Last week, the Detroit Lions wanted to play a practice game, but injuries forced them to change their strategies. To officially end training camp, the Lions returned to practice game style for what was essentially a full game. They even went to the locker room to simulate the feeling of the first half.

There is no doubt that the defensive performance was very dominant throughout the day. The Lions first team players competed with each other for 11 attempts, and the results of each attempt were as follows:

• 3 plays, kick
• 5 plays, kick
• 1 play, INT (choose six)
• 6 plays, FG
• 3 plays, kick
• 4 plays, INT
• 7 plays, TD
• 7 plays, FG
• 7 plays, TD
• 13 plays, TD
• 4 plays, rotation on landings

Although the attacking performance was much better in the second half, most of those attacks were supported either by a good starting position or by penalties extending the attack.

It wasn’t much better for the backup offensive line either. Their six attempts resulted in one field goal, one missed field goal, an interception, a turnover and two punts.

Here is a breakdown of each. Leading the first team, Plus some key plays from the reserves.

Drive 1: 3 plays, 6 yards, punt

After a drop from Brock Wright on the second attempt, Jared Goff couldn’t connect with Calf Raymond on a throw while Ennis Rackstraw was in coverage.

• Personal note: In the absence of Amick Robertson, Branch stepped back and played nickelback when the staff needed him. Brandon Joseph replaced Branch at safety. In the starting lineups, Branch remained at safety.
• Ennis Rakestraw plays with Carlton Davis as the starting outside linebackers.

Drive 2 (starting at 30 yards): 5 plays, 24 yards, punt

Aidan Hutchinson, who was in control of the game, dropped a wide receiver screen at the starting line. But after two consecutive throws to Amon Ra St. Brown, he gained 25 total yards.

Unfortunately for the offense, Hutchinson and Alem McNeil (one of Wednesday’s standout defensive players) combined for a loss on the next play, and Marcus Davenport and Levi Onwuzurike combined at defensive back to bring down the opponent on the third attempt.

• Personal note: Khalil Dorsey has alternated with Rackstraw at outside linebacker.

Drive 3 (starting from 36 yards): 1 play, 0 yards, INT (6th pick)

Carlton Davis sent a quick pass to David Montgomery after Goff was under pressure from a blitz.

It’s worth noting that Jake Betts missed the extra point on the left side, but it was a low shot that Hogan Hatten missed once.

Drive 4 (starting from 45 yards): 6 plays, 42 yards, field goal

Finally, the offense managed to score despite limited space. On the first play, Goff passed to Raymond for a 29-yard touchdown, then followed that up with a 19-yard pass to St. Brown. But the offense faltered in the red zone after two consecutive passes were dropped by the Lions’ defensive line. One of them went to Aleem McNeil.

• Personal note: The Lions’ top three receivers remained St. Brown, Jameson Williams and Kalif Raymond. But in the red zone, Donovan Peoples-Jones got some opportunities.

Drive 5 (starting from 40 yards): 3 plays, 7 yards, punt

McNeil and Jack Campbell started the attack with a 0-yard run stop, and after a throw to Craig Reynolds in the flat for 7 yards, the Lions attack faced a short third attempt. Goff sent a deep shot to Jameson Williams, but there appeared to be some sort of misunderstanding, as the ball went towards the touchline, while Williams’s shot from No. 9 was deflected inside.

Drive 6 (starting from 42 yards): 4 plays, 23 yards, INT

The offense started promisingly with a deep 19-yard drive to Williams, but after a Kendall Vildor tackle cost his team the Lions were faced with a third-and-middle. Facing pressure from McNeil, Goff tried to hit Williams on a cross, but Alex Anzalone deflected the ball back to himself and picked it up.

Drive 7 (starting 44 opponents): 7 plays, 44 yards, TD

On a short third attempt, St. Brown caught a cross, broke the tackle and cut forward for a huge 36-yard gain — putting the Lions on the 2-yard line.

The defense held strong on a few running attempts — one by Brian Branch. But on the fourth down from the 1-yard line, quarterback/back Parker Heisey was able to sneak in a nice pass to beat quarterback Ben Niemann for a touchdown.

Drive 8 (starting at 50-yard line, 1:11 remaining in 1st half, 3 timeouts): 7 plays, 43 yards, field goal

Craig Reynolds had three early touchdowns on the drive, totaling 25 yards. But after Goff mistimed a throw to Shane Zylstra, it forced a third-and-6 attempt in the red zone. The Lions sent Branch on a blitz, forcing Goff to give up the ball and settle for a field goal in the first half.

Drive 9 (starting from own 38-yard line): 7 plays, 52 yards, TD

It is worth noting that I may have missed a play or two in this campaign, as it was the play in which Penny Sewell was injured that caught most of my attention at the time.

Although Branch provided a lot of pressure early in the attack, Goff was able to get the ball out in time to find Wright, who was open and sprinted downfield for a 22-yard gain.

Eventually, the Lions went back to a fourth-and-goal situation, and they did. This time, Goff got the second try, and Raymond found a weak spot in the area between Derek Barnes and Jack Campbell to get the ball from two yards out.

Drive 10 (starting from own 30-yard line): 13 plays, 70 yards, tD

St. Brown started the offense with a few quick passes that went about 10 yards each. The defense then seemed to stop the ball on a third-and-8 attempt after Jameson Williams failed to catch the ball, but it appeared the Lions might have called for a tackle from Branch.

After another tackle from McNeil that led to a loss, David Montgomery almost took a pull-up play to score from 30 yards out, but Brandon Joseph made a simple tackle to bring him down at the six-yard line. Two plays later, Geoff found Wright on the field for a six-yard field goal.

• Personal note: Branch took this drive, so Rackstraw was at nickel and Brandon Joseph and Kirby Joseph were at safety.

Drive 11 (starts at 50-yard line, 1 minute remaining, 2 timeouts, 5 attempts): 4 plays, 0 yards

The Lions ended the training session with an end-of-game scenario that failed miserably for the offense.

Goff tried to hit Jameson Williams with a deep shot, but he was knocked down. On the second attempt, Aidan Hutchinson beat Colby Sorsdal, who was filling in for the injured Sewell, to score from 8 yards out. The Lions sent the ball upfield on the third long attempt, with Branch, Anzalone and Levi Onwuzurike all getting through, forcing a no-ball. The final attempt on a 4th-and-18 by St. Brown was too short to secure the final win for the defense.

Other notes from practice

• Another inconsistent day for Bates. He made 4 of 5 extra point attempts, made two field goals from 25 and 31 yards, but missed a 48-yard attempt.
• After a strong day on Tuesday, it was another tough day for Donovan Peoples-Jones. He dropped the ball on the third attempt, ending a two-touchdown offense, though he later made up for it with a great 18-yard catch of a backhand throw from Nate Sudfeld on the third attempt.
• Safety Chelin Garnis caught Hendon Hooker after the second-year quarterback tried to get the ball into a tight window. Stephen Gilmore caught a breakaway pass, and Garnis made a great diving catch.
• During a series of four attempts, Hooker twice failed to catch the ball from Michael Ness. The second time was on a fourth attempt, causing the conversion to fail. Later in practice, Hooker tripped while attempting a scramble.