Post by D6 on Dec 8, 2019 23:49:26 GMT -5
Thoughts in ****
www.mlive.com/lions/2019/12/observations-lions-nearly-shutout-for-first-time-since-2009-clinch-last-place-in-ugly-loss.html
Observations: Lions nearly shutout for first time since 2009, clinch last place in ugly loss
Updated 5:32 PM; Today 4:14 PM
Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings -- Week 14
By Kyle Meinke | kmeinke@mlive.com
Kyle Meinke - mlive.com
Read articles written by Kyle Meinke for mlive.com.
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Lions were gobbled up by the Bears on Thanksgiving the last time they played. Then Matt Patricia stepped to the mic for an emotional press conference where he gave his struggling team a vote of confidence.
“This team," he said, voice low, "it fights probably like no other team that I’ve ever seen.”
Patricia is the one in meeting rooms, he’s the one out at practices. He would know better than any outsider whether Detroit has folded up camp for the year.But if there’s fight left in this team, they sure have a funny way of showing it.
The Lions (3-9-1) played bad, uninspired football in all three phases while getting waxed by the Minnesota Vikings 20-7 on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium. They have now lost nine of their last 10 games, and clinched last place in the NFC North with three games still to go.
That’s quite the fall for a team that expected to compete for a division championship in Year 2 under Matt Patricia.
Instead, the Lions have lost all five games against the North and are in serious danger of going winless in the division for the first time since 2012. And none of those losses were uglier than the last one, where they were nearly shut out for the first time since a 26-0 loss against Green Bay on Oct. 18, 2009. Detroit didn’t score until David Blough hit Kenny Golladay with a 10-yard touchdown pass with 2:14 left in a 20-0 game.
Blough earned a second straight start for the injured Matthew Stafford (and Jeff Driskel), although Minnesota was far better adjusted to what to expect from the undrafted rookie and really turned the screws on him. Blough needed four pass plays just to get the ball past the line of scrimmage. His first pass was batted at the line of scrimmage, and so was his second. He tried to get another off on third down, but was sacked by Danielle Hunter.He completed just one pass in the first quarter overall, an 18-yarder to Marvin Jones, and then missed Bo Scarbrough so badly on the next play that the running back couldn’t get even a finger on the ball.
They went three-and-out on six of their first eight series. Their best drive in that stretch was an ugly 14-play, 38-yard slugfest where they were aided by three Vikings penalties that moved the chains. Then Blough took a 12-yard sack on third down while in field-goal range, and Matt Prater missed the ensuing attempt with 66 seconds left in the first half.
And that was Detroit’s best drive until the fourth quarter.
Then Stefon Diggs beat Darius Slay for a 44-yard bomb on third-and-2, which set up another touchdown, this one a 3-yard plunge by Dalvin Cook right before halftime. Minnesota led 17-0 at the break, and it might as well have been 117-0 with the way this team is playing.
If there’s any good news at all, it’s that the defense played better than they did in the first matchup against Minnesota. Then again, that’s an awfully low bar to clear. The Vikings racked Detroit for 504 yards in the first meeting, their best day in a half-decade, while Kirk Cousins threw for 338 yards, four touchdowns and had a passer rating north of 141 for the first time since taking his talents to Minneapolis. All were season highs. The Lions were better in this one, limiting the big plays and forcing Minnesota to grind out long drives to score. Problem is, Minnesota was able to grind out a pair of long drives to score early. Receiver Bisi Johnson beat rookie Lions cornerback Amani Oruwariye for a 9-yard touchdown that opened the scoring in the first quarter, and Cook tacked on his 3-yard score at the end of the first half.
That was more enough to tip over this tough-as-paper Lions team, although they tacked on a couple field goals just for good measure.
There’s no real sense in wasting more ink on one of the worst-played, least-inspired games by one of the worst teams in the NFL, so let’s just get on to the observations for everyone’s sake.
**** The Lions effort was good. The team fought until the final interception with around 30 seconds left in the game. The greatest problem by far in this game was the Lions were overmatched at QB. David Blough looked like a rookie QB in his second NFL start. His decision making and accuracy were not at a level you are going to win with. Blough has much better anticipation than Jeff Driskel. However, he lacks Driskel's arm strength, mobility, and height. An inexperienced QB with plenty of physical limitations against a Mike Zimmer led talented Defense is a receipe'for disaster. ****
-- Detroit got throttled by Minnesota, and busted up a lot of players doing it. Cornerback Darius Slay (undisclosed) left the game in the first quarter, then linebacker Jarrad Davis (ankle) was injured on the very next play. Both players eventually returned, before Davis left the game with another ankle injury in the second half. Defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson (shoulder), Tavon Wilson (undisclosed), right tackle Rick Wagner (knee), running back Bo Scarbrough and safety Tracy Walker all left the game for stretches as well.-
+===Rick Wagner didn't play in the 2nd half. Tyrell Crosby took over at RT and at least held his own. Better than what I expected, with DE Danielle Hunter often matched up against him. There were a number of passing plays Crosby didn't even have help.
The overall injuries for the Lions took it's toll in this game. The Lions had very little margin of error to begin with. ****
- David Blough enjoyed a better-than-expected debut last week against Chicago. But you see that happen sometimes with rookies, because the league doesn’t know what to expect. That 75-yard completion to Kenny Golladay, for example, was called -- and worked -- expressly because Chicago figured a third-string quarterback was going to settle for the easy stuff. But that element of surprise only works for so long, until the league starts to get tape on a player and adapts. And boy, did Minnesota adapt. Blough struggled to get anything going at all in his encore performance, finishing with more sacks (two) than completions (one) in the first quarter. Detroit ran eight pass plays in the first frame, and net minus-2 yards. It went three-and-out on six of its first eight possessions overall, and didn’t score until a garbage-time touchdown pass to Golladay with 2:14 left. Blough finished 24 of 40 passing for 205 yards and two interceptions. He was also sacked five times. That, kids, is how you nearly get shut out for the first time in a decade. Woof.-
****Matthew Stafford probably would have at least kept the Lions in the game to the point that the Vikings would have to be more aggressive throwing tbe ball than they were in the 2nd half. ****
- Even the usually reliable Matt Prater joined the meltdown, pushing a 45-yard attempt wide right with 66 seconds to go before halftime. And that proved to be a critical play, once Darius Slay got beat for a 44-yard pass to Stefon Diggs on a third-and-2. Dalvin Cook punched the ball into the end zone for a touchdown that made it 17-0 at the break.
****The Vikings won the Special Teams battle because of the difference on FGs. This was something the Lions couldn't afford to happen if the team was going to pull off a major upset. Matt Prater had a bad game. On the PAT, he got a break with the ball bouncing between the uprights acted if hit the left upright. ****
-- Slay’s numbers will look a little crooked after this one, although there were several plays where Diggs just made a great play against good defense. Diggs finished with six catches for 92 yards, most of which was acquired with Slay in coverage.
**** When watching the Stefon Diggs long completion that set up the Vikings TD, I thought Diggs pushed off on Darius Slay. On the replay that I recall on the play, it looked like Slay first made contact downfield. I hope there are more replay angles. Regardless of what occurred, great throw and catch.****
-- Slay was playing in his 100th game with Detroit, by the way. He joins Dick LeBeau, Lem Barney and Bruce McNorton as the only cornerbacks to appear in 100 games for the franchise. And with just three games remaining in this season, where his relationship with the club has grown increasingly tense, you have to wonder if we’re seeing the stretch run for Slay in Detroit.
**** It wouldn't surprise me if Darius Slay is traded in the upcoming off-season. I hope this isn't the case unless another team substantially overpays. ****
-- With cornerback Rashaan Melvin missing the last two games with a rib injury, rookie Amani Oruwariye got his first crack in the starting lineup. And the fifth-round pick played so well, he maintained his grip on the starting job even with Melvin back in Minnesota. He seemed to hold up OK live, although was beat over the top for Minnesota’s first touchdown, a 9-yard strike to Bisi Johnson in the back of the end zone.-
**** It looked like Amani Oruwariye was either expecting help on the first TD or someone was suppose to provide help. Other than this critical play, it looked like Oruwariye had a good performance in coverage. ****
- Kirk Cousins completed all 12 passes out of play-action in the first half. That’s not going to quite get the job done. The former Michigan State star finished 24 of 30 overall for 242 yards, one touchdown, no picks and a passer rating of 111.4.
**** I thought the Lions pass rush was better than usual. Mike Daniels had a good all around performance. He looked healthier than in quite a while.
Tracy Walker also had a good all around performance. The Lions Defense was substantially adversely affected when Walker was out or significantly limited during the last 1 1/2 months. ****
-- If there’s any upside whatsoever to the loss, it is Detroit’s grip on a top-10 pick has tightened. The club entered the weekend sixth in the draft order, and will move up at least one spot by virtue of Atlanta’s win against Carolina.
**** The Lions certainly are in prime contention for a top 3 pick. ****
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This new thread is a continuation of the following thread:
Lions at Vikings preview: Game # 13 ( 2019 )
detroit-lions-forum.proboards.com/thread/516/lions-vikings-preview-game-2019