Situational football: The Lions practiced without pads Saturday, but it was still an up-tempo practice with a lot of situational work mixed in. They went through a two-minute period with the offense down 28-23 with 1:23 on the clock at their own 42-yard line.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford guided the first-team offense down to the 1-yard line after deep connections to wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr. and running back Kerryon Johnson with plenty of time to spare. It took a four plays to get in from the 1-yard line, however. Stafford finally got them into the end zone on 4th and 1 with two seconds left when he hit Jones for a touchdown on a play where Stafford rolled right and fit a terrific pass through a tight window to Jones. I had Stafford 5-for-9 passing in the drill.
It took the second-team offense led by Chase Daniel just three plays to score. Daniel hit Jamal Agnew on short pass right, wide receiver Quintez Cephus on a 30-yard connection down the left sideline and then Agnew on a 20-yard post route into the end zone. There were still 33 seconds on the clock after the Agnew score.
Practice report: Cornerback Jeff Okudah took part in some individual drills Saturday, but didn't do any team periods. Veteran cornerback Desmond Trufant sat out for a second straight practice, as did running backs Bo Scarbrough and D’Andre Swift. Rookie tight end Hunter Bryant left practice early with a trainer.
Better day: I wrote about rookie running back Jason Huntley dropping a couple punts in Friday's practice. He was back in that role Saturday, and caught all three punts kicked his way.
Close but no cigar: There were a few opportunities for the defense to get some interceptions in team periods Saturday, but on three separate occasions defenders dropped the ball. Linebacker Jahlani Tavai had one go right through his hands. Cornerbacks Darryl Roberts and Dee Virgin were both in position to collect an interception and both dropped it.
Hock spike: Second-year tight end T.J. Hockenson has been really good this first week of practice, and he collected two red zone touchdown grabs on Saturday. The first was a great pass from Daniel with Hockenson lined up outside left. Hockenson was pretty pumped up after the score and spiked the ball with some authority.
More situational work: Quarterback David Blough got his opportunity to run a situational drill late in practice with some of the backups. The ball was on his 33-yard line with 1:14 left on the clock and the offense trailing 30-28. Cephus made a couple nice catches in the period as Blough led the Lions down to the 33-yard line, which is right in the wheel house for veteran kicker Matt Prater. The Lions didn't attempt the field goal. Head coach Matt Patricia called it good and a win for the offense.
