Detroit Lions film review: Why run game has been inconsistent

For several years now, so much of the Detroit Lions’ identity as a team has come from how they run the football. It is a philosophy that has been etched into the minds of everyone around the organization since the first days of the Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes era. Both in 2023 and 2024, their ability to hand the ball off to running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery has been essential to their success. However, for the majority of the 2025 season, that has not been the case.

Don’t get me wrong—there are still explosive outings from this group. They have eclipsed the 200-yard mark three times this season, and unsurprisingly, they are 3-0 in those games. On the other side of things, there have been five games where they have been held under 100 rushing yards as a team. Their record in those five matchups? 0-5, with the most recent of those being the Week 15 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on the road.

And if you are like me, you have a tough time understanding how a team as dynamic as Detroit can be so inefficient at times. For instance, when you look at some of the counting numbers for Gibbs (1,100 rushing yards, 13 touchdowns, and a 5.5 average) you wouldn’t think they would have so many inconsistencies. That is, until you turn on the tape and take a closer look at what is affecting the Lions on a down-to-down basis.

So for this week’s film study, I took a look at what went wrong during the aforementioned loss to the Rams, and how small mistakes added up to another underwhelming performance for the Lions’ offensive line.

First up in this breakdown is a first quarter hand off to Gibbs out of the shotgun. Keep your eyes on Rams defensive tackle Braden Fiske (#55), who is lined up on the right shoulder of Lions center Graham Glasgow. The Lions attempt to work a double team on Fiske with Glasgow and rookie right guard Tate Ratledge, but Fiske is able to toss Glasgow to the side, while also simultaneously removing Ratledge from the hole, allowing him to help make the stop on running back David Montgomery.

Next up in the clip below we are jumping to the second quarter, where the Lions have the ball on the Rams’ 7-yard line in a second-and-7 situation. The play-design calls for Ratledge to pull from his right guard spot to the left of the formation in an effort to clear a path for Gibbs. Unfortunately, Lions tight end Shane Zylstra gets driven so far off the ball by Rams defensive end Jared Verse that it causes a pileup once Ratledge arrives. The result is there is nowhere to run for Gibbs, and the play is stopped for a short gain.

Verse is obviously extremely talented, and would be an issue for just about any tight end in the league to block one-on-one. Still, when coaches talk about executing better, this is part of what they are talking about.

Jumping a few minutes forward in the second quarter to a second-and-10 situation on the Lions’ 20-yard line, and you will see that both Rams defensive tackle Kobie Turner and edge defender Byron Young are circled. Detroit is in a single-back formation, with two tight ends inline to the right of Lions right tackle Penei Sewell. At first glance, this looks like it is blocked up pretty well. Glasgow is able to climb, and the Lions get a double team with both tight ends on Young.

As the play develops, things close up in a hurry. Turner is able to extend against Ratledge, allowing him to squeeze down on the gap between himself and Young. Additionally, the two tight ends get almost no displacement of Young, making it easier for the rest of the Rams’ defense to rally to the football. When you don’t generate push and reset the line of scrimmage as an offense, running room will almost always be tough to come by.

Next up we have a similar instance to the one above. It is late in the third quarter at this point, with the Lions having a fresh set of downs on their own 35-yard line. This time they have Colon and Glasgow attempting to get a double team on Fiske, with Glasgow being tasked to climb and pickup Rams linebacker Omar Speights (#48).

Initially, they get a good push on Fiske, moving him off of the line of scrimmage while Glasgow is still engaged. Once the veteran center climbs is when things fall apart. Fiske is able to swim a lunging Colon, while Glasgow whiffs on Speights, allowing him to dip underneath the block to help make the stop on Gibbs.

These types of error have become all too common for the Lions’ offense in 2025, and are a big reason why they seem to always be behind the sticks.

Lastly, we have one of the more frustrating snaps from the Lions’ Week 15 loss. With under ten minutes to play in the game and the Lions trailing 34-24, they are faced with a second-and-11 on the Rams’ 27. Goff is under center, with Gibbs lined up in an I-formation. As Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown is sent in motion towards the right side of your screen, the ball is snapped.

On the surface, I like the pin-and-pull concept that Detroit is trying to pull off. Goff executes a quick playfake to the tight end before pitching the ball to Gibbs in an effort to get him out on the edge as fast as possible. Lions receiver Jameson Williams gets enough of a piece of Verse, and for a moment or two, it looks like this could be a decent chunk of yards for the Lions.

However, as we have seen through this study, it only takes one player not fulfilling their assignment to sink an otherwise promising play. With the three-technique stepping to Colon’s right, he is tasked with climbing to the second level and cutting off Speights (#48) to give Gibbs an alley to run through. Instead, Colon never gets his helmet on the correct side of his assignment, allowing for Speights to work upfield where he is able to string Gibbs out towards the boundary for a loss on the play.

Facing a third-and-11 after the clip above, Lions coach Dan Campbell hands the ball off to Gibbs again, where he loses another three yards, forcing Detroit to settle for a field goal that would cut the lead to seven.

Overall, it was another frustrating day for the Lions’ rushing attack. There were bright spots, such as the string of carries for Montgomery towards the end of the first quarter and beginning of the second, where he picked up a few chunks (four, five, ten, and eight yards on consecutive carries). But on the flipside of the coin, there were too many negative plays, too, such as how the Lions began the third quarter where a holding penalty wiped out a first down.

As we know, success is often determined on a razor’s edge in the NFL. And while plenty of metrics point to the Lions still being one of the better offenses in the NFL, their down-to-down inconsistencies in the running game are holding them back from being a truly special unit in 2025.

If they can get starting left guard Christian Mahogany back before this final three-game stretch, maybe that solves some of these issues. They better hope so, because with how this team is currently constructed, they will need their running game humming in order to make any kind of noise in the postseason this year.