The Lions have given up the second fewest explosive plays (gains of 20 or more yards) in the NFL — 17. Sounds great, right?
Not so fast.
Seven of those 17 plays went for touchdowns. Pretty high ratio. Also, those 17 explosives don’t include the four touchdowns of 65 or more yards yielded by the special teams, or the 72-yard fumble return touchdown allowed by the offense.
So, great, the defense has only allowed 17 explosive plays. But the Lions have given up 12 long-gain touchdowns. Not so great.
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