Lions 27, Cardinals 27... OT : Game # 1 ( 2019 )

[D6]

For those of you that want to offer thoughts during or after tbe game about tbe game, please use this thread.

My plan is to change the title of this thread to tbe score of the game with my first post game thoughts and article about the game.

This thread is a continuation of the following threads:


Lions at Cardinals preview: Game # 1 ( 2019 )

detroit-lions-forum.proboards.com/thread/245/lions-cardinals-preview-game-2019

Lions at Cardinals Injury info: Game # 1 ( 2019 )

detroit-lions-forum.proboards.com/thread/367/lions-cardinals-injury-info-game

[papajoe]

One thought: unacceptable


I wonder how many times I’ve used that word to describe my thought(s) after a Lions’ game...


Joe

[D6]

Joe, the word unacceptable indeed fits this game and multitudes of other Lions games over the last 50 seasons. The Lions are fortunate to even get a tie based on what transpired in OT.

The Lions won't go 0-16 like in 2008. But it's easy to envision a 5 game losing streak if the Lions don't bounce back with a win over the LA Chargers.

[D6]

www.mlive.com/lions/2019/09/observations-lions-blow-18-point-lead-tie-cardinals-despite-historic-debut-from-tj-hockenson.html


Thoughts in ****

Observations: Lions blow 18-point lead, tie Cardinals despite historic debut from T.J. Hockenson

Updated 1:22 AM; Posted Sep 8, 8:44 PM

By Kyle Meinke | [e-mail]

Kyle Meinke - mlive.com

Read articles written by Kyle Meinke for mlive.com.

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- They got the best debut by a tight end in NFL history. They got three dominant quarters out of their defense.

And all the Detroit Lions could manage against the worst team in the league last year was a tie.

The Lions didn’t lose their opener, but there’s no getting around the disappointment of a 27-27 tie on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. T.J. Hockenson racked up 131 receiving yards, which broke an NFL record for a tight end in his first game, a record that had stood since 1960. He caught a 23-yard touchdown pass that gave Detroit a 24-6 lead at the top of the fourth quarter, an 18-point lead that seemed insurmountable.

**** As soon as I become optimistic that about the Lions during a game, that's when I should be prepared for huge football disappointment. The Lions are like clockwork in this regard. ****

Then, Arizona surmounted it.

Kyler Murray, so frustrated by Detroit’s defense all day -- averaging just 2.0 yards per play in the first half -- hit David Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald for fourth-quarter touchdown passes, the last of which capped an 18-point surge that knotted the game at 24-all with 43 seconds left.

The Lions had a chance to seal the game late in the fourth quarter when Stafford threw a would-be first down pass to J.D. McKissic in front of their bench, but the officials granted them a timeout that Matt Patricia called moments before the ball was snapped. Instead, Stafford threw incomplete coming out of the timeout, Sam Martin had his ensuing punt partially blocked and Murray came back the other way to hit Larry Fitzgerald for a 4-yard TD that pulled Arizona within two points. A successful conversion forced overtime.

**** I was preparing myself for the scenario of the Cardinals not converting the 2 point play but recovering an Onside Kick. With a Game Winning FG to follow. Under the horrific 4th QTR by the Lions and what transpired in OT, I am surprised the Lions even got a tie.****

Cardinals kicker Zane Gonzalez opened the extra frame with a 33-yard field goal, then Matthew Stafford marched Detroit back the other way on passes of 21 and 23 yards to Marvin Jones. But Stafford couldn’t find Hockenson or Kenny Golladay in the end zone, and Detroit settled for a Matt Prater field goal that tied the game again at 27-all.

**** Even if Kenny Golladay would have caught a TD pass on the 3rd Down play, it would have come back because of a holding penalty by RB C.J. Anderson. ****

Detroit got a stop near midfield on the ensuing series, and had one last opportunity to win the game. But the drive went nowhere, thanks in part to Danny Amendola not getting out of bounds, forcing a timeout, and then Stafford nearly throwing an interception to Tremaine Brock in the waning seconds that could have cost Detroit even a tie.

**** After the sack by Terrell Suggs on 1st and 10 that made the situation 2nd and 19 at the Lions 15 yard Line and only 12 seconds remaining, the Lions should have just had a kneel down play to accept the tie. The risk of something bad happening in that part of the field was greater than something good happening. Especially, since the Lions had no timeouts left. The Lions dodged a football bullet when CB Tremaine Brock could hold on to what easily could have been an interception following a deflection by D-Lineman Zach Allen. The strategy by Matt Patricia on that drive was beyond highly questionable. ****

Instead, it settles for the split, the club’s first since a 23-23 tie with Philadelphia in 1984.

**** I recall that game. This game was more painful because the Lions had an 18 point lead entering the 4th QTR and have more talent than the Lions did during the 1984 tie with the Eagles. ****

The Lions looked good on both sides of the ball at times, but squandered a golden opportunity to win a game on the road with tough ones coming up against the Chargers, Eagles and Chiefs. What a missed opportunity.

**** The Lions are now in a must win situation against the LA Chargers. Both in terms of getting back momentum and the schedule to follow. ****

Here are some observations:
-- The Lions had Kyler Murray and the Cardinals figured out in the first half, allowing just 58 yards, and 2.0 per play. Arizona had just three first downs, and Tracy Walker picked off the rookie quarterback. It was more of the same in the third, before Arizona broke out in the fourth with 12 first downs, 193 yards and 18 points. Murray completed 15 of his 19 passes in the frame and led three scoring drives, including finding David Johnson over the middle for a 27-yard touchdown. Johnson beat Jalen Reeves-Maybin on the play. Then Larry Fitzgerald knotted up the game a 4-yard score.

-**** I think 5 things in particular happened regarding Lions Defense in the 4th QTR and OT. None were good:

1. The Lions were less aggressive with strategy in the 4th QTR.
2. # 1 led to Kyler Murray and co. gaining confidence they seemed to lack for the most part in the first 3 QTRs.
3. The Lions Defense was on the field too much. This was a concern on this end going into the game because of conditioning issues die to injuries and limited at most playing time for most Lions Defensive players in the pre-season.
4. The Lions 3rd Down incomplete pass in the final 3 minutes of regulation time gave the Cardinals an extra 40 seconds. They bad no timeouts remaining in the 4th QTR.
5. The blocked punt gave the Cardinals good field position ( own 40 yard line. ****



P- The tie spoils a historic debut from T.J. Hockenson, whose 131 yards were the most ever by a tight end making his NFL debut. That record had stood since 1960, when Monty Stickles had 123 receiving yards for San Francisco. While the tie won’t go down well, there is reason for hope with that offense under Darrell Bevell. Hockenson has been unguardable at times in practice, especially in the red zone, and he had no problems translating that to his debut. Hockenson started against the Cardinals (along with Jesse James), caught his first NFL pass on the subsequent series (a 28-yarder), then later caught a 39-yarder that led to Detroit’s first touchdown. In the fourth quarter, he stretched Detroit’s lead to 24-6 when he found the soft spot in the back of the end zone for a 23-yard score.
Not to be forgotten, Jesse James -- the big free-agent signing at tight end -- caught a critical 15-yard pass on a third-and-7 to keep that series alive. Three plays later, Hockenson was dancing in the end zone. Detroit spent more resources on its tight end rotation than any other team in the league this year. It revamped that rotation from top to bottom. And one week into the season, those investments have paid off handsomely.


**** T.J. Hockenson looks like a differential receiver at the TE position. He definitely was a bright spot as a receiver. His blocking was somewhat better in the pre-season. But IMHO, he continues to be noticeably more further along as a receiver.

Jesse James doesn't have Hockenson's receiving ability. However, James is a better blocker in the present. ****

-- The running game really struggled in the new offense, which is supposed to emphasize the run, but Detroit continued to put up points because of some excellent play from Matthew Stafford, especially early. He completed 27 of his 45 passes overall and threw touchdown passes to Danny Amendola (47 yards), Kenny Golladay (9 yards) and Hockenson (28 yards). Hey, he even ran for a first down on a zone-read, and was still leading Detroit in rushing in the second half. Stafford threw for 385 yards overall and his QB rating was a toasty 110.0. Then again, he couldn’t lead game winning drives late in the fourth quarter or overtime, and nearly threw a pick in OT that might have cost Detroit the game.

**** The # 1 issue with the Lions Offense and probably the overall team is the Offensive Line. With the very disappointing performance by Taylor Decker at or near alarming. ****

-- This was Stafford’s 129th straight start, the sixth-longest streak for a quarterback in NFL history. Long snapper Don Muhlbach played in his 229th career game, moving him into a tie for 105th all time.

-- Hockenson wasn’t a popular guy in Detroit on draft weekend. Jahlani Tavai was even less popular. But the second-round pick practiced well over the summer, then earned the start at middle linebacker in his debut because of the Jarrad Davis ankle injury. Tavai played well, too, including sacking Murray on the first drive of the third quarter. He became just the fifth player in Lions history to notch a sack in his pro debut, and the first to do it since Ndamukong Suh in 2010. He’s the first linebacker to do it since 1987.

**** Encouraging / good all around performance by Jahlani Tavai. Certainly one he can build on. ****

-- Trey Flowers also started, but the $90 million man seemed to be on some kind of pitch count. So did Mike Daniels, for that matter, who didn’t play until the third series of the game. Snacks Harrison, A’Shawn Robinson and Flowers started up front, with Tavai, Devon Kennard and Christian Jones at linebacker, then Darius Slay, Rashaan Melvin, Justin Coleman, Quandre Diggs and Tracy Walker in the secondary.

**** Trey Flowers committed a critical Face Mask Penalty on the Cardinals TD Drive ( that eventually tied tbe game at 24-24 ) inside the Lions 10 yard line. It was a game of mixed results for Flowers. ****

-- Melvin, by the way, also played very well in his Lions debut. He racked up eight tackles, three passes defended and added a QB hit for good measure before leaving the game in the fourth quarter with an injury. He’s been battling a knee issue. He later returned.

****Rashaan Melvin did indeed perform very well. The only Lions DB I thought struggled was Dime CB Jamal Agnew. His struggles came during the Cardinals comeback and after that. ****

-- The Lions didn’t have to give Snacks Harrison a new extension. They did so anyway, and even guaranteed him $11 million in new money. Harrison wasted little time showing Detroit where that money was going, disrupting the interior trenches and batting down a couple Kyler Murray passes. That’s just a grown man doing grown man things.

**** I think Damon Harrison should have used more in pass rush situations in the 4th QTR and OT. Run Defense is by far his greatest strength. Yet, Harrison offers more in Pass Defense than given credit for. Keeping other DTs more fresh by itself is a reason why I think Harrison should have been used more in crunch time. ****

-- Sam Martin was forced to take a pay cut this offseason. All he did in response was turn in one of the best all-around games of his career. He buried his first two punts within 10 yards of the end zone, one of which died at the 1 without anyone touching it. As the holder, he also managed to corral a one-hopper from Don Muhlbach and get the ball down in time for Matt Prater to blast a 55-yard kick (that would have been good from 650. And on kickoffs, he placed a couple balls right near the goal line, forcing a return. Martin did have a late punt deflected at the line of scrimmage, though that wasn’t on him.



**** Sam Martin and Matt Prater were major bright spots on Special Teams. The collective performance of the rest of the Lions Special Teams was on a losing level. ****

-- The Darrell Bevell offense showed all kind of promise in its debut, but that line still looks like a work in progress. Taylor Decker in particular had a difficult debut, getting flagged for a false start three times. One came on a third-and-short, and another wiped out a first-down catch by Kenny Golladay on a second-and-12. He was also flagged for hol
ding on the final series of regulation, but it was declined. Decker was also beat for some costly pressure, including on the Matthew Stafford fumble in the first half. Decker was beat inside by Chandler Jones, who then blasted Stafford and forced the ball loose.


**** Taylor Decker had the worst performance of any Lions player in this game. He needs to play much better for the Lions to bring him back in 2020. ****

-- The offensive line started as everyone expected, with Joe Dahl at left guard, Frank Ragnow at center and Graham Glasgow at right guard. But Kenny Wiggins got a few series too, spelling Dahl at left guard for a series in the first half and then Glasow at right guard for a stretch in the second. Glasgow missed just one snap the last two years combined, so it was interesting to see the rotation.

**** Joe Dahl looked like he had the best performance of any of the Lions Offensive Lineman in this game. ****

-- I’ve written repeatedly that while Jamal Agnew is electric with the ball in his hands, it would behoove the Lions to re-evaluate their thinking at return man because of his ball security issues. Agnew started at both kick and punt returner anyway, and it took less than a half of football for it to cost Detroit. Agnew botched a punt inside the 10-yard line near the end of the first half, giving Arizona possession in Detroit territory for the first time in the game. Of course, that dominant Lions defense turned the screws on Arizona and managed to hold them to a field goal. Still, in a game that ended in a tie, those three points proved to be huge.

**** Extremely huge! I'm surprised the Lions used Jamal Agnew on returns in this game after the very costly muff. ****

-- Local temperatures were an even 100 degrees at kickoff, and the heat index was 106. Thankfully, for all involved, the retractable roof was closed at State Farm Stadium.

**** Definitely a break for the Lions. Imagine the toll a complete OT period game like this one would have had on the Lions moving forward. ****



……


Much more planned about the game during the day on Monday and beyond.

[D6]

3 things we learned: Taylor Decker trending in wrong direction for Lions

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Unless Taylor Decker performs much better and on a consistent basis, the Lions 2019 season has very little chance of turning out well.

If Jamal Agnew is deemed too unreliable on Punt Returns, a solid case can be made that he doesn't warrant a roster spot. The Lions should look at Nickel / Dime Back CBs in Tryouts soon. Other than Justin Coleman, the Lions have issues at that position.

[D6]

The Lions have already backed themselves into a bad spot

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If the Lions would have lost in OT, especially because of attempting to throw the ball in tbe last 12 seconds of the game, deep in Lions territory, that might have already been tbe end of the Lions season for all practical purposes. And the beginning of the end of Matt Patricia as Lions HC.

[D6]

Inside the locker room: Kyler Murray says the Lions looked tired

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The Lions Offense failed to score a point in the 4th QTR. This, combined with the Lions giving the Cardinals an extra 40 seconds because of the 3rd Down incompletion with less than 3 minutes remaining in OT, and the blocked punt that followed, put the Lions Defense in a difficult spot. Though there's no excuse for the Lions to have blown an 18 point lead in the 4th QTR, the Lions Defense ( when considering the fatigue factor ) did a good job in OT helping the Lions at least gain a tie. The Offense and Special Teams are the primary reasons the Lions didn't win this game.


I'm not sure if Kenny Golladay is referring to the pass in the End Zone in OT that it looked like Tremaine Brock broke up. Even if Golladay caught that pass, a holding penalty by C.J. Anderson would have negated the TD.

[D6]

Why did the Lions call timeout before a potentially game-clinching pass?

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I understand why the Lions used a timeout in that spot. The issue I have is an attempted deep pass because an incompletion stopped the clock. Though the blocked punt negated the time factor, as the Cardinals started at their own 40 yard line, if the Cardinals would have started tbe drive around their own 20 yard line, the 40 seconds could have made a huge difference.

[D6]

Snap counts: Lions Frank Ragnow returns to play every offensive snap on OL in Week 1 tie

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Unless there is an injury or a non injury performance issue during the game, I don't agree with Offensive Lineman being rotated while the game outcome is in doubt. Continuity is viral up front. The changes at Guard might have contributed to Taylor Decker having a subpar performance. Also, communication issues occurred on a number of plays with the Lions blocking. IMHO, the benefits of continuity on the Offensive Line exceed the benefits of getting one or more backup Offensive Lineman in a game in which the outcome hasn't clearly been decided.

[batchrules10]

Just got off my plane from Phoenix. Typically I’d give an in-depth analysis of this game but the heartbreak was so tough for me on many levels I don’t want to think much about this game! I’ll say this, though. Who the hell called that timeout that negated a very long pass? There was absolutely no logical reason to call a timeout. Period! Also, Taylor Decker? I’m fine with drafting the best LT available next draft! My West Coast Trip was amazing enough that I don’t even want to think about this. Unless I find an absolute deal for Sunday, I will be breaking my Home Opener tradition

[D6]

NFL Week 1 PFF ReFocused: Arizona Cardinals 27, Detroit Lions 27

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I agree with tbe assessment of T.J. Hockenson's play.

The boneheaded decision on the play in question was by Matt Patricia even giving Matthew Stafford the opportunity to throw tbe ball downfield with 12 second remaining in OT deep in Lions territory. Being that the pass was defected by Defensive Lineman Zach Allen, I'm not going to question the throw from Stafford's standpoint.

On tbe plus side regarding Tracy Walker, he did have an interception in the 1st QTR and helped break up a deep pass much later on in a critical game situation.

I thought Jahlani Tavai's performance was better than PFF believes is the case. Part of that is because of his sack, which was not a cheap sack.

[D6]

Batchrules, thanks for your thoughts. This was and is a difficult game for me to write about. I certainly know where you are coming from. If there are silver linings, a tie is technically better than a loss. And the Lions didn't appear to suffer any significant injuries in the game.

Matt Patricia called the timeout. The following article that I posted earlier to tonight discusses tbe decision. For what it's worth, I have issues with a deep pass incompletion being the play result following the timeout,not the timeout itself.

www.mlive.com/lions/2019/09/why-did-the-lions-call-timeout-before-a-potentially-game-clinching-pass.html


LT could be the Lions # 1 need in 2020. Taylor Decker must step up for him to remain the Lions starting LT beyond this season.

I'm glad the rest of your trip turned out great.

My guess is there will be very good deals for the Lions home opener vs. the LA Chargers. This is a game that not many fans of the opposing team will attend. With the Lions barely getting a tie after having an 18 point lead, many Lions fans that would have attended the Chargers game if the Lions would have won by double digits yesterday, are likely not going to attend. You might get a GREAT deal for this game.

[D6]

………………...

I'm surprised Matthew Stafford's PFF grade isn't higher.

[D6]

…………..


I'm glad PFF admitted that Tracy Walker performed better than they gave him credit for.

I'm not sure why Darius Slay didn't get a much higher grade. The Cardinals didn't challenge him much.

I thought Devon Kennard's PFF grade would be higher than this.

[D6]

Detroit Lions stock watch: T.J. Hockenson shines, run game sputters

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As much of an impact Devon Kennard had in the game, he was up against an overmatched RT. Much greater challenges are ahead for Kennard moving forward.