ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – After playing two games in the span of five days, Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell is looking forward to a few extra days to do a deep dive on some of the issues that have popped up with his football team before moving on to preparing for the New York Jets in Week 3.
High on that list for Campbell are some of the communication issues on defense and explosive plays the Lions have allowed starting in the second half of their Week 1 win over New Orleans. It extended into Thursday night's 41-31 loss to the Buffalo Bills that dropped Detroit's record to 1-1 on the young season.
"We just have to clean up a lot of things on defense right now," Campbell said after Thursday's loss. "Particularly in the back end."
Bills quarterback Josh Allen led six touchdown drives Thursday night. He threw three touchdowns in the process, one a 43-yarder on a blown coverage.
"The explosives. That's the major one," cornerback D.J. Reed said after the game when asked what needs to be fixed in the back end. "Whether that's miscommunication, just winning your one-on-ones and knowing the coverage. Just winning your one-on-ones and not giving up the explosives are No. 1. No. 2 is just communicating and being on the same page."
It will be up to Campbell and the coaching staff to take a deep dive into it this weekend and find some answers.
"I think it's those guys playing together and being on the same page, you know?" Campbell said. "I think that plays into it a little bit for sure. We got a chance to look at it and figure it out."
RUN GAME
One of the other things Campbell talked about after Thursday's loss was a lack of consistency in the run game. Detroit managed just 66 yards on the ground after rushing for 165 against the Saints. Part of that was falling behind by three touchdowns early, but Campbell was disappointed by the one-dimensional operation of their offense against the Bills.
"I think we have to be able to run the ball better than we are right now," Campbell said. "We have to be much more efficient doing it. Our back is too good."
Jahmyr Gibbs rushed 16 times Thursday for just 52 yards for a 3.3-yard average.
Campbell said they knew coming into this game they had to run it and thought they left a lot of meat on the bone. He said it's an area they can get better at in a hurry.
MOVING UP THE LIST
Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown had a monster game for Detroit, catching nine passes for 142 yards and two touchdowns to help keep the team in striking distance in the second half.
His first touchdown, a tough two-yarder in the third quarter was his 48th career touchdown to pull the Lions within 10 points. He passed Billy Sims (47) for the fifth-most touchdowns in franchise history with the catch. St. Brown added a 27-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.
