Instant observations: Bubble players who helped, hurt roster chances in Lions win

DETROIT — The Lions sold out of standing-room only tickets for their … wait a second, is that right? A preseason game?

What’s that you say? A preseason final?

There is nothing more meaningful than exhibition finals, when most teams dump their benches onto the field to determine the final few spots on their rosters, while protecting their starters for the regular season. Unless you’re the Pittsburgh Steelers apparently, who played most of their starters — including both of their top quarterbacks, star receiver George Pickens and top running back Najee Harris — against Detroit’s second- and third-team defense on Saturday afternoon at Ford Field.

The Steelers jumped to a quick 14-0 lead, as you might expect given who was on the field for each team, before sending their backups onto the field too. Then Detroit found a groove, as quarterback Hendon Hooker ran for 93 yards, Jermar Jefferson pounded in two touchdown runs and Jake Funk caught another in a 24-17 exhibition win against the Steelers.

Detroit finished the preseason 2-1. Just don’t read anything into it.

Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown and pretty much anyone else who will start a game this season didn’t play at all. But that paved the way for plenty of bubble players to make a final statement before roster cuts arrive in the next few days. And if the crowd on hand is any indication — a standing-room only crowd! In the preseason! — this place will be bananas when that roster takes the field for the season opener against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday Night Football.

Bring earplugs, folks.

Let’s get to some more observations:

— Dan Campbell said he was dying for a receiver to step up in the back end of that rotation. With the preseason now concluded, well, let’s just hope the Lions coach was being metaphorical about that whole dying thing. Donovan Peoples-Jones, a big, fast veteran with proven production in Cleveland, opened camp as the favorite to win the WR3 job. But he did almost nothing in practice, and turned nine exhibition targets into just six catches for 31 yards. Yikes. Then there’s Daurice Fountain, who opened camp as the most productive WR3, then went into a funk the last couple weeks and turned six exhibition targets into just two catches for 15 yards. That includes dropping a bomb that caught him in both hands against Pittsburgh. Then there’s Antoine Green, who suffered a season-ending injury and was released.

The only receiver who seemed to help himself during the preseason was Isaiah Williams, who went from the top name in the UDFA class to catching a team-high 11 passes for 123 yards during the preseason. He had just one catch against Pittsburgh, but it was an impressive touch where he caught a quick slant, stuck his left foot in the ground and then cut back to the right for 17 yards to set up a score. Williams also averaged 13.7 yards per punt return heading into the weekend — third best in the league — then added a 16-yarder against Pittsburgh. He also broke a kick return for 37 yards.

Credit the kid for making the most of his opportunities. Here’s the problem though: At 5-foot-10, Williams fills the same kind of slot/return role as All-Pro wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown and former All-Pro return man Kalif Raymond. The Lions would prefer more size to complement what they already have at the position. Williams ain’t that.

In the end, expect Raymond to start alongside St. Brown and Jameson Williams to open the season. Isaiah Williams could make the initial 53-man roster too, because Dan Campbell loves to reward players who perform their best in the biggest moments — think Tom Kennedy coming out of previous preseasons — but Williams might not last long either if Detroit finds better size on the waiver wire once cuts hit next week.

— Sticking with the passing game for a moment, Hendon Hooker will be heard from his mother after this one. The quarterback joked a couple weeks ago about how his mother would like him to slide more after he suffered a brain injury while running over a defender against the New York Giants. He obliged during two shifts of work in Kansas City last week. But given three quarters to show his stuff against Pittsburgh, Hooker ran well, often, and aggressively. He finished with 10 carries for 93 yards, and strung together the best offensive performance by a Lions quarterback in the preseason. He was more of a mixed bag through the air though, especially when Pittsburgh’s starters were in the game. He took three straight sacks at one point, finished with five sacks overall, completed just one 20-yard pass — on a catch-and-run to Maurice Alexander — and finished 12 of 20 overall for 114 yards and one touchdown. He didn’t throw a pick, but did lose a fumble.

All told, it was an encouraging step forward for the second-year quarterback, although his performance against Pittsburgh’s starters offers a reminder of his development to go. He is expected to sit this season behind Jared Goff and Nate Sudfeld — who never touched the field against Pittsburgh — but his dual-threat skill-set is a fascinating developmental piece. His ceiling is high for a backup quarterback, no doubt about that. And when was the last time we could say that about a backup QB in Detroit?

— The Lions are sitting on an embarrassment of riches at running back. David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs are one of the best 1-2 combos in the league, while rookie Sione Vaki has been so impressive with his feet and hands in the preseason that he didn’t even log a snap against Pittsburgh. That kid’s ready. Same goes for Craig Reynolds, a fourth-year backup who blocks extremely well. That’s a deep rotation with an assortment of running and blocking styles, and there are even some interesting options for the practice squad. Jermar Jefferson scored two touchdowns against Pittsburgh, including a go-ahead 7-yarder in the fourth quarter. And then there’s Jake Funk, who played ahead of Jefferson, ran for 27 tough yards on six carries, plus caught a touchdown pass.

–Here’s the deal. Kicker Jake Bates has an absolute hose. You don’t kick three 60-yarders in your first UFL season without one, and he booted a 64-yarder in practice after joining the Lions. He also made a 53-yarder in the rain in New York and a 55-yarder with plenty of room to spare in Kansas City, plus canned the winner from 43 yards at the buzzer. So why is he firmly on the bubble? In a word, consistency. The Lions are going to head into the regular season as one of the favorites for the Super Bowl, and need to know they can depend on their kicker. And it’s unclear whether Bates has earned that trust despite improving throughout camp. He didn’t help himself in the finale either, leaving one kickoff short of the landing zone (look it up you guys, it’s a thing this year) and pushing another out of bounds, while pushing a 30-yard field goal wide right. Yes, 30 yards. That should be automatic for any NFL kicker. Bates — who did make a 46-yarder — is an intriguing prospect, and should at least make the practice squad as a developmental player. But man, given one last opportunity to deter Detroit from going looking for help when cuts are made in the next few days, Bates struggled with his consistency once again.

— It’s going to be fascinating to see what the Lions do at tight end. James Mitchell is a former fifth-round pick who is entering his third season, but could find himself dangerously close to the bubble in the coming days. He’s underwhelmed over the summer and had a bad drop against Pittsburgh. Shane Zylstra, meanwhile, had four catches for 29 yards. Mitchell is the better blocker, and perhaps the Lions go with that skill-set behind Sam LaPorta and James Mitchell. But the lack of depth at receiver could entice Brad Holmes to look for more pass-catching ability, and Zylstra clearly offers more than Mitchell there.

— With John Cominsky out for the long term, the Lions could use some help in the back end of their edge rush. And I don’t think James Houston is the lock some people think. He logged a lot of snaps in the preseason finale — which usually means a guy hasn’t sewn up a roster job — although seemed to help himself with a sack and two quarterback hits. Two more names to watch are Isaac Ukwu and Mitchell Agude, who have played their way into consideration for roster jobs. Ukwu finished in fine fashion too, opening this game by literally pushing offensive tackle Devery Hamilton into the quarterback for a sack on the first play from scrimmage. That’s grown-man stuff.

— I don’t think Ty Summers has a chance to make a linebacker rotation that is led by Alex Anzalone, Jack Campbell, Derrick Barnes, Malcolm Rodriguez and Jalen Reeves-Maybin — and based on the snap counts against Pittsburgh, it seems Ben Niemann might have made this team too. But you have to tip your cap to Summers, a mid-camp signing who played well right away. He racked up six tackles, 1.5 sacks and two quarterbacks on just the first four series against the Steelers, and finished with eight tackles overall.

— Defensive tackle Brodric Martin left the game late in the third quarter with a lower-body injury. He also had a weird holding call before leaving, which gave Pittsburgh a first-and-goal at the 1. He did not record a tackle. At this point, he looks firmly behind interior defenders like Alim McNeill, DJ Reader, Levi Onwuzurike and Kyle Peko.