Detroit Lions: Jason Jones an unsung hero this season

The Detroit Lions defense seems to be filled with underrated players, but while Darius Slay and Ezekiel Ansah are starting to get their due as rising superstars, veteran contributors like defensive end Jason Jones remain unsung heroes.

Today, all the talk surrounding the Detroit Lions centers on their loss last night to the Green Bay Packers on an Aaron Rodgers Hail Mary to Richard Rodgers in a game that saw the Lions inexplicably blow a 20-0 lead against an under-performing Packers offense. Even in a frustrating loss, there are still individual performances worth praising, and defensive end Jason Jones deserves some kind words for another quality display.

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Jones recorded just five sacks and was mostly a run-stopping force across from Ezekiel Ansah last season, and he ended up doing much of the dirty work at the other defensive end spot. The Lions could have released him in an effort to save every possible dollar for Ndamukong Suh, but they decided to keep him around even before we learned Suh would be joining the Miami Dolphins on a mega-deal.

Even though Jones wasn’t much of a factor as a pass rusher last season, you can understand why the Lions decided to retain him at a $3.15 million cap hit. He’s a reliable veteran who can set the edge against the run, and his ability to play the run became even more important after we learned that Suh would be on his way out.

The Lions haven’t been able to replace the fire-power lost after both Suh and Nick Fairley joined different teams this offseason, but they have still managed to get plenty of production out of their defensive line, which has been the strength of this somewhat unlucky defense (they are better than being 28th in the league in points per game allowed would otherwise indicate).

Beyond Ansah, who has shown that he’s still a fully legitimate star pass rusher even without Suh taking attention away from offenses, the Lions have other quality pieces up front. Haloti Ngata hasn’t been a star by any means but is still doing a solid job of stuffing the run, Devin Taylor and Darryl Tapp are no longer ineffective players, and Jones has somewhat surprisingly upped his play as a 29-year-old.

Jones won’t be mistaken for an impact pass rusher by anybody, and he has just 3.5 sacks and 25 tackles on the season. But you have to go beyond the sacks to see that he’s done a good job of consistently putting pressure on the quarterback, chipping in with some valuable disruption, in addition to his quality run defending.

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Although he had just one tackle in yesterday’s loss, Jones was quietly a bright spot for the Lions in their bitterly disappointing loss, and he added a QB hit to his stat sheet.

Ideally, it would be best for Jones to be a No. 3 defensive end where his two-way ability and veteran experience would be best utilized, and I’m sure Teryl Austin would love to have a dynamic bookend of pass rushers with Ansah and someone else across from him. However, that shouldn’t shroud the fact that Jones has been a visibly solid component of the Lions defensive line this season, and he’s a big reason why Detroit allows just 3.9 yards per carry on the ground.

Oct 19, 2014; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Lions defensive end Jason Jones (91) against the New Orleans Saints at Ford Field. Lions defeated the Saints 24-23. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

In fact, Stephen Tulloch, Ansah, and Jones are big reasons why the strength of the Lions defense lies in its ability to defend the run, and they did a great job of eliminating the Packers rushing attack last night.

Green Bay had to throw the ball frequently after being behind so quickly, but they still gave the ball to James Starks and Eddie Lacy a combined 14 times for a grand total of just 19 yards.

As a whole, Jones is in the top five among 4-3 defensive ends in Pro Football Focus’s Run Stop% and just outside the top ten in Pass Rushing Productivity among 29 qualifiers, confirming the fact that he’s been a solid, well-rounded starter for this defense.

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Thankfully, more people are starting to take notice of Slay and Ansah after already dousing previously criminally underrated safety Glover Quin Jr., who tied Tashaun Gipson for the league lead in interceptions in 2014, with praise, but don’t forget about the likes of Jones, too.