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).
