By now Lions fans know the familiar refrain.
“The Lions blitz less than any other NFL team.”
It’s a line that gets recited at least once in every Michigan-based sports radio show and clogs comments sections and message boards. However, it’s no longer accurate.
Over the last four games, the Lions have moved up in the blitz rate rankings. They’re still near the bottom of the league at just 10.9 percent of dropbacks, but that’s more than double the rate of the Los Angeles Chargers in the same timespan.
For the full season, the Lions blitz rate remains fairly constant at 10.9 percent. However, it dipped below 9 percent from Weeks 2-5. The NFL average for the season is 17.9 percent.
The 10.9 figure ranks ahead of both the Raiders and Chargers on the season through Week 12.
Note that blitz rate doesn’t necessarily correlate with being an effective defense. The 49ers have the NFL’s most effective pass rush and highest sack percentage despite being 29th in blitz percentage. Arizona is 4th in blitz percentage but 22nd in sack rate and has a lower sack rate than the Lions over the last four games.
All stats and tables are from NFL Inside Edge.
