lovett, who caught it and made an inside move that created more space from McCreary to race to the end zone.

It should be noted for fairness that edge rusher Tyler Lacy, who has also had a really nice start to camp, was close to Bridgewater. He may have affected the play had he been able to reach out and grab Bridgewater as he went by. Either way, great pass and catch.

Situation No. 1: Detroit ended practice with some situational work. First up was the first-team offense given the ball at their own 24-yard line trailing 30-27 with 34 seconds on the clock and one timeout. Quarterback Jared Goff hit wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown for a 13-yard gain on the first play on the right sideline, stopping the clock.

McNeill had a great pressure on the next play that forced an incompletion. Goff then short-hopped a throw to St. Brown on second down. Another throw to St. Brown over the middle fell incomplete, setting up a 4th & 10 play that Jameson Williams failed to haul in on a leaping attempt down the right sideline. It was a good win for the defense.

Situation No. 2: The second-team offense had a lot more success in a slightly different situation. They got the ball at their 40-yard line trailing 28-27 with just over 30 seconds on the clock. Bridgewater completed two passes along the left sideline to tight end Jackson Meeks, who made nice catches on those plays. This set the offense up for a situation-winning, 41-yard field goal hit right through the middle.

Clay target: Williams made a key catch in the middle of the field in an early team period that helped set up a Sam LaPorta touchdown. It was a tough catch in a crowd by Williams. He tossed the ball high in the air to celebrate, with left tackle Penei Sewell putting two hands up like he was using the football as a clay skeet target.

What if: There was one play later in Tuesday's practice during a team period that the offense is going to look at on film and wonder, what if? The offense did a great job manufacturing a matchup where linebacker Derrick Barnes was in coverage on wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa. TeSlaa realized he had a distinct advantage and started streaking down the field, creating a lot of separation from Barnes. The rush caved in on Goff and he couldn't push the ball down the field to TeSlaa. Those are the matchups offensive coordinator Drew Petzing hopes to manufacture with his scheme and pre-snap movement.

Run game gains: Both head coach Dan Campbell and Petzing have been very vocal about their expectations for the run game this season. They want to get back to being a dominant run team. The Lions averaged 120.1 rushing yards per game last season, which ranked 14th in the NFL. I thought there were some nice moments in the run game during Tuesday's practice after it was tougher sledding for them on Monday. The offensive line did a better job opening some holes and there were multiple runs in Tuesday's practice that broke into the second and third levels.

Bates on fire: Kicker Jake Bates was perfect Tuesday hitting field goals from 39, 44, 46, 51, 51, and 59 yards. He also won that situational drill for the second-team offense at the end of practice. Almost every single kick appeared to be right down the middle. Bates was feeling it Tuesday. His first make from 51 yards hit the roof of the building a good 20 yards behind the goal post.

Running backs in passing game: One observation I've written down a few times over the past week of training camp practices is how involved the running backs have been in the passing game. Jacob Saylors had a huge catch and run on Monday and Isiah Pacheco had a key reception in a team period Tuesday. We've seen a lot of the backs utilized in Petzing's passing game early on. That must be great news for Jahmyr Gibbs, who caught a career-high 77 passes in 2025. I wouldn't be surprised if he catches more than that in 2026 based on how the backs have been used in the passing game early in camp and his specific skillset in that area.