Detroit Free Press
Published 6:00 a.m. ET Sept. 13, 2021
Free Press sports writer Dave Birkett breaks down the Detroit Lions' 41-33 loss to the San
Francisco 49ers, and looks at players who helped and hurt their stock Sunday at
Ford Field:
Three
up
RB Jamaal Williams: Williams
made the most of what was a mildly surprising start Sunday, rushing for 54
yards and a touchdown on nine carries and catching eight passes for another 56
yards. Williams was the Lions’ tone-setter on offense, and along with
D’Andre Swift, gave a glimmer of hope that the Lions will finally be able to
run the football.
OLB Trey Flowers: Flowers has been the consummate team player since he came to
Detroit, and his play Sunday embodied that. He finished with a modest four
tackles and no sacks, but had the Lions’ key defensive play, coming from the
far side of the field to knock loose a Deebo Samuel fumble late in the fourth
quarter on what almost was a third-and-13 conversion that would have iced the
game. The Lions need more pass rush out of Flowers and their entire defensive
front, but his forced fumble was the hustle play of the game.
Three down
CB Jeff Okudah: We
don’t know how serious Okudah’s lower-leg injury is yet, but, while this may sound
dramatic, the reality is a worst-case scenario Achilles injury could
doom his career. Apart from the injury, Okudah had another rough showing on the
field Sunday. He got beat for a long touchdown when he couldn’t locate the
ball, and he gave up a key third-down conversion on the 49ers’ first touchdown
drive. After a promising training camp, Okudah looked too much like the same
player he was a rookie.
S Will Harris: It wasn’t just Okudah who struggled in the secondary.
Harris and cornerback Amani Oruwariye, both of whom drew mention from general
manager Brad Holmes for their strong preseasons, also had rough days. Oruwariye
gave up the 49ers’ first touchdown to Trent Sherfield, and Harris had a
facemask penalty and a handful of missed tackles, including one on Elijah
Mitchell’s long touchdown run.
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.