Center Frank Ragnow welcomes the timing of the Detroit Lions’ bye week for the chance he and his teammates have to heal from some injuries, and also for a fresh start on what has been a disappointing beginning to the 2022 season.

The Lions’ 1-4 start, capped by a 29-0 loss to the Patriots in the final game before their bye break, left some mental bruises that need healing, too.

“Personally, the bye week is good timing,” said Ragnow, who has been dealing with a foot injury that caused him to miss one game. “It gives me a true whole week to relax. And for the team’s sake, there’s a bunch of injuries. The timing is good.

“It’s a long season, man. I know things might seem gloom now, but it’s important that we as realize that we can’t get down in the dumps.”

It might seem like a long reach for the Lions to accomplish their goals, but Ragnow and his teammates have not given up on making something of this season.

“Everything is in front of us,” Ragnow said. “You have to get hot at the right time. We’ve done a lot of good things. If we can put that all together, everything’s in front of us.”

This week’s Monday Countdown looks at what’s in front of the Lions – the remaining 12 games on their schedule.

There is a look at how the Lions match up with all 12 teams – from the Cowboys in Week 7 in their first game back from the bye to the Packers in Week 18.

There’s also a look at the Lions’ win formula for each game, and how each of the remaining opponents ranks from 1-12.

The Detroit Lions 2022 rookie class is a little over a month into their first NFL season and have enough game tape available now for coaches to really start to evaluate their performance during the bye week.

Detroit is one of the youngest teams in the NFL and injuries and inconsistent performances from veterans have pushed some youngsters into early action. While there’s going to be some growing pains that comes with playing young guys, it’s hopefully going to help the Lions down the road with some of these players getting quality experience early in their careers.

Let’s take a look at how Detroit’s rookies have performed through the first five games of the season:

Defensive lineman Aidan Hutchinson

It’s been a little bit of an inconsistent start for the No. 2 overall pick. Hutchinson had a great half against Washington Week 2, when he recorded 3.0 sacks, six tackles, two tackles for loss and three quarterback hits. That 30 minutes of football really showed the kind of production he’s capable of.

But outside of that one half against the Commanders, Hutchinson hasn’t recorded a sack and has just eight tackles, no tackles for loss and three quarterback hits. Rookie pass rushers don’t typically come in and light the league on fire right away, but the Lions do need a little more consistent production from Hutchinson the remaining 12 games of the season if this defense is going to take strides forward.

High School Football Coach of the Week Program

Each week throughout the 2022 high school football regular season, one coach that best demonstrates success on and off the field, develops players’ character, discipline, and football skill in addition to emphasizing player health and safety in their program, will be recognized for his commitment to the team, school, and community. The winner is selected by a panel of high school football media members — Mick McCabe (Detroit Free Press), Hugh Bernreuter (Saginaw News), Bret Bakita (WOOD Radio-106.9 FM, 96.1 FM- The Game, Fox 17/Grand Rapids), James Cook (Traverse City Record-Eagle) and Scott DeCamp (CatchMark SportsNet).

This season’s program will award $12,000 to aid in the development and promotion of high school football in the state of Michigan, thanks to contributions from the Detroit Lions and the NFL Foundation.

Each winning coach during the regular season will receive a $1,000 donation to his school’s football program. At the conclusion of the 2022 Michigan High School Football season, the Lions will also select the High School Football Coach of the Year. This season’s Coach of the Year will receive a $2,000 donation to his school’s football program. All winners will receive a certificate signed by Lions’ head coach Dan Campbell and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

Currently in its’ 26th year, the Detroit Lions High School Coach of the Week program has awarded $479,000 to high school football programs throughout the state of Michigan. For more information on the High School Coach of the Week program, contact Chris Fritzsching, Lions’ Director of Football Education, at chris.fritzsching@lions.nfl.net.

4. Inside the 30 passer rating

Creating turnovers and being good on third down and in the red zone are vital to being a good defensive unit. STATS INC. breaks downs numbers both in the red zone (20 yards to goal line), but also inside the 30 to goal line.

In that 30-yard line to goal area, the Lions have allowed opponents to complete 27-of-38 (71.1 percent) of their passes with eight touchdowns and no interceptions for a 128.6 passer rating. That’s the highest rating allowed by any team in the NFL in that zone. The 4.8 yards per play opponents are getting inside the 30 are also a league high.

Part of the reason the Lions are on track to break the NFL record for fourth-down conversions and attempts is because they haven’t been good enough on third down. Detroit’s converting 36.9 percent (24-for-65) of the time on third down, which ranks 22nd. Buffalo and Kansas City, two teams considered to have explosive, high-powered offenses, convert better than 50 percent of the time on third down to lead the league.

On 3rd and 1, the Lions’ offense has converted just 2-of-5 times (ranks 28th).

How do the Lions generate more pressure on opposing quarterbacks?

Detroit’s generated just seven sacks in five games, which is more than only Arizona (6) and Las Vegas (5) through the first five weeks of the season. To put that number in a little bit of perspective, San Francisco leads the NFL with 21 and Dallas is a close second with 20.

Campbell said that’s one of the areas they’re really going to look at on defense this week to see how they go about generating more of that pressure. How can they help those guys generate more pressure? Do they pressure with the blitz? Do more stunting? Or do they fan it out and let them go?

“We’ve kind of tinkered with everything, but we have to hammer down on some things that we think we can help them with,” he said. “Certainly we need more rush. That being said, I think we can help with the way we practice. More one-on-ones. A lot more one-on-ones.”

Campbell said that means more padded practices moving forward too. The team hasn’t padded up for practice in three weeks. The Lions also haven’t won a game in three weeks.

Will the Lions be getting back any players after the bye?

Campbell is hoping to get rookie defensive lineman Josh Paschal back for the Dallas game Week 7. Paschal returned to practice last week.

Defensive lineman John Cominsky could also be back for the Cowboys game, per Campbell. Charles Harris as well. Harris missed last week’s game with a groin injury.

Those are three significant players that could help boost the defensive line and generate more of the pressure Campbell is looking to unlock.