Lions get zero clarity in QB2 battle after Hendon Hooker, Kyle Allen struggle

The Detroit Lions fell to the Los Angeles Chargers by a score of 34-7 in the Hall of Fame game on Thursday, and the quarterbacks, Kyle Allen and Hendon Hooker, were incredibly underwhelming to kick off the preseason.

Allen played the entire first half for the Lions, and though he had some nice moments, leading a touchdown drive in the second quarter, the veteran signal-caller was mostly awful.

On 14 pass attempts, Allen completed nine passes for 91 yards and two interceptions. Both picks thrown by Allen came in Chargers’ territory, with one almost going for a pick-six. The 29-year-old has started 19 regular-season games in his seven-year career so far, but he looked completely out of sorts on Thursday night.

After going down 21-7 at halftime, mainly because of Allen’s costly interceptions, Hooker entered in the second half and wasn’t much better. The Tennessee product played just four drives and completed just three passes on six attempts with an interception, which came towards the end of the game and was ripped away from the intended receiver, Dominic Lovett.

Hooker didn’t get many opportunities, but didn’t take advantage of the chances he did receive.

With Allen and Hooker disappointing versus Los Angeles to open the preseason, Detroit’s backup quarterback situation behind Jared Goff is now more uncertain than before.

The Lions will travel to Mercedes-Benz Stadium to square off against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 2 of the preseason next Friday. Allen and Hooker must put together better performances next time out, or the backup quarterback battle could get ugly.

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