DETROIT — The Lions sold out of standing-room only tickets for their … wait a second, is that right? A preseason game?
What’s that you say? A preseason finale?
There is nothing more meaningless than exhibition finales, when most teams dump their benches onto the field to determine the final few spots on their rosters, while protecting their starters for the regular season. Unless you’re the Pittsburgh Steelers apparently, who played most of their starters — including both of their top quarterbacks, star receiver George Pickens and top running back Najee Harris — against Detroit’s second- and third-team defense on Saturday afternoon at Ford Field.
The Steelers jumped to a quick 14-0 lead, as you might expect given who was on the field for each team, before sending their backups onto the field too. Then Detroit found a groove, as quarterback Hendon Hooker ran for 93 yards, Jermar Jefferson pounded in two touchdown runs and Jake Funk caught another in a 24-17 exhibition win against the Steelers.
Detroit finished the preseason 2-1. Just don’t read anything into it.
Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown and pretty much anyone else who will start a game this season did not play at all. But that paved the way for plenty of bubble players to make a final statement before roster cuts arrive in the next few days. And if the crowd on hand is any indication — a standing-room only crowd! In the preseason! — this place will be bananas when that roster takes the field for the season opener against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday Night Football.
Bring earplugs, folks.
Let’s get to some more observations:
— Dan Campbell said he was dying for a receiver to step up in the back end of that rotation. With the preseason now concluded, well, let’s just hope the Lions coach was being metaphorical about that whole dying thing. Donovan Peoples-Jones, a big, fast veteran with proven production in Cleveland, opened camp as the favorite to win the WR3 job. But he did almost nothing in practice, and turned nine exhibition targets into just six catches for 31 yards. Yikes. Then there’s Daurice Fountain, who opened camp as the most productive WR3, then went into a funk the last couple weeks and turned six exhibition targets into just two catches for 15 yards. That includes dropping a bomb that caught him in both hands against Pittsburgh. Then there’s Antoine Green, who suffered a season-ending injury and was released.
