It wasn’t pretty, but a win is a win. The Lions’ defense came up clutch late, Jake Bates delivered, and Detroit escaped Ford Field with a 17-13 victory over Washington.
The Detroit Lions came away with a gritty 17-13 win over the Washington Commanders, but it certainly wasn’t pretty to start. Detroit struggled to generate much offensively in the first half, but things started to turn around in the second half.
Washington opened the second half with an impressive 11-play, 78-yard drive. Backup quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis kicked things off with a 30-yard pass to Jaden Bradley, who made an impressive one-handed catch while drawing a defensive pass interference penalty on Keith Abney.
Kaliakmanis completed passes for 63 yards during the drive, helping Washington move all the way down to the Lions’ 9-yard line. Detroit’s defense bent but didn’t break, forcing the Commanders to settle for a field goal.
On Detroit’s opening possession of the second half, Josh Dobbs remained at quarterback, but the drive didn’t amount to much. The Lions managed just six plays and 16 yards before punting.
Washington quickly went three-and-out, giving Detroit another opportunity.
Dobbs opened the drive with a 24-yard screen pass to Trayveon Williams, moving the ball down to the Commanders’ 24-yard line. After a false start by undrafted rookie Melvin Priestley put Detroit in a first-and-15 situation, Dobbs connected with Lucky Jackson twice for 15 yards to extend the drive.
The seven-play, 48-yard drive was capped off by a touchdown from Williams, giving Detroit a 14-10 lead.
Washington, however, refused to go away.
To begin the fourth quarter, Kaliakmanis connected with wide receiver Nick Nash for a 55-yard reception, with Nick Whiteside in coverage. The big play helped Washington move down to the Lions’ 14-yard line, but Detroit’s defense once again held strong and forced the Commanders to settle for a field goal, cutting the Lions’ lead to 14-13.
Detroit struggled to move the ball on its next possession, putting together a five-play, 18-yard drive that lasted 2 minutes, 40 seconds. The drive was hurt by back-to-back false-start penalties, one on Miles Frazier and another on Seth McLaughlin.
Lucky Jackson helped Detroit overcome some of the damage by drawing a pass interference penalty on third-and-15, giving the Lions a first down at their own 46-yard line. Unfortunately, Detroit couldn’t capitalize on the favorable field position and was forced to punt.
Washington wasn’t able to take advantage of its next possession either. The Commanders managed just 25 yards on six plays, with a 24-yard play ultimately wiped out by a holding penalty that Eric O’Neill was able to draw.
On fourth-and-2 from the Washington 40-yard line, the Commanders elected to go for it. O’Neill came through again, applying pressure and forcing an incompletion to give Detroit the ball on a turnover on downs.
With 4:17 remaining, Detroit put together an eight-play, 20-yard drive that chewed up clock. The possession ended with Jake Bates drilling a 37-yard field goal to give the Lions a 17-13 lead.
On the ensuing kickoff, Jackson Meeks forced a fumble that was recovered by Eric Hunter, allowing Detroit to regain possession and essentially seal the victory. The Lions ran six plays for eight yards to close out the game.
Detroit’s defense looked solid throughout the game, holding the Commanders to just six offensive points. The Lions’ offense, however, had plenty of struggles, particularly along the offensive line. Detroit allowed five sacks, seven quarterback hits and nine tackles for loss.
Overall, it wasn’t the prettiest performance, but Detroit got the job done and picked up its first win of the preseason at Ford Field.
The Lions will now turn their attention to their final preseason game, when they travel to Indianapolis to take on the Colts next Saturday at 1 p.m.
