Probably the most promising element of the Detroit Lions’ season-opening victory against the Indianapolis Colts was the effectiveness of the ground game.
The Lions finished the contest with 116 yards rushing, a mark they topped just twice in 2015. For this review, we’re going to ignore the quarterback scrambles, the end-around to wide receiver Golden Tate and rookie Dwayne Washington’s two goal-line carries and focus on the combined 19 handoffs to running backs Ameer Abdullah and Theo Riddick.
That duo racked up 108 yards for a healthy 5.7 yards per carry. Both had gains of at least 13 yards and both had rushes where they were dropped in the backfield.