Post by D6 on Oct 18, 2021 3:58:06 GMT -5
Instant observations: Detroit Lions pasted by Bengals for NFL-worst 10th straight loss
Thoughts in ****
Week 6: Detroit Lions vs. Cincinnati Bengals
By Kyle Meinke | kmeinke@mlive.com
DETROIT -- Three-yard run. Illegal formation. False start.
The Detroit Lions talked all week about how much they need to start quickly. They had scored just six points before halftime in their last three games combined, after all, a tough way to do business in this league. Then they laced up their cleats against the Cincinnati Bengals and went 3-yard run, illegal formation and false start right out of the gate. They lost 6 yards on that series, then went three-and-out after that, before losing another 10 yards after taht, while netting just 1 yard in the entire first quarter -- yes, 1 -- and allowing 27 unanswered points before they finally got on the board in a miserable 34-11 loss on Sunday at Ford Field.
They’ve now lost their first six games of the Dan Campbell era, their worst start under a new head coach since Marty Mornhinweg lost a team-record 12 games in 2001. Detroit’s losing streak has now reached 10 games and 316 days overall, which by virtue of a buzzer-beating field goal by Jacksonville’s Matthew Wright -- cut by the Lions in training camp -- is now the longest skid in the league.
It won’t get any easer next week, with that Matthew Stafford guy lurking in Los Angeles.
The Lions’ defense continues to show substantial gains, and is keeping games within reach most weeks. Jalen Reeves-Maybin was toasted by rookie running back Chris Evans for a 24-yard touchdown to open this game, but the defense got four straight stops after that thanks to big plays by guys such as Amani Oruwariye (interception) and Julian Okwara (third-down sack).
With two undrafted rookies starting in a secondary that had to handle a top-10 passing attack and rookie sensation Ja’Marr Chase, that was excellent work. Another rookie, Alim McNeill, got good penetration up front while another rookie, linebacker Derrick Barnes, forced a pass breakup at the goal line. Tracy Walker nearly had an interception when he jumped a route by Chase. All good stuff.
But none of that matters, and won’t matter, when Detroit is saddled with one of the worst offenses in the league.
Jared Goff actually lost yardage through the air in the first quarter, while Detroit net just 1 yard as a team. Goff needed 15 passes to net 38 yards before halftime, while the Lions failed to score before the break for the third time in four weeks. Detroit has still hasn’t scored a first-half touchdown since Week 2, which -- and this might not surprise you -- is the longest active drought in the league.
Goff finished 28 of 42 passing for just 202 yards, a horrific average of just 4.8 yards per attempt. He missed tight end T.J. Hockenson wide open for a touchdown, and also failed to see an open receiver on fourth down for the third time this season, missing D’Andre Swift all alone to the right on fourth-and-4. He rolled to the left instead, before throwing away the football.
Yes, throwing away the football. On fourth down. Woof.
Then the defense started to crack late in the second quarter, with Joe Burrow finding Chase getting loose behind rookie cornerback Jerry Jacobs for a 34-yard catch on the final drive of the first half. Cincinnati tacked on a field goal at the buzzer, before Burrow found Joe Mixon all alone for a 40-yard touchdown on a fourth-and-1 to open the second half.
Burrow added a 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end C.J. Uzomah working against safety Dean Marlowe, which made it 27-0. And the rout was on.
**** This was one of the worst Lions performances on Offense in the last 30 + years. The final stats by the Lions don't tell the story of how dreadful the Lions Offense was up until the point the score of the game was 27-0.
The Lions Defense failed on the Lions first drive but did a great job the rest of the first half except a 3rd Down drive that set up a Bengals FG.. Even then, a missed holding call on RT Riley Reiff (he held Trey Flowers) on the Bengals final play ( incomplete pass ) before the 38 yard FG attempt could have been the difference between a 7-0 score at halftime, compared to a 10-0 score. The Lions failures on 3rd and 4th Down plays on Defense caught up with the Lions Defense in the 2nd half. But at least there are several positives regarding the Lions Defense from this game. The Lions Special Teams had plenty of positives and at least broke even in this game. The story from this game though was the horrific job by the Lions Offense. Every unit on the Lions Offense contributed to the loss, with the RBs the least problematic ( relatively speaking ). The worst was the QB play by Jared Goff and the Offensive Line. ****
Let’s get to some observations:
-- The Lions entered the weekend on pace to set the NFL record for fourth-down attempts in a season. They’ve also been one of the worst teams in the league at executing them, and failed once again on a fourth-and-4 early in the second quarter. After missing T.J. Hockenson on third down, Jared Goff didn’t see a wide-open D’Andre Swift on fourth down and wound up throwing the ball away while under duress. Kind of like he didn’t see a wide-open Quintez Cephus on that fateful fourth-and-1 late against Chicago, or didn’t see a wide-open Swift on that fourth-and-whatever back in Green Bay. Dan Campbell says he’ll keep drawing ‘em up, but at some point, he has to realize the quarterback he’s working with. And it’s not working. After all, I’ve never seen a quarterback throw away the football on fourth down before. Why not take a chance somewhere on the field? Anywhere on the field? Perhaps -- and I know this might be crazy talk -- but to the wide-open running back?
**** It was one of Jared Goff's worst plays in the first 6 games of the season. A play like this can't happen in the 6th game of the season. The Lions plays and system should be much more natural to a veteran starting NFL QB than to conclude that was the reason for Goff not seeing AND throwing to a wide open D'Andre Swift on the play. ****
The Lions went for it on a fourth-and-1 later in the game, and gave the ball to Jamaal Williams, who, wouldn’t you know it, moved the sticks. Maybe more of him, and less of one of the worst quarterbacks in the league? Just a thought.
**** Except for 2 things:
1. It was a struggle on the 4th and less than a 1 yard Jamaal Williams run. The run blocking was barely enough for the Lions to get the first down. Rushing yards were difficult to come by all day because of the run blocking was subpar.
2. Jaamal Williams, who usually is as reliable as any player in the NFL, dropped a 2nd and 8 pass in the 2nd half that would have likely put the Lions in around a 3rd and 3 situation. An incomplete pass later, Dan Campbell elected to punt around midfield despite the lopsided score. IMHO, that was a reflection of the putrid play of the Lions Offense more than anything ****
The Lions went for it again to open the second half, already trailing 17-0, and then Evan Brown jumped early. That’s the third time this season Detroit has been flagged for a false start on fourth-and-1. Woof.
****It looked like it was LG Jonah Jackson, # 73, who moved early ( started to pull ) , not Evan Brown ( # 63 ). Evan Brown isn't capable of having impact ways Frank Ragnow is. In fairness to Brown, he was the Lions most consistent Offensive Lineman in this game and probably overall since he took over for the injured Ragnow after the first drive in Chicago. ****
-- Let’s stick with Goff for a moment. This clearly isn’t working, and what’s most vexing, it was clear it wasn’t going to work a long time ago. He was a struggling quarterback in Los Angeles, snowed under by too many checkdowns and too many turnovers. Then the Lions traded for him, and said they were serious about making Goff work again. But they just didn’t give him the resources to do it, putting together their entire receiver corps at the bottom levels of free agency and the final day of the draft. That was never going to do it, and the cracks were exposed early when Breshad Perriman was cut coming out of camp, then Tyrell Williams went down with an injury, then Quintez Cephus too. Which is how you end up with guys like Kalif Raymond and KhaDarel Hodge -- neither of whom had ever caught more than 11 passes in a season -- starting at wide receiver in the NFL.
Goff needed more help, and instead the Lions gave him a bunch of table scraps and told him to go make bacon. Now Goff is delivering some of the worst quarterback play in the league. His 15 first-half passes gained just 38 yards, and his longest completion to a receiver was -- drumroll, please -- just 6 yards. He missed open receivers, didn’t see broken coverages, threw another pick (although it wasn’t really his fault) and never found the end zone until D’Andre Swift plowed in for a 1-yard run late in the fourth quarter. Way too little, way too late.
-- Since 2011, the Lions are 71-80-1 with Matthew Stafford under center, and 0-14 without him. Just saying.
****Matthew Stafford was much better for the Lions than Joey Harrington. But like with Stafford, the Lions record was noticeably better ( relatively speaking ) with Harrington than when someone else was the Lions QB from 2002 through 2005.
The interception ( I question the decision that the call was reversed ) wasn't Jared Goff's fault by itself. In fact, it probably was his best throw of the game ( heavy pressure on the play ). The problem is he took the sack on the previous play, instead of getting rid of the ball ( which he could have easily done without getting an intentional grounding penalty. That, combined with Tracy Walker's boneheaded Taunting Penalty on the interception, led to Goff needing to make the throw that resulted in the interception ( following the replay reversal ). ****
-- Cornerback Amani Oruwariye had three interceptions in the first 27 games of his career. He now has three interceptions in the last four weeks, after picking off Joe Burrow in the first half on Sunday. Oruwariye’s overall coverage numbers don’t stand out this season, but that has a lot to do with having to see the opponent’s best receiver most weeks. He’s actually been pretty consistent, and is helping to generate some big stops for a team that needs them to hang around.
**** All things considering, the Lions CB play was good much more often than not in this game. Jerry Jacobs got beat by WR Ja'Marr Chase on a couple of long passes by Joe Burrow ( great throws ) in which blitzes didn't generate enough pressure. But most of the game, Jacobs performed well. Including, forcing a fumble on Joe Mixon on a pass, that Mixon, to his credit secured the ball on the ground from LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin. ****
-- Tracy Walker drew the Lions’ first taunting flag of the year, a 15-yard penalty for -- and parents, you may want to cover your kids’ eyes here -- but a 15-yard penalty for flexing. Is that a penalty based on the NFL’s odd fixation on not having fun? Absolutely. It’s consistent with the way they’re calling taunting these days, and Walker has to know better than that. But is the penalty still dumb? You bet. God forbid a player -- GASP! -- flex.
**** It was unnecessary for Tracy Walker to do anything other than focus on the blocking opportunities on the interception return by Amani Oruwariye. The NFL is making taunting a point of emphasis this season.. Walker has been a bright spot on an 0-6 team but it was a very bad decision for him to taunt J.Marr Chase. The latter let his impact play do the talking twice later on in the game. ****
-- Austin Seibert broke up what would have been one the Lions’ worst shutouts ever with a 35-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. Fans booed when he ran onto the field -- and facing a 27-0 deficit late in the game, rightfully so -- before offering up a Bronx cheer after the ball sailed between the posts. Running back D’Andre Swift added the Lions’ only touchdown of the day in the fourth quarter, a 1-yard run.
**** A FG made the game a 3 score game. I wish Dan Campbell went for the FG in Chicago on the failed 4th end 1 play when a FG would have cut the Bears lead to 7 points. As remote as a Lions comeback from 27-3 was, the Lions came pretty close to pulling off a 28 point deficit comeback vs. SF in the season opener and would have pulled off a near improbable comeback at Minnesota if the Lions Defense would have been able to get a stop on the Vikings final drive that resulted in Greg Joseph's 54 yard FG. The same Joseph missed a 47 potential GW FG at Carolina yesterday, before the Vikings scored a TD on the only possession of OT ( Kirk Cousins looks like a better QB than he was before this season ). ****
-- After Quintez Cephus was lost for the foreseeable future (and perhaps the season) to a broken collarbone, KhaDarel Hodge earned the start at receiver. Tom Kennedy was also active for the first time since Week 2, while Geronimo Allison was up from the practice squad. Meantime, Trinity Benson -- the receiver Detroit traded away two draft picks for during cut week -- watched the game in street clothes. Hard to figure out what’s going on there, but obviously Benson isn’t coming along as expected.
**** It's obvious when watching Trinity Benson in the previous games that he isn't coming along as expected. The Lions need to get the ball in his hands to see if that can help jump start him. ****
-- Kennedy replaced Corey Ballentine as the kick returner. Ballentine was placed on injured reserve this week.
**** Good job by Tom Kennedy on Kickoffs and on his 2nd half reception. ****
-- The Lions have now lost 10 straight games against Cincinnati. They still haven’t beaten the Bengals since 1992, and have beaten them just once since 1974. This series actually had major implications on the trajectory of the Lions franchise. Jim Caldwell led the team into Cincinnati for a Christmas Eve game in 2017 and needing a win to keep their playoff hopes alive. Shouldn’t have been too much to ask, considering the Bengals were an awful last-place team that had been outscored 67-14 the previous two weeks. But Detroit laid an egg in an ugly 26-17 loss, and then-general manager Bob Quinn fired Caldwell a week later, starting a chain of dominoes that would lead to the hiring of Matt Patricia and one of the worst eras of Lions football. And 11 months after Patricia’s ouster, Detroit is still sifting through the wreckage of their roster as the losses pile up.
**** It's 7 straight losses to the Bengals but that is still horrible. The Lions Offensive Line had more injury replacements in the 2017 game than even yesterday. As bad as that Offensive performance was, yesterday's was worse. .****
....
This new thread is a continuation of the following thread:
Lions vs.Bengals preview: Game # 6 ( 2021 )
detroit-lions-forum.proboards.com/thread/1221/lions-bengals-preview-game-2021?page=1&scrollTo=6182
Thoughts in ****
Week 6: Detroit Lions vs. Cincinnati Bengals
By Kyle Meinke | kmeinke@mlive.com
DETROIT -- Three-yard run. Illegal formation. False start.
The Detroit Lions talked all week about how much they need to start quickly. They had scored just six points before halftime in their last three games combined, after all, a tough way to do business in this league. Then they laced up their cleats against the Cincinnati Bengals and went 3-yard run, illegal formation and false start right out of the gate. They lost 6 yards on that series, then went three-and-out after that, before losing another 10 yards after taht, while netting just 1 yard in the entire first quarter -- yes, 1 -- and allowing 27 unanswered points before they finally got on the board in a miserable 34-11 loss on Sunday at Ford Field.
They’ve now lost their first six games of the Dan Campbell era, their worst start under a new head coach since Marty Mornhinweg lost a team-record 12 games in 2001. Detroit’s losing streak has now reached 10 games and 316 days overall, which by virtue of a buzzer-beating field goal by Jacksonville’s Matthew Wright -- cut by the Lions in training camp -- is now the longest skid in the league.
It won’t get any easer next week, with that Matthew Stafford guy lurking in Los Angeles.
The Lions’ defense continues to show substantial gains, and is keeping games within reach most weeks. Jalen Reeves-Maybin was toasted by rookie running back Chris Evans for a 24-yard touchdown to open this game, but the defense got four straight stops after that thanks to big plays by guys such as Amani Oruwariye (interception) and Julian Okwara (third-down sack).
With two undrafted rookies starting in a secondary that had to handle a top-10 passing attack and rookie sensation Ja’Marr Chase, that was excellent work. Another rookie, Alim McNeill, got good penetration up front while another rookie, linebacker Derrick Barnes, forced a pass breakup at the goal line. Tracy Walker nearly had an interception when he jumped a route by Chase. All good stuff.
But none of that matters, and won’t matter, when Detroit is saddled with one of the worst offenses in the league.
Jared Goff actually lost yardage through the air in the first quarter, while Detroit net just 1 yard as a team. Goff needed 15 passes to net 38 yards before halftime, while the Lions failed to score before the break for the third time in four weeks. Detroit has still hasn’t scored a first-half touchdown since Week 2, which -- and this might not surprise you -- is the longest active drought in the league.
Goff finished 28 of 42 passing for just 202 yards, a horrific average of just 4.8 yards per attempt. He missed tight end T.J. Hockenson wide open for a touchdown, and also failed to see an open receiver on fourth down for the third time this season, missing D’Andre Swift all alone to the right on fourth-and-4. He rolled to the left instead, before throwing away the football.
Yes, throwing away the football. On fourth down. Woof.
Then the defense started to crack late in the second quarter, with Joe Burrow finding Chase getting loose behind rookie cornerback Jerry Jacobs for a 34-yard catch on the final drive of the first half. Cincinnati tacked on a field goal at the buzzer, before Burrow found Joe Mixon all alone for a 40-yard touchdown on a fourth-and-1 to open the second half.
Burrow added a 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end C.J. Uzomah working against safety Dean Marlowe, which made it 27-0. And the rout was on.
**** This was one of the worst Lions performances on Offense in the last 30 + years. The final stats by the Lions don't tell the story of how dreadful the Lions Offense was up until the point the score of the game was 27-0.
The Lions Defense failed on the Lions first drive but did a great job the rest of the first half except a 3rd Down drive that set up a Bengals FG.. Even then, a missed holding call on RT Riley Reiff (he held Trey Flowers) on the Bengals final play ( incomplete pass ) before the 38 yard FG attempt could have been the difference between a 7-0 score at halftime, compared to a 10-0 score. The Lions failures on 3rd and 4th Down plays on Defense caught up with the Lions Defense in the 2nd half. But at least there are several positives regarding the Lions Defense from this game. The Lions Special Teams had plenty of positives and at least broke even in this game. The story from this game though was the horrific job by the Lions Offense. Every unit on the Lions Offense contributed to the loss, with the RBs the least problematic ( relatively speaking ). The worst was the QB play by Jared Goff and the Offensive Line. ****
Let’s get to some observations:
-- The Lions entered the weekend on pace to set the NFL record for fourth-down attempts in a season. They’ve also been one of the worst teams in the league at executing them, and failed once again on a fourth-and-4 early in the second quarter. After missing T.J. Hockenson on third down, Jared Goff didn’t see a wide-open D’Andre Swift on fourth down and wound up throwing the ball away while under duress. Kind of like he didn’t see a wide-open Quintez Cephus on that fateful fourth-and-1 late against Chicago, or didn’t see a wide-open Swift on that fourth-and-whatever back in Green Bay. Dan Campbell says he’ll keep drawing ‘em up, but at some point, he has to realize the quarterback he’s working with. And it’s not working. After all, I’ve never seen a quarterback throw away the football on fourth down before. Why not take a chance somewhere on the field? Anywhere on the field? Perhaps -- and I know this might be crazy talk -- but to the wide-open running back?
**** It was one of Jared Goff's worst plays in the first 6 games of the season. A play like this can't happen in the 6th game of the season. The Lions plays and system should be much more natural to a veteran starting NFL QB than to conclude that was the reason for Goff not seeing AND throwing to a wide open D'Andre Swift on the play. ****
The Lions went for it on a fourth-and-1 later in the game, and gave the ball to Jamaal Williams, who, wouldn’t you know it, moved the sticks. Maybe more of him, and less of one of the worst quarterbacks in the league? Just a thought.
**** Except for 2 things:
1. It was a struggle on the 4th and less than a 1 yard Jamaal Williams run. The run blocking was barely enough for the Lions to get the first down. Rushing yards were difficult to come by all day because of the run blocking was subpar.
2. Jaamal Williams, who usually is as reliable as any player in the NFL, dropped a 2nd and 8 pass in the 2nd half that would have likely put the Lions in around a 3rd and 3 situation. An incomplete pass later, Dan Campbell elected to punt around midfield despite the lopsided score. IMHO, that was a reflection of the putrid play of the Lions Offense more than anything ****
The Lions went for it again to open the second half, already trailing 17-0, and then Evan Brown jumped early. That’s the third time this season Detroit has been flagged for a false start on fourth-and-1. Woof.
****It looked like it was LG Jonah Jackson, # 73, who moved early ( started to pull ) , not Evan Brown ( # 63 ). Evan Brown isn't capable of having impact ways Frank Ragnow is. In fairness to Brown, he was the Lions most consistent Offensive Lineman in this game and probably overall since he took over for the injured Ragnow after the first drive in Chicago. ****
-- Let’s stick with Goff for a moment. This clearly isn’t working, and what’s most vexing, it was clear it wasn’t going to work a long time ago. He was a struggling quarterback in Los Angeles, snowed under by too many checkdowns and too many turnovers. Then the Lions traded for him, and said they were serious about making Goff work again. But they just didn’t give him the resources to do it, putting together their entire receiver corps at the bottom levels of free agency and the final day of the draft. That was never going to do it, and the cracks were exposed early when Breshad Perriman was cut coming out of camp, then Tyrell Williams went down with an injury, then Quintez Cephus too. Which is how you end up with guys like Kalif Raymond and KhaDarel Hodge -- neither of whom had ever caught more than 11 passes in a season -- starting at wide receiver in the NFL.
Goff needed more help, and instead the Lions gave him a bunch of table scraps and told him to go make bacon. Now Goff is delivering some of the worst quarterback play in the league. His 15 first-half passes gained just 38 yards, and his longest completion to a receiver was -- drumroll, please -- just 6 yards. He missed open receivers, didn’t see broken coverages, threw another pick (although it wasn’t really his fault) and never found the end zone until D’Andre Swift plowed in for a 1-yard run late in the fourth quarter. Way too little, way too late.
-- Since 2011, the Lions are 71-80-1 with Matthew Stafford under center, and 0-14 without him. Just saying.
****Matthew Stafford was much better for the Lions than Joey Harrington. But like with Stafford, the Lions record was noticeably better ( relatively speaking ) with Harrington than when someone else was the Lions QB from 2002 through 2005.
The interception ( I question the decision that the call was reversed ) wasn't Jared Goff's fault by itself. In fact, it probably was his best throw of the game ( heavy pressure on the play ). The problem is he took the sack on the previous play, instead of getting rid of the ball ( which he could have easily done without getting an intentional grounding penalty. That, combined with Tracy Walker's boneheaded Taunting Penalty on the interception, led to Goff needing to make the throw that resulted in the interception ( following the replay reversal ). ****
-- Cornerback Amani Oruwariye had three interceptions in the first 27 games of his career. He now has three interceptions in the last four weeks, after picking off Joe Burrow in the first half on Sunday. Oruwariye’s overall coverage numbers don’t stand out this season, but that has a lot to do with having to see the opponent’s best receiver most weeks. He’s actually been pretty consistent, and is helping to generate some big stops for a team that needs them to hang around.
**** All things considering, the Lions CB play was good much more often than not in this game. Jerry Jacobs got beat by WR Ja'Marr Chase on a couple of long passes by Joe Burrow ( great throws ) in which blitzes didn't generate enough pressure. But most of the game, Jacobs performed well. Including, forcing a fumble on Joe Mixon on a pass, that Mixon, to his credit secured the ball on the ground from LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin. ****
-- Tracy Walker drew the Lions’ first taunting flag of the year, a 15-yard penalty for -- and parents, you may want to cover your kids’ eyes here -- but a 15-yard penalty for flexing. Is that a penalty based on the NFL’s odd fixation on not having fun? Absolutely. It’s consistent with the way they’re calling taunting these days, and Walker has to know better than that. But is the penalty still dumb? You bet. God forbid a player -- GASP! -- flex.
**** It was unnecessary for Tracy Walker to do anything other than focus on the blocking opportunities on the interception return by Amani Oruwariye. The NFL is making taunting a point of emphasis this season.. Walker has been a bright spot on an 0-6 team but it was a very bad decision for him to taunt J.Marr Chase. The latter let his impact play do the talking twice later on in the game. ****
-- Austin Seibert broke up what would have been one the Lions’ worst shutouts ever with a 35-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. Fans booed when he ran onto the field -- and facing a 27-0 deficit late in the game, rightfully so -- before offering up a Bronx cheer after the ball sailed between the posts. Running back D’Andre Swift added the Lions’ only touchdown of the day in the fourth quarter, a 1-yard run.
**** A FG made the game a 3 score game. I wish Dan Campbell went for the FG in Chicago on the failed 4th end 1 play when a FG would have cut the Bears lead to 7 points. As remote as a Lions comeback from 27-3 was, the Lions came pretty close to pulling off a 28 point deficit comeback vs. SF in the season opener and would have pulled off a near improbable comeback at Minnesota if the Lions Defense would have been able to get a stop on the Vikings final drive that resulted in Greg Joseph's 54 yard FG. The same Joseph missed a 47 potential GW FG at Carolina yesterday, before the Vikings scored a TD on the only possession of OT ( Kirk Cousins looks like a better QB than he was before this season ). ****
-- After Quintez Cephus was lost for the foreseeable future (and perhaps the season) to a broken collarbone, KhaDarel Hodge earned the start at receiver. Tom Kennedy was also active for the first time since Week 2, while Geronimo Allison was up from the practice squad. Meantime, Trinity Benson -- the receiver Detroit traded away two draft picks for during cut week -- watched the game in street clothes. Hard to figure out what’s going on there, but obviously Benson isn’t coming along as expected.
**** It's obvious when watching Trinity Benson in the previous games that he isn't coming along as expected. The Lions need to get the ball in his hands to see if that can help jump start him. ****
-- Kennedy replaced Corey Ballentine as the kick returner. Ballentine was placed on injured reserve this week.
**** Good job by Tom Kennedy on Kickoffs and on his 2nd half reception. ****
-- The Lions have now lost 10 straight games against Cincinnati. They still haven’t beaten the Bengals since 1992, and have beaten them just once since 1974. This series actually had major implications on the trajectory of the Lions franchise. Jim Caldwell led the team into Cincinnati for a Christmas Eve game in 2017 and needing a win to keep their playoff hopes alive. Shouldn’t have been too much to ask, considering the Bengals were an awful last-place team that had been outscored 67-14 the previous two weeks. But Detroit laid an egg in an ugly 26-17 loss, and then-general manager Bob Quinn fired Caldwell a week later, starting a chain of dominoes that would lead to the hiring of Matt Patricia and one of the worst eras of Lions football. And 11 months after Patricia’s ouster, Detroit is still sifting through the wreckage of their roster as the losses pile up.
**** It's 7 straight losses to the Bengals but that is still horrible. The Lions Offensive Line had more injury replacements in the 2017 game than even yesterday. As bad as that Offensive performance was, yesterday's was worse. .****
....
This new thread is a continuation of the following thread:
Lions vs.Bengals preview: Game # 6 ( 2021 )
detroit-lions-forum.proboards.com/thread/1221/lions-bengals-preview-game-2021?page=1&scrollTo=6182