D.J. Reader on pace to rejoin Detroit Lions ‘winning’ D-line in Week 2 barring a setback

The Detroit Lions defensive line made a statement Sunday night against a battered Los Angeles Rams offensive line and are in line to add D.J. Reader back into the mix.

Lions head coach Dan Campbell said Monday the team still wants to get Reader back into the fold this week. This has been the team’s plan for Reader’s recovery from a torn quad muscle since they took him off the physically unable to perform list just before the start of the season.

“I think the plan was, ultimately, if we couldn’t get D.J. up last week, or just we didn’t feel quite there, that Tampa was always the target,” Campbell said. “So, providing there is no setbacks, we’d like to get him going. This week, he looked pretty good in practice.”

Reader has been out since Week 15 of last year with a torn quad he suffered as a member of the Cincinnati Bengals. The Lions signed him to a two-year, $22 million deal to anchor the defensive line as a hole-stuffing nose tackle to play alongside the Lions’ other young defensive tackles, Alim McNeill and Levi Onwuzurike. McNeill said he is excited to see the space he clears taking on double-teams on the interior.

“He’s going to have to take up some double teams so I can get some one-on-ones,” McNeill said with a smile. “He has to take some double teams on because he destroys centers. That’s just what he does and that’s what he did when he was in Cincy.”

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He will re-join a defensive line that was one of the standout position groups for the Lions in the 26-20 overtime win over the Rams on Sunday. The Lions recorded just two sacks, but constantly lived in the backfield against the Rams’ beat-up offensive line with backups across the board. Matthew Stafford was getting rid of the ball as fast as possible while absorbing hit after hit. He took 12 quarterback hits and only three of his 34 completions traveled more than 10 yards down the field, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.

“Just about every one of them had a winning performance up front,” Campbell said. “I thought they played big. I thought they played physical. And we feel like we have a good defensive line.

“And I know that it’s game one but just since the spring and training camp and seeing where we are at, it’s the right mix. It’s the right balance of length, power, size, aggression. And that’s just game one. We got so much room to grow in there too.”

Aidan Hutchinson led the way as a destructive force, caving in the Rams offensive line wherever he lined up while Marcus Davenport crashed in from the opposite edge in a productive Lions debut. Hutchinson had one sack, five tackles (one for loss) and four hits on Stafford’s drop backs. Davenport linked up with Onwuzurike on the team’s first sack and also chipped in four hits on Stafford.

“I thought Hutch and Davenport on the perimeter, all day long, were a force,” Campbell said.

According to Pro Football Focus’ postgame analysis, Hutchinson graded out as the Lions’ best performer on offense or defense with a score of 94.0 on a 0-100 scale. He caused issues for whoever the Rams had at left tackle, whether it was Joe Noteboom or A.J. Arcuri, with his power moves to the inside or his patented spin move to win with speed.

Onwuzurike played a career-high 50 snaps and had the half-sack, two hits on Stafford and two total tackles. The performance was what his teammates and coaches expected after he had a fully healthy offseason into a strong training camp.

“That’s the type of player he is,” McNeill said. “He’s worked and got himself back in that position to be Levi again. He’s comfortable. You saw him, he got a sack last night. So, he’s doing great.”

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Lions defense steps up in big moments

The Lions came up with two defensive stops to give their offense a chance at a comeback after the Rams took a 20-17 lead with 17 unanswered points.

The Lions gave the ball back to LA with 4:10 left and an opportunity to salt the game away, but the Lions forced a punt to get the ball back with just over two minutes. The offense executed well enough to get the game-tying field goal, then closed regulation with Hutchinson’s sack on what ended up being the defense’s final snap.

The defense’s effort was well-rewarded by the offense’s game-winning touchdown drive in overtime that kept Stafford and the Rams’ offense off the field.

“Y’all have heard that word 1,000 times but that right there is the definition of grit,” Onwuzurike said.

The Lions also held the Rams to 20 points on six trips inside Detroit’s 25-yard line, including pulling in an interception and forcing a turnover on downs. It was far from a perfect performance, McNeill said, since they still gave up more than zero points, but did what found a way to get stops with their backs against the wall. Onwuzurike said the emphasis on the red zone is a key pillar of defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn’s approach, which proved effective Sunday.

“He talks about how that’s how you win games — in the red zone,” Onwuzurike said. “So, we take that serious. We’ll see guys like Hutch, BB (Brian Branch), Anzo (Alex Anzalone), all these guys, kind of look us in the eye and say ‘we gotta lock in here. This is how we win games.’”