Breaking down Terrion Arnold’s game against the Bears for the Lions’ defense

When I look at a player’s analysis after a game, I never take it at face value. The data recorded about a player’s performance is a nice tool, but it doesn’t always tell the true story. That also happens to be the case for Lions rookie cornerback Terrion Arnold after he played against the Bears last week.

Looking at Pro Football Focus (PFF) data, Arnold was ranked as one of the five worst defenders on the Lions defense last week. He received an overall grade of 46.1 and has an overall grade of 49.5 this season.

However, if you study the video against the Bears, it tells a different story about Terrion Arnold and his performance. Meanwhile, the Lions face a nice problem with Arnold and his importance to the Lions defense. Let’s take a look at a videotape to see what went right and what went wrong for Arnold on Thanksgiving!

Lions CB Terrion Arnold is about to have his first career INT. On this play, he is familiar with a trail technique, with Kerby Joseph having the upper hand. This puts him in excellent position for any route that breaks in, out, or back to the QB. #OnePride pic.twitter.com/ChyFf74JXD

– Russell Brown (@RussNFLDraft) December 3, 2024

Let’s start with what might have been Terrion Arnold’s first career interception and continue with the play above. If you look at this play, you’ll see the Bears come out with their 12 personnel (one running back and two tight ends) under center.

If you play with outside leverage, you’ll see Arnold at the bottom of the screen. Once the ball is snapped and the receiver clears the field, you will see Arnold directly behind the receiver. Using a trail technique, Arnold is in excellent position to undercut a pass vertically down the field, but he is also in good position to jump any route that goes in, out or back to the quarterback.

In this case, the wide receiver appears to be taking some sort of comeback or curl route. However, Arnold is in a great position and is all the way across the track. Unfortunately, the ball is thrown a little deeper than expected and Arnold doesn’t manage to hold the ball to intercept. The good news is that Arnold was there and made a great play on 2nd down.

Lions CB Terrion Arnold plays with outside leverage and forces the WR to release inside. Unfortunately, he falls for Rome Odunze’s double move inside and allows a passing window to the outside. DC Aaron Glenn wasn’t happy. #OnePride pic.twitter.com/8ft9RHrjVq

– Russell Brown (@RussNFLDraft) December 3, 2024

Next, I want to focus on what could have been Terrion Arnold. The play above could have been a big play that would have prevented the Bears from scoring a touchdown on the following play.

If you look at the game above, you can see Arnold at the bottom of the screen playing with outside interference. By playing with outside leverage, he forces Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze to release inside. This is good for Arnold because he has the security of Kerby Joseph, who plays over the top and inside and may have some expectation to jump an inside route like a post, dig or slant.

The unfortunate reality is that Arnold bites the inside of the head, giving Bears quarterback Caleb Williams a passing window to the outside. Even though he’s right there, the ball is completed for the first down and the Bears get the ball inside the Lions’ 10-yard line for first-and-goal. If Arnold had been able to deflect that pass, it would have been a big stop for the Lions in the third period.

As you can see, the data paints one picture, but the film paints another. Terrion Arnold has a lot of good things going for him in this game against the Bears. Personally, I think it was his best game as a rookie and that’s promising for a Lions defense depleted by injuries and currently dealing with a knee and thumb injury at cornerback opposite Arnold in Carlton Davis.

Against the Bears, Arnold was credited with giving up two receptions for six yards despite being targeted six times. He recorded one tackle and one pass deflection in that game. Overall, it was a good performance for Arnold after he missed the Colts game with a groin injury.

For us fans, we have to be patient with Terrion Arnold. In the meantime, he must continue to be patient and disciplined when moving into coverage. If he does that, good things will turn into great things for him and the Lions defense.