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Why Detroit Lions' Ben Johnson wasn't happy with long TD pass; Jerry Jacobs headed to IR
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- Why Detroit Lions' Ben Johnson wasn't happy with long TD pass; Jerry Jacobs headed to IR
Ben Johnson has never been more disappointed to call a play that resulted in a 70-yard touchdown than he was in last week's win over the Minnesota Vikings .
Johnson and the Detroit Lions were trying to get Josh Reynolds enough yards (600) and touchdowns (six) to trigger two $250,000 incentive clauses in his contract, and shortly before the play that resulted in a long TD to Amon-Ra St. Brown , Johnson switched where Reynolds and St. Brown lined up on the play.
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"I'm walking away and I've got half the team they're like, 'What's his problem?'" Johnson said. "And I'm like, 'Yeah, well, I was trying to get Josh the ball to …' So we practiced the play all week with Josh on the outside and Saint on the inside and then I'm thinking, 'Oh, well let's get him as a primary receiver to get us there.' And then they give us a coverage that was a little bit different."
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Reynolds motioned into the slot and ran a sail route as Jared Goff 's primary target on the play, but when St. Brown beat his cornerback on the outside and the deep safety collapsed towards the middle of the field, Goff threw an easy pass down the sideline that an open St. Brown turned into a long touchdown.
Detroit Lions wide receiver Josh Reynolds makes a catch against Denver Broncos cornerback Fabian Moreau and linebacker Alex Singleton during the first half at Ford Field in Detroit on Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023.
Reynolds finished the game with five catches for 44 yards and triggered his receiving yards incentive when Goff threw him short passes on the final four snaps of the game.
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He did not hit his touchdown mark, but told the Free Press on Wednesday he was appreciative of the Lions trying to help him earn an extra payday.
"It was cool. I'm glad I was able to get it for sure," he said. "I had to (expletive) fight for that (expletive). It wasn't easy."
Johnson said it was the Lions' intention all week to make sure Reynolds hit his bonus within the structure of the game plan.
"It's awesome," Johnson said. "It starts with the head coach. He knows how important that is for those guys. Particularly, I think he mentioned it after the game, Josh has flown under the radar all season long and doesn't bat an eye. Is he the top target? No, but is he the two? Is he the three? And it really doesn't matter to him. He comes out and he plays hard, we know what we're going to get in the run game each and every day with him. And as much as I wish he had 1,000 yards, he got 600 and it's a great incentive for him, so I'm really happy for him."
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Mr. Fix It
The Lions finished the season ranked fifth in the NFL in rushing, but Johnson expressed disappointment in the way his team ran the ball in the final two games of the season.
Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson watches Detroit Lions quarterbacks Jared Goff (16) and Adrian Martinez (18) throw during joint practice with the Jacksonville Jaguars in Allen Park, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023.
The Lions had 125 net yards rushing in their Week 17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys , but had nine plays of negative yards or no gain. Last week, they had just 70 yards rushing against the Vikings, their second-lowest total of the season.
"For the second half of this season, really since the bye week, we've been trending the right direction," Johnson said. "Last two games is not what we want. Last week, we were miss-targeted and ... our communication was off too much and so we're looking to fix that right now."
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Johnson said the Lions will simplify their rushing attack for this week's game against the Rams and perhaps dial back the volume of plays on their call sheet.
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"We feel like we have a good number going into each game and we're just conscious if defense presents us with a lot of looks, maybe we need to scale back that number just a little bit," Johnson said. "So as a coaching staff, that's what we're looking at. The guys up front, they're pros. They take a lot of pride in being right and being targeted correctly each and every time and so it's really on us as a coaching staff just to get the right mix."
Jacobs to IR
The Lions informed cornerback Jerry Jacobs they plan to place him on injured reserve this week.
Detroit Lions defender Jerry Jacobs (23) intercepts a pass by Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) during first-half action at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Oct, 8, 2023.
Jacobs started the first 12 games for the Lions this season and had three interceptions, but has been relegated to a special teams role in recent weeks with Kindle Vildor handling the bulk of the No. 2 cornerback reps.
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Jacobs did not practice Thursday because of a knee injury. A pending restricted free agent, he appeared to say his good-byes to the team on the social media site X, posting, "Thank You Detroit" with a heart emoji.
Along with Jacobs, quarterback Teddy Bridgewater missed practice Thursday for personal reasons while Sam LaPorta and Kalif Raymond were out with knee injuries. LaPorta said he is optimistic about playing Sunday.
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com . Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions WR Reynolds happy to hit incentive, CB Jacobs off to IR
