The Lions’ offensive line was exposed against Buffalo. With injuries forcing backups into starting roles, Detroit’s protection completely collapsed, and PFF’s grades tell the ugly story.
The Detroit Lions fell to the Buffalo Bills 31–41, dropping to 1–1 on the season. Detroit will now return home to host the New York Jets next week.
This game was ugly from start to finish, as Detroit found itself in a massive hole that it ultimately couldn’t dig out of. A big part of the slow start and poor offensive play at times came from the offensive line, particularly the backups Larry Borom and Ben Bartch, who filled in for the injured Blake Miller and Christian Mahogany.
Let’s break down what Pro Football Focus had to say about the Lions’ offensive line.
LT, Penei Sewell
Even Sewell didn’t have his best game today, earning a 69.1 overall offensive grade, a 62.5 run-blocking grade and a 71.5 pass-blocking grade.
Sewell allowed one sack, one quarterback hit and two QB hurries, totaling four QB pressures.
It’s becoming evident that the transition to left tackle isn’t going to be as flawless or as easy as many expected. I do believe Sewell will eventually become an All-Pro at left tackle, but it may take longer than expected.
LG, Ben Bartch
Last week, Bartch stepped in for Christian Mahogany, who went down after just 11 snaps. Bartch would go on to start this week ahead of Mahogany, who is still dealing with an injury but is expected to return in Week 3.
Bartch finished tied with Larry Borom for the lowest offensive grade on the line at 33.1. He also earned a 46.8 run-blocking grade and one of the lowest PFF pass-blocking grades I’ve ever seen at 13.5.
Bartch allowed six QB hurries and six total pressures.
Through two games, Bartch has the third-lowest pass-blocking grade among all guards in the NFL at 25.1. If it wasn’t clear to Dan Campbell who the starter should be, it should be clear now.
C, Juice Scruggs
Scruggs had an awful game, recording a 42.1 overall offensive grade, a 50.8 pass-blocking grade and a 44.3 run-blocking grade.
Scruggs also drew a false-start penalty and had two bad snaps that resulted in fumbles.
He allowed one QB hit, one QB hurry and two total quarterback pressures.
Despite the awful outing, Scruggs is still rated as PFF’s 13th-highest-graded center with a 61.4 overall offensive grade.
RG, Tate Ratledge
Tate Ratledge has been by far the best offensive lineman for Detroit this season.
He finished with a 67.2 overall offensive grade and a 74.0 run-blocking grade, although his 48.1 pass-blocking grade was much lower.
Ratledge allowed just one QB hurry and one QB pressure and didn’t record a single penalty.
He is currently graded as PFF’s 19th-best guard with a 66.5 overall offensive grade.
RT, Larry Borom
Boy, do the Lions miss Blake Miller.
After seeing just one game from Miller, it was already evident that he could make a massive impact for this offensive line.
Larry Borom, the former Michigan high school standout who attended Brother Rice, played one of the worst games of his career and one of the worst games I’ve seen from an offensive lineman.
According to PFF, the most QB pressures allowed in a single game by any offensive lineman last year was nine. Borom was charged with 11 pressures against the Bills on Thursday, including two sacks, two QB hits and seven QB hurries. He also had three penalties.
Simply put, if one of your starting offensive linemen plays like this, it’s going to be extremely difficult to extend drives and consistently move the football.
Borom finished with a 33.1 overall offensive grade, a 48.0 run-blocking grade and a 35.3 pass-blocking grade.
Overall
Detroit clearly missed both Blake Miller and Christian Mahogany against Buffalo. While neither player is necessarily considered an elite offensive lineman at this point, both are still major upgrades over what Detroit got from Borom and Bartch.
The Lions will have 10 days of rest before their next game, and I expect both Miller and Mahogany to return against the Jets.
Detroit is also expected to get Cade Mays back around the Week 6 bye.
If the Lions can get their injured offensive linemen back, this unit should look significantly different moving forward. But after allowing constant pressure against Buffalo, it’s clear that Detroit needs its reinforcements back sooner rather than later.
