Post by D6 on Sept 27, 2020 14:26:01 GMT -5
Thoughts in ****
www.mlive.com/lions/2020/09/quick-observations-lions-bend-finally-dont-break-in-buzzer-beating-win-against-arizona.html
Quick observations: Lions bend, finally don’t break in buzzer-beating win against Arizona
Updated Sep 27, 8:15 PM; Posted Sep 27, 7:42 PM
By Kyle Meinke | kmeinke@mlive.com
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The NFL’s worst drought has come to an end in the desert.
Matthew Stafford engineered a 10-play, 67-yard drive that consumed the last 4 minutes, 49 seconds of clock, and Matt Prater punched through a 39-yard field goal at the buzzer that lifted the Detroit Lions to a 26-23 win on Sunday against the previously unbeaten Arizona Cardinals. That snaps Detroit’s 11-game losing streak, the NFL’s worst slide, and relieves some pressure on Matt Patricia and this regime after they coughed up back-to-back double-digit leads to open the season.
The Lions (1-2) return home to Ford Field next week to host the New Orleans Saints, and suddenly have a chance to even up their record before the bye.
This, at last, is what the Lions have been talking about all year. They’ve been talking about “Dagger Time” so much they actually had someone raise it into the rafters at Ford Field. But then they ran out there against Chicago on opening day and coughed up a 20-6 lead. Then they ran out there the following week against Green Bay and coughed up a 14-3 lead. Suddenly, they had lost 11 straight and the temperature on Matt Patricia’s seat was warmer than the sun-soaked streets of Glendale.
**** The Liens led 23-6 against the Bears in the early part of the 4th QTR. ****
Then their much-maligned defense got a late stop in a tie ballgame, their inconsistent offense took over with 4:49 left, and they never gave the football back to Kyler Murray. Stafford completed all four of his throws on the final series, including a pair of 20-yard shots to Marvin Jones and another to Kenny Golladay for 11 yards. They drained the clock all the way down to 4 seconds before calling timeout, and Prater banged through his fourth field goal on as many attempts for the badly needed winner.
No drama. Well, just about anyway. Stafford did bomb a 52-yard pass to Marvin Hall inside the 1-yard line in the closing seconds, but Halapoulivaati Vaitai -- making his Lions debut at right guard, not right tackle -- was flagged for holding on the play. He also allowed a pair of sacks in a disastrous debut for Detroit’s biggest free-agent signing.
But it was Arizona making the skull-crushing mistakes for once, drawing a flag for interfering with T.J. Hockenson on the next play. Stafford chunked passes to Golladay and Marvin Jones, Prater did Matt Prater things, and the Lions found a way to do enough to prevail anyway.
This game wasn’t perfect, and featured many of the same mistakes that have become the hallmark of this regime. But don’t discount the win either. The Cardinals are a good team with a really good offense, and the Lions allowed just 23 points while picking off three Kyler Murray passes, and nearly a fourth.
They bent. And finally, they didn’t break.
**** A Huge and must needed win for the Lions on the road against vastly improved Arizona Cardinals team since the tie between the two teams in the 2019 season opener.
The Lions Defense coming up with 3 interceptions and forcing the Cardinals to punt on both of their 4th QTR possessions is certainly more than I expected going into the game.
The Lions Offense was not on top of their collective game. They did just enough to enable Matt Prater to kick the Game winning FG.
'Big V' not only struggled in pass protection but he did the same run blocking. I'm not sure if was health, rust, and / or playing Guard ( compared to Tackle ). The bottom line is the Lions barely overcame a brutal performance by 'Big V'.
On the other hand, Tyrell Crosby looks like the most improved player on the entire Lions team, compared to 2019. Crosby deserves to remain in at RT, at least if he continues to play like he's been doing.
Jack Fox continues to punt at a Pro Bowl level. These are the best 3 consecutive game performances I can recall from a Lions Punter. ****
Here are some more observations from the game:
-- It’s tough to imagine a more difficult start to his career for Jeff Okudah, who lost the entire offseason program to the coronavirus, then preseason games and joint practices too. Then he suffered a hamstring injury that cost him a couple weeks of practice and held him out of the opener. He returned the following week, but couldn’t be eased into the fold because of injuries that knocked out Desmond Trufant and Justin Coleman. So Okudah, coming off an injury following the shortest offseason in NFL history, had to make his NFL debut in the starting lineup against Aaron Rodgers. It went very poorly, with All-Pro Davante Adams doing much of the damage. And a week later, he was back out there against Kyler Murray, with DeAndre Hopkins lined up across from him much of the day. Like I said, it’s tough to imagine a more difficult start for Jeff Okudah.
But it’s easy to see the upside, like when Okudah dropped Hopkins at the line of scrimmage with a vicious tackle, or came across the field on a run play for another. He was playing right cornerback, and made the tackle on the left sideline. His best play came in the third quarter, when he jumped a route by Hopkins and dove for his first career interception. Then he had the mindfulness to get up before Hopkins could touch him and returned the ball 36 yards to the doorstep of the red zone. Detroit went three-and-out, but it led to a Matt Prater field goal that stretched Detroit’s lead to 20-16 late in the third quarter. That’s a big pick.
Of course, the Jeff Okudah rollercoaster took some dives too. Hopkins racked up 10 catches for 137 yards, much of it coming with Okudah in coverage. That includes a 30-yard grab the first time Kyler Murray came at Okudah. The young corner also was involved in a blown coverage with Tracy Walker that resulted in an uncontested 26-yard catch, later drew the ire of Matt Patricia when he had to take himself out of the game for a play in the third quarter, then suffered an injury late in the third quarter that forced him off the field once again. He was seen getting oxygen on the sideline before returning. Okudah was up and down all day, which is maybe what we can expect from a rookie corner given everything working against him, and the kind of assignments he’s drawn in his first two NFL starts. Then again, it won’t get any easier next week against Drew Brees and possibly Michael Thomas.
**** A rollercoaster performance is a good description of Jeff Okudah's performance in Arizona. Okudah did play better as the game went on, compared to the first half. More up and downs are expected. But he will have more favorable matchups more often than what he faced in his first two games. Not to mention, invaluable experience. ****
-- The Lions defense picked off Kyler Murray three times overall, and Duron Harmon had his hands on a fourth that he dropped. This, finally, it what we were promised from the Matt Patricia defense. They gave up a bunch of yards too, but this defense is kind of designed to give up a bunch of yards. When you rush just three or four guys and sit back in coverage, you’re going to give up some serious yardage. The idea, though, is Patricia can flood the field with linebackers and defensive backs who roam the field and create mistakes -- and, ideally, turnovers. The Lions were one of just two teams without a takeaway the first two weeks of the season, but finally broke through in Arizona. Linebacker Jamie Collins had a hand in the first two, hitting Murray on a ball that was picked off by Harmon, then picking off another himself in the second quarter. Crazy how much of a difference a little pressure can make, huh? Perhaps the Lions should consider generating it a little more often.
**** Jamie Collins was a differential all around LB in the first half. That's the Collins that Bob Quinn and Matt Patricia very likely envisioned when pursuing him in Free Agency.
It looked like Larry Fitzgerald contributed to Duron Harmon not coming down with the Interception. Heady play by the future first ballot HOFer ( at least he deserves to be ). ****
-- Kenny Golladay said he wasn’t 100% on Friday, and his usage suggests he wasn’t lying. He finally made his season debut on Sunday after sitting out the first two games with a hamstring injury, but did not start and played sparingly early. But you just can’t deny the ability either, and just how much Detroit has missed it. Golladay caught a touchdown pass late in the first half that gave Detroit a 17-13 lead it took into halftime. That was TD No. 20 for Golladay, tying him with Calvin Johnson for the second-most receiving touchdowns through 43 career games in franchise history. Golladay finished with a team-high six catches for 57 yards and the one touchdown.
**** Kenny Golladay also made a huge 3rd Down catch early in the 4th QTR when the Lions were deep in their own territory. Golladay had to reach back for the ball. The Lions ended up punting later on. However, the Cardinals were pinned at their own 2 yard line thanks to another great punt by Jack Fox. Golladay's catch made it possible for the Lions to flip field position, with a few yards even gained. If Golladay doesn't catch that ball, the Lions path to victory would have been noticeably more difficult than it already was. ****
-- It was another good day for the Lions' tight ends, and for the first time this season, “tight ends” is plural. T.J. Hockenson continued to be productive with four more catches for 53 yards, while Jesse James finally broke out of his slump too, adding a big 15-yard catch on a third-and-short and later scoring on a 5-yard touchdown catch on fourth-and-short. He finished with three catches for 28 yards and the TD, after not even being targeted with a football in the first two games. Welcome to 2020, Jesse.
**** The Lions TE's did a good job on a receiving end ( though T. J. Hockenson had a drop on a play the Lions committed an illegal motion penalty. ). Hockenson's run blocking remains erratic and he was beat for a sack by LB Hassan Reddick off the edge. ****
-- Matthew Stafford’s touchdown passes to Golladay and James puts him at 261 TDs for his career. That moves him into a tie with Dave Krieg for 18th on the all-time list. Next up on that list: The great Joe Montana, just two away. Stafford finished 22 of 31 passing for 270 yards, two touchdowns, no picks and a season-high passer rating of 119.0.
**** Matthew Stafford came through on the Lions final drive. Yet, overall his accuracy in this game ( I'm not counting plays in which he placed the ball in spots by design that on the surface looks like inaccurate throws. The Lions need more from Stafford, as most games the Lions likely won't force 3 turnovers. ****
-- The Lions have leaned on a committee approach in the offensive backfield, even when Adrian Peterson was obviously their best rusher out of the gate. On Sunday, that changed. Peterson earned the start, drew all 14 of Detroit’s carries in the first half and finished with 75 yards on 22 carries for the game. No other Lions back had more than three carries. With that, Peterson has passed some guy named Barry Sanders for seventh on the NFL’s all-time carries list. He entered the day needing 920 yards to move past Sanders for fourth on the all-time rushing yards list.
**** The Lions run blocking was noticeably better in the first half than in the 2nd half. It's hard to fault Adrian Peterson for not getting more yards than he did in the 2nd half. Much better job by Peterson in this game with pass protection.
Kerryon Johnson continues to shin in pass protection.
DeAndre Swift didn't turn around on a swing pass, when Matthew Stafford unloaded the ball on a blitz. Golladay bailed Swift out on the next play, on the 3rd Down catch I mentioned before.****
-- For the first time in his career, Jarrad Davis did not start a game for which he was healthy. The former first-round pick was demoted against Arizona, playing behind Jahlani Tavai, Christian Davis and Jamie Collins at linebacker. He did not record a statistic.
**** Jarrad Davis played noticeably more in the 2nd half than in the first half. But it's evident that the coaches understandably have lost much of their confidence in him, based on what transpired in Green Bay the previous game and in his overall time in Matt Patricia's system. Reggie Ragland might also be ahead of Davis in the overall LB pecking order. Ragland had a good performance in his limited snaps in Arizona.****
-- The Lions have had their share of issues all over the field this season, but that doesn’t include punter. Jack Fox entered this game leading the league in net punting, then became the first punter in team history to boot 65-yarders in back-to-back weeks. And that might not have even been his best punt against Arizona, considering he stuck another inside the 1-yard line while Detroit trailed 23-20 early in the fourth quarter. Fox stuck another punt inside the 5 earlier in the game, although his gunner accidentally crossed the goal line on the play, forcing a touchback. Fox has been one of the year’s brightest surprises for Detroit. How is it the Lions always seem to stumble into so many good specialists?
**** Jack Fox might be Bob Quinn's best personnel additional too date as Lions G.M. ****
-- Long snapper Don Muhlach played in his 247th career game, moving him past Fran Tarkenton and two others into sole possession of 51st place on the all-time list. He’ll move into the top 50 next week, assuming he plays against New Orleans. And considering he’s missed just one game since 2006 and none at all since 2009, that seems like a pretty good bet.
**** Don Muhlbach is justifying why the Lions went with him as Long Snapper for the 2020 season.****
-- No change for the Lions during the anthem. Many players remained off the field, while some were kneeling and others standing. Quarterback Matthew Stafford remained among the kneelers. The entire Arizona team remained in the tunnel, much like Green Bay did last week and Chicago in the opener.
**** I will never agree with the decision of any player kneeling during or in proximity of the national anthem.****
.............
This thread is a continuation of the following thread:
Lions at Cardinals preview: Game # 3 ( 2020 )
detroit-lions-forum.proboards.com/thread/772/lions-cardinals-preview-game-2020?page=1&scrollTo=3558