Post by D6 on Dec 29, 2019 22:48:13 GMT -5
www.mlive.com/lions/2019/12/observations-lions-wrap-up-worst-season-since-2010-with-ninth-straight-loss.html
Thoughts in ****
Observations: Lions wrap up worst season since 2010 with ninth straight loss
Today 4:32 PM
Detroit Lions vs. Green Bay Packers - December 29, 2019
By Kyle Meinke | kmeinke@mlive.com
DETROIT -- They were down their top two quarterbacks and, by the time this one was all over, their top four linebackers too. And three of their top four receivers. And their top tight end. And their top two fullbacks, one of which is actually a rookie tight end.
The Detroit Lions, losers of eight straight, had no business hanging with a Green Bay Packers team that was playing for a first-round bye.
Yet here they were, hanging with the Green Bay Packers.
But once again, they couldn’t hang long enough.
Aaron Rodgers connected with Davante Adams and Adam Lazard for long touchdowns that knotted up the game at 20-all with 5:24 left, then led an eight-play, 53-yard drive that set up Mason Crosby for a game-winning field goal as time expired on Detroit’s season.
It was as fitting an ending as any for this dreadful Lions team, which found a way to lead in 14 games this season, and found a way to win just three of them.
Detroit finishes 3-12-1, its worst season since winning just two games in 2010, and has secured at the least the No. 3 overall pick in the NFL draft. It would pick second overall if Washington finds a way to beat the Cowboys in Dallas later today.
The Lions went winless against the NFC North for the first time since 2012, and are just 2-10 against the division since hiring Matt Patricia last year. They still haven’t won a divisional crown since 1993, the longest active drought in the NFL. Even Tampa Bay has won the division more recently, and Tampa hasn’t been in the division since 2002.
Green Bay, which improved to 13-3 by sweeping Detroit, put the finishing touches on a 13th divisional crown since the last Lions title. And they did it on Detroit’s home turf, with fans cheering loudly as that final football sailed through the uprights.
But Detroit did make this one interesting.
Third-string quarterback David Blough opened the scoring by pitching the ball to Danny Amendola, then streaked wide open downfield for a 19-yard touchdown catch. It was the first time a Lions quarterback has caught a TD pass since Gary Danielson in 1984. (Matthew Stafford also caught a scoring pass a couple years ago, but that was a 2-point conversion.)
Blough later nearly plowed into the end zone before getting turned away at the goal line on third down, but Detroit went for it on fourth down anyway, and Kerryon Johnson finished the job for a surprising 14-0 lead.
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was miserable in the first half, connecting on just 2 of his first 12 passes and six overall before intermission. But he came alive in the second half, hooking up with Davante Adams for a 20-yard touchdown in the third quarter, then tacking on a 28-yarder to Adam Lazard that knotted the score at 20-all with 5:24 left.
Detroit had a couple more chances to push ahead, but Blough couldn’t get anything going, including throwing a brutal interception that gave Green Bay possession near midfield in the fourth quarter. An Amani Oruwariye interception gave the Lions yet another shot, but they went three-and-out yet again. They scored just three points in the second half, and were outscored 20-3 down the stretch.
It didn’t help that the Lions were down top linebackers Devon Kennard, Jarrad Davis, Christian Jones and Jahlani Tavai in the second half, and Rodgers -- off his game so much of the day -- was finally able to surge ahead with an eight-play drive that covered 53 yards in just 80 seconds. Crosby hit the 33-yard field goal as the final seconds melted off the clock, and that was it for the wort Lions team in a decade.
Now the focus turns immediately to a critical 2020 offseason, where Detroit must reload enough to rejoin contention, or prepare for yet another regime change.
**** The Lions went 6-10 in the 2010 season, winning the last 4 games. In the 2009 season, the Lions went 2-14.
The interception David Blough threw was when the Lions led 20-13 in the middle of the 4th QTR. The Lions had 2 more possessions, including one after Amani Oruwariye's interception.
The Lions fought to the end. But like in countless other games, that wasn't enough to secure the victory. Injuries put the Lions in extremely difficult situations. Players that were on the Practice Squad and at least one recent waiver claim were on the field in much of the 4th QTR. I'm reluctant to be critical of the coaches. Yet, even with the Packers focusing on stopping the run without Kenny Golladay available, I thought the Lions should have run the ball more than was the case. Especially, in the 4th QTR. ****
Here are some more instant observations:
-- Danny Amendola is a former quarterback with a decent arm, and the Lions have been working on a trick play involving him going all the way back to training camp. In the final week of the season, they finally got to use that page of the playbook. Amendola took a pitch moving left to right, then wheeled around and hit quarterback David Blough streaking wide open to the end zone for a 19-yard TD. That opened the scoring, and set the tone for a terrific -- and inventive -- first half from Detroit. It’s also the second straight year the Lions have gotten Green Bay with a trick play in the finale, as kicker Matt Prater through a TD pass to Levine Toiolo last year at Lambeau Field.
**** Great play call and execution. The Packers were fortunate Vikings WR Stefan Diggs overthrew Kirk Cousins on a similar type of play on MNF 6 days ago.
It was actually the 3rd straight season finale a Lions trick play worked against the Packers. ****
-- The Lions entered the game needing to allow fewer than 496 yards to avoid setting the franchise record for most yards allowed in a season (a record that has stood since, you guessed it, 2008). That seemed like a lopsided matchup against an all-world quarterback playing for a first-round bye, but Aaron Rodgers was miserable. He completed just 2 of his first 12 passes, as the Lions built a 14-0 lead. He completed just 6 of 18 passes for 90 yards in the first half, and didn’t find the end zone until Darius Slay left the game in the third quarter. Davante Adams -- smothered by Slay throughout much of the first half -- got loose behind the defense for a TD. Then Lazard did the same -- this time, with Slay in coverage -- to time up the game in the fourth quarter. The rest his history. Rodgers finished 27 of 55 passing for 323 yards, two touchdowns, one interception and a passer rating of just 72.0.
**** Aaron Rodgers was at his best on the final drive of the game. The screen pass to RB Aaron Jones was a tremendous play by Rodgers, Jones, and some blockers. It also was an illustration of injuries catching up to the Lions.
Amani Oruwariye got beat badly by Davante Adams on the Packers 1st TD.
Romeo Okwara had pressure on Aaron Rodgers on the excellent throw and reception by Allen Lazard. Darius Slay was in a near impossible situation. Lazard is one of the tallest WRs in the NFL, which Rodgers used to his advantage. ****
-- Kerryon Johnson replaced Bo Scarbrough in the starting lineup at running back, although it was rookie Ty Johnson who starred early, including squirting through the line for 40 yards when Detroit was just trying to bleed the clock late in the first half. That set up a Matt Prater field goal as time expired, giving the Lions a 17-3 lead as they headed into the break. That was a huge momentum swing for Detroit, which had just allowed a Green Bay field goal with 24 seconds left in the half, as well as Johnson, who has struggled to translate his hot training camp into regular season results. He didn’t have more than 30 yards in any of the first 15 games, and averaged just 3.5 per carry. But he erupted for 65 yards on just three carries in the first half against Green Bay, and was breaking tackles too, which has been a struggle for him this season.
**** All 3 RBs that carried the ball in the game performed well. The Lions running game was the team strength in this game on both sides of the ball combined. ****
-- The Lions finished with 171 yards on 25 carries as a team, a healthy 6.8 yards per carry average. That’s yet another nice result from the ground game, which showed signs of life in the late stages of the season and has offered some hope better days are ahead. Detroit was expected to try to control games on the ground this season, and bring better balance to the offense, but that rarely happened early as Kerryon Johnson struggled early and then went down with an injury. But then Bo Scarbrough happened, and Scarbrough has continued to look like a nice complement even as Johnson returned to the field the last two weeks of the season.
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**** This helps illustrate why I think the Lions should have run the ball more in the 4th QTR. The matchups in the passing game were in the Packers favor. ****
- There’s a lot to like about where the offense is headed, especially considering how many injuries they were playing through at the end of the season. That includes star receiver Kenny Golladay, whose season ended when he suffered a brain injury while making a fabulous 42-yard catch in the first half. With Marvin Jones and Marvin Hall on injured reserve (and Jermaine Kearse too), Detroit finished the year without three of its top four receivers, not to mention its No. 1 tight end (T.J. Hockenson), two of its top three guards (Joe Dahl and Kenny Wiggins) and top right tackle (Rick Wagner). Nick Bawden is out at fullback, which forced rookie Isaac Nauta to move there from tight end. Then he suffered a hamstring injury against Green Bay, forcing little-used linebacker Jason Cabinda to play there. That includes on a pivotal fourth-and-goal situation. But it worked, with Kerryon Johnson plowing into the end zone for a 14-0 lead in the second quarter.
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**** With all of the injuries, it's a credit to the players and coaches the Lions were in this game to the end. The Lions exceeded my expectations today. ****
Injuries aren’t unique to the offense, either, and the linebacker group was hit particularly hard down the stretch. Devon Kennard was the last starter still standing for this game, then he was bounced by a hamstring injury. Jarrad Davis, Christian Davis and Jahlani Tavai all finished the year on injured reserve, meaning Detroit finished 2019 without any of its top four linebackers. It was also playing without key defensive linemen like Mike Daniels and Da’Shawn Hand, plus lost star corner Darius Slay for some of this game. Slay did return, but didn’t look quite right and was beat by Adam Lazard for a long touchdown that tied the game at 20-all with 5:19 left. And yet, the Lions still forced Rodgers into one of his worst games of the season, and one of his worst games ever against Detroit.
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****Devon Kennard got a chuck on Aaron Jones on an incomplete pass late in the 2nd QTR that led to an incomplete pass. It prevented a TD. That might have been the play Kennard reinjured his hamstring. Austin Bryant took over most of Kennard's roles until Bryant suffered an injury in the 4th QTR. This was by far Bryant's best game as a rookie.****
- Matt Prater banged in a 56-yard field goal that extended Detroit’s lead to 20-13 midway through the fourth quarter. It was the 53rd field goal of at least 50 yards for Prater, moving him past Jason Hanson on the NFL’s all-time list. That guy. He’s pretty good.
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**** Terrific career accomplishment. ****
- Anthony Pittman, an undrafted rookie out of Wayne State, made his NFL debut for Detroit on Sunday to preserves a random bit of Lions history in the final week of the season. The Lions have now had a Michigan-born player appear in a regular-season game for them for 86 straight years.
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**** Anthony Pittman in essence took over for Bryant. Pittman got blocked on the Jones screen pass that helped win the game for the Packers. It was a difficult situation for a player who didn't play in an NFL regular season game until today to be in. ****
-Don Muhlbach started once again at long snapper, going a perfect 160 for 160 in the decade. He becomes the only player in franchise history to play every game in a given decade (2010-19). Death and taxes, baby.
**** Another tremendous accomplishment! ****
-- Mason Crosby finally got Green Bay on the board with a 32-yard field goal with 24 seconds left in the first half. That snapped an astounding 52-0 scoring run by Detroit in season finales against Green Bay (there have been four of those in a row, by the way). Then the Lions got those points right back, with a 40-yard run by Ty Johnson leading to a Matt Prater 42-yard field goal as time expired on the first half.
**** Great job by Ty Johnson with the run that helped set up Matt Prater's FG at the end of the 2nd QTR. ****
-- You’re never going to believe this, but the Lions finally won their first challenge of the season. The officials originally ruled a 17-yard pass to Green Bay receiver Davante Adams complete along the left sideline, but overturned it upon review. Matt Patricia had been 0-for on the season when throwing the red flag. Better late than never? And one play later, safety Will Harris sacked Aaron Rodgers to kill a promising drive. Who are these guys anyway?
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**** The officials clearly made a mistake on the field. It was crystal clear that Adams didn't catch the ball inbounds. ****
- The Lions had a moment of silence before the national anthem for Marlo Jones, the youngest child of receiver Marvin Jones, who died suddenly. He was only a few months old. Marvin Jones and his wife, Jazmn, were on the sideline for the moment of silence, which continued even after the PA announcer said “thank you.” It was a powerful moment.
**** Thoughts and prayers to Marvin Jones and his family in these extraordinary difficult times for them. ****
………....
This thread is a continuation of the following thread:
Lions vs. Packers preview: Game # 16 ( 2019 )
detroit-lions-forum.proboards.com/thread/549/lions-packers-preview-game-2019