Colts 41, Lions 21 : Game # 7 ( 2020 )

[D6]

Thoughts in ****

www.mlive.com/lions/2020/11/quick-observations-lions-fumble-another-early-lead-extend-home-losing-streak-to-7-games.html

Quick observations: Lions run home losing streak to 7 games with ugly setback against Colts

Quick observations: Lions run home losing streak to 7 games with ugly se...
The Lions were looking to get back over .500 for the first time since the first month of last season.


Updated Nov 01, 2020; Posted Nov 01, 2020

NFL football: Detroit Lions vs. Indianapolis Colts – November 1, 2020

By Kyle Meinke | [e-mail]

DETROIT -- The Lions just swept a two-game road trip to rejoin the playoff race in the NFC. But those wins came against a pair of one-win teams, and they needed a miracle to escape Atlanta with the last one. Todd Gurley delivered in knuckleheaded fashion.

But Gurley was nowhere to be found on Sunday, and the Lions looked far more pretender than contender in a 41-21 meltdown against the Indianapolis Colts at Ford Field. That means the Lions still haven’t won three straight games under Matt Patricia, and still haven’t won at home at all since Oct. 27, 2019.


That’s seven straight losses at Ford Field, their worst losing streak in this building since those very dark years of 2008-09.


Matthew Stafford hit Marvin Jones with a 25-yard touchdown pass that staked Detroit to an early 7-0 lead, but the offense went stale after that. No first-half drive went for more than four plays, longer than 45 yards, or -- believe it or not -- longer than 1:54 on the clock. Stafford completed just three passes in the first 29 minutes, while no receiver caught more than one pass and no running back gained more than 5 yards.

Awful stuff, and the Lions were walloped in time of possession accordingly. That left their defense on the field for way too long. And in case you haven’t seen that defense this year, that’s not a good thing.

OK, so the defense did perk up the last two weeks. They held for a while in this one too, forcing three straight punts to open the game -- one of which was blocked by Miles Killebrew, leading to the Jones touchdown -- before they started to fatigue. And Indianapolis took advantage, scoring 20 unanswered points on three Philip Rivers touchdown passes before halftime.

Stafford did heat up in the third quarter, and even pulled the Lions to within 20-14 on a 9-yard touchdown pass to Kerryon Johnson. But after driving to Indy’s 25-yard line, he committed the first of two back-breaking turnovers, getting stripped by Darius Leonard coming off the edge.

The Colts drove back the other way for one touchdown, then pick-six’d Stafford on the very next play. And just like that, in less than 5 minutes, the Lions went from being within 25 yards of retaking the lead to trailing 35-14. Some stuff happened after that, but let’s be serious. The game ended right there, with Detroit’s most important player losing two huge turnovers that led to back-to-back touchdowns.

The Lions had a chance to show their critics they were a serious playoff team. And they didn’t do it. They didn’t even come close to doing it, getting blown away by a Colts team that hasn’t exactly been dominant this season. They fall to 3-4 on the season, which hurts. But they do still have a gettable schedule before them, with losing teams like Minnesota, Washington, Carolina and Houston coming up through the next month. But they’ll need more offense than they got today, or they will fade from the playoff picture for good.

**** The Lions inability to run the ball effectively was the most pronounced and significant shortcoming for the team in the 20 point loss to the Colts. That put the Lions in unfavorable 3rd Down situations repeatedly. The Colts Defense then was able to use an array of Defensive packages against Matthew Stafford and the Lions pass blockers that the blockers had huge problems handling.

Matthew Stafford missed two wide open throws ( T.J. Hockenson in the 2nd QTR and Marvin Hall in the 3rd QTR ) that led to punts soon afterwards. The missed throw to Hockenson was after the Colts tied the game at 7-7 early in the 2nd QTR. The Lions would have had the ball in Colts territory with good execution.

The pass to Hall along the right Sideline was too high. It was a 2nd and 9 situation from the Lions 37. The Colts led 20-14 at the time. The Lions had momentum on both sides of the ball until that missed opportunity. On top of that, Jamal Agnew had a False Start on the next play. Granted, the Lions Defense stopped the Colts on 3 plays for the 2nd time in a row following Jack Fox's punt that resulted in a touchback. Yet, with the Lions margin of error being low following Kenny Golladay's late 2nd QTR injury, every missed opportunity was compounded.

The officiating was horrible in this game against both teams. It definitely hurt the Lions more though.

The Lions Defense wore out in the 4th QTR. It was especially evident with the Lions run Defense, which was good in the first 3 QTRs. The Colts coming off a bye and controlling the ball for more than 20 minutes in the first half caught up to the Lions Defense in the 4th QTR. ****

Some more instant observations:

-- The Lions' bad first half ended in disaster, with star receiver Kenny Golladay suffering a hip injury that knocked him out of the game. Golladay had been red hot in recent weeks, including racking up 10 catches for 219 yards against Jacksonville and Atlanta -- both wins, coincidently enough. The Lions were actually 0-2 without Golladay coming into this one, and 3-1 with him. That’s not happenstance, either. This offense is completely different with Golladay doing Golladay things, especially downfield. He made huge plays each of the last two weeks to set up crucial touchdowns, including the winner in Atlanta. On Sunday, he finished with zero catches for 0 yards on four targets.

**** The injury to Kenny Golladay made it more difficult for the Lions to get the running game going and probably contributed to the incompletion to Hall I mentioned ( that's a ball the much taller Galladay probably would have caught. ) and the interception return for a TD by Colts Nickel CB Kenny Moore.

If Kenny Golladay is out even for one game, let alone much more than that, the Lions are in serious trouble beyond the current 3-4 record. Trey Flowers' hand injury in the 4th QTR is also a huge concern. ****

-- Marvin Hall replaced Golladay at receiver, then did the same with Jamal Agnew at kick returner. Agnew lost the football on a third-quarter punt, then was later shaken up with a rib injury on an end-around. Hall was productive, including catching a 73-yard pass in the fourth quarter, which led to Marvin Jones' second touchdown catch. That pulled Detroit to within 35-21 with 12:15 left. Hall finished with four catches for 113 yards, the first 100-yard game of his career. He’s the 15th different player that Matthew Stafford has hit for triple digits.

**** Marvin Hall did a very good job under difficult circumstances.

Props to Romeo Okwara for recovering Jamal Agnew's fumbled punt return. ****

-- Halapoulivaati Vaitai started at right tackle for the first time, the position he was expected to play when he signed that $45 million contract last offseason, but left the game twice with foot issues, the last of which knocked him out for good. Tyrell Crosby, the starter there the first six games of the season, replaced him.

**** I understood that the Lions wanted Tyrell Crosby as insurance in case Taylor Decker couldn't finish the game because of the shoulder injury he suffered in practice on Thursday. However, it's apparent that Crosby is the Lions best option at RT. Especially, with Big V continuing to have foot injuries. Crosby gave up a sack in the 4th QTR when the Colts were teeing off. But in more favorable game situations, Crosby has performed well this season. ***

-- The Lions were the last team in the league to fumble the football. They picked a terrible time for their first. Matthew Stafford had just hit Kerryon Johnson with a 9-yard touchdown pass that drew Detroit to within 20-14 in the third quarter, and the Lions had a chance to take their first lead since it was 7-0. They were driving too, all the way to Indianapolis' 25-yard line, when Darius Leonard came hard around the edge and stripped Stafford from the football. The Colts recovered, drove for one touchdown, then pick-six’d Stafford on the ensuing drive. Just like that, the Lions had gone from 25 yards from a taking a lead, to trailing 35-14. Game over, more or less.

**** Great play by Colts LB Darious Leonard, who like many of his Colts teammates benefited by the presence and play of DT DeForest Buckner. ****

-- Marvin Jones started the season slowly, but finally broke out last week in Atlanta and then tacked on two touchdown catches against Indianapolis. Jones now has six multiple TD-catch days since 2017, tied with DeAndre Hopkins for third most in the league. And he’ll see the Vikings next week, the team he’s feasted on more than any other since joining the Lions in 2016.

**** Hopefully, Bob Quinn isn't foolish in trading Marvin Jones. The Golden Tate and Quandre Diggs trades before the last two trade deadlines still sting. ****

-- The defense was worn down by Indianapolis, but started hot. Romeo Okwara once again was leading the charge, adding another sack for a second straight week. He now has a team-high five sacks for the season, and continues to produce like one of the better pass-rushers in the league. He ranked among the top 20 according to most of the advanced analytics coming into the weekend. But it’ll be interesting to see how his role changes with the addition of Everson Griffen next week in Minnesota. Griffen was forced to sit this one out while going through COVID protocols after his acquisition from the Cowboys last week.

**** If Trey Flowers is out one or more games, that much more will be needed from Everson Gtiffen quickly. That might be more than realistically can be expected with Griffen being in a different system****.

-- The Lions seemed to get a handle on the dumb penalties the last couple weeks. But then they returned home, and lost their composure once again. That includes Danny Shelton getting flagged for a personal foul on a third-down stop, which led to a Colts touchdown. Tony McRae was flagged for hitting the punt returner on a punt, and Indianapolis drove that one for a touchdown, too. Then Justin Coleman joined the party with a flag for pass inteference on a third-and-14. And this one happened in the end zone, just for good measure, which gave Indianapolis possession at the goal line. Yup, that was a touchdown too.

**** Danny Sheldon deserved to be flagged for Roughing the Passer but there was no flag until the Colts retaliated for Sheldon throwing down Philip Rivers. That's when it looked like Shelton was penalized. I certainly didn't see anything wrong Shelton did after the play. Having said that, Sheldon used bad judgment in throwing down Rivers after the whistle was clearly blown. ****

Tony McRae was pushed into the Colts Punt Returner. That was a bad call by the officials. I won't criticize McRae for that play. ****

-- Joe Dahl lost his starting job when he on injured reserve with a groin injury, but returned to the lineup at right guard on Sunday. Jonah Jackson remained the left guard, while Halapoulivaati Vaitai kicked outside to right tackle. Tyrell Crosby was the loser in this game of musical chairs, heading to the bench for the first time this season. It’ll be interesting to see what happens with the lineup going forward. Detroit likes what it has seen from Crosby, but the Taylor Decker shoulder injury might have convinced the club to bench Crosby -- the backup left tackle -- should he be required to replace Decker.

**** This is what I think happened.

As for Joe Dahl, this was not one of his better games. That's an understatement. ****

-- Decker, for his part, made his 21st straight start despite that shoulder injury and appeared to remain on the field for the entire game. He remains one of just three Lions players who haven’t missed an offensive snap, joining Matthew Stafford and Frank Ragnow.

**** Taylor Decker had more problems off the edge as a pass blocker than usual. To Decker's credit, he gutted it out. Frank Ragnow was clearly the Lions best O-Line performer in this game. Decker might have been the 2nd best by default. ****

-- The Lions scored at least 21 points for the seventh straight time to open the season, a franchise record. The previous record was six games, last done in 1954. So, there’s that. I guess.

**** The Lions made it to the NFL Championship Game in 1954. I don't think the 2020 Lions are going to be remotely close to playing in an NFL Championship ( Super Bowl )Game. ****

-- Long snapper Don Muhlbach played in his 251st career game, which is 11th most by a UDFA in NFL history. He’s on pace to move into the top 10 of that list on Dec. 6 against Chicago. Among all players, he’s moved into a tie for 46th on the all-time games played list. Next up is some guy named Charles Woodson (254 games). Perhaps you’ve heard of him.

**** Jack Fox bailed out Don Muhlbach on a 1st QTR low snap. It also didn't look like the velocity on the snap on the 48 yd.FG that Matt Prater missed at the end of tbe 1st Half was good enough. I think this is Muhlbach's final season with the Lions. He's had a tremendous NFL playing career. Age might finally be catching up to him.

..................

This new thread is a continuation of the following thread:

Lions vs.Colts preview: Game # 8 ( 2020 )

detroit-lions-forum.proboards.com/thread/798/lions-colts-preview-game-2020

[D6]

Inside the locker room: Lions search for answers after Colts dominate time of possession
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As horrible as the penalty to Danny Shelton was, what made the situation even worse was that on the play soon after in which TE Jack Doyle scored a 7 Yd TD reception, Offensive Pass Interference on WR Zach Pascal wasn't called. It was an obvious pick ( vs. Tracy Walker ), not a subtle pick that he was effective with multiple other times in the game.

[D6]

Referee explains why he flagged Lions’ Danny Shelton for odd personal foul

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I'm not remotely convinced by Clay Martin's explanation.

A separate issue is why wasn't a flag throen on the Colts for clearly starting the scrum?

This is by far the worst officiated Lions game in 2020, through Game 7. Including, the amount of obvious penalties that this crew didn't call was noticeably higher than in a typical game.

[frenchylions]

Hi David,
Long time no see, always nice to read your insightful comments.

With 7 minutes to go in the second quarter, this flag for unnecessary roughness was plainly stupid and immature. An unacceptable mental mistake considering the down / distance / moment of the game. 
Let's just note that #71 Nick Shelton is not the only one to blame, #93 Da'Shawn Hand also keeps pushing Philip Rivers backward more than 2 seconds after the play was blown dead.
Nevertheless, the flag comes way too late imho.
To me, it seems like the pivot play in the game, after that play, the Lions lost the momentum and the thread of the game ?

[D6]

Frenchy, welcome back to the DLF! I hope all is well with you and your family. Thanks for your thoughts.

Excellent observation regarding Da'Shawn Hand also using bad judgment.

Interestingly, Aaron Rodgers had comments about Pass Interference flags after yesterday's Vikings upset win over the Packers at Lambeau Field. It led to me thinking that it's possible the NFL relayed to Clay Martin to throw a flag on Danny Shelton. Hence, the reason for the delay. Other than for intentional grounding penalty, I can't recall a flag being thrown at least a few seconds after a play ended.

profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2020/11/02/aaron-rodgers-suggests-league-office-influenced-key-pi-non-call/

I agree this was the pivot play in the game ( though a case can be made for the inaccurate throw to T.J. Hockenson on the Lions previous drive, that I touched on in the first message of this thread ).

Offensive Pass Interference not being called on WR Zach Pascal, on Jack Doyle's TD soon after, easily could have been the difference between a 14-7 game, vs. a 10-7 game.

[D6]

3 things we learned: Kenny Golladay expected to miss more Lions games with hip injury

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Ironically, Jahlani Tavai made impact plays as a rookie ( forced fumble near the goalline vs. the LA Chargers , an Interception vs. the Bucs, and 2 sacks during the season

I think Tavai has improved in 2020 on a down to down basis but he's not making impact plays. Right now, Tavai looks like he was overdrafted.

As for the Nyheim Hynes TD on a swing pass, it looked to me that Tracy Walker probably ( not definitely ) should have been covering Hynes, being that Walker followed Hynes when the RB was in motion prior to the snap of the ball.

[D6]

Detroit Lions stock watch: Kenny Golladay's big contract may have to wait

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Great job by Miles Killebrew with the blocked punt. It's good to see Killebrew back, after he missed the previous game in Atlanta because of a personal issue.

Marvin Hall definitely needs to be part of the Lions Offense more, even when Kenny Golladay is back in game action.

The Lions coaches should consider putting Joe Dahl back at LG, with Jonah Jackson going back to RG. This is how the Lions opened the season vs. the Bears. Jackson, despite beinfmg a rookie, seems to be able to handle the position change better than Dahl.

I'm still not convinced the swing pass assignment mistake was Jahlani Tavai's assignment/ responsibility.

[frenchylions]

David, I got a problem with #51 Jahlani Tavai.
Don't get me wrong, I would really like this kid to succeed in the NFL.  Unfortunately, I don't think he has the athletic capabilities to do so.

Vs the Colts, #51 Tavai played the base package, short yardage and special teams and ended the game with no tackle solo and 4 assists (but runners were already downed), he lacks quickness and explosiveness.
In comparison, #58 Jamie Collins was on nearly every play, while Tavai was either easily neutralized or too far away to have any impact on the run game.

He has been drafted as a run stopper but he has zero explosiveness and also seems to lack strength as I see him being pushed several yards back every time he faces an OL.


On the blocked punt by Killebrew, he was near the ball but failed to recover it as #58 Collins was quicker to react and picked the ball.


In coverage, he is an obvious mismatch and when he blitzes ... well forget about it, he is way too slow to put any pressure on the QB anyway. 

I would not charge him with the #21 Hines touchdown though , yes he is trailing the play. but #21 Hines was #21 Tracy Walker's man but Walker lost sight of Hines due to the savvy motioning (exploiting the man coverage) and #26 Harmon missed his tackle along the sideline.
Note that the second #21 Hines TD is also on Tracy Walker's shoulders.


In the first games of the season, Tavai was used as an end settler but performed poorly. He simply lacks the speed / explosiveness to contain the edge. I remember this play against the Cardinals when Kyler Murray scrambled straight at him and juked him off for an easy 15 yards 1st down run.


In another post, you were expressing reserves concerning him being drafted (too high) in the second round and probably rightly so.
He looks like a rotational LB at best.

[frenchylions]

I've been able to retrieve the OPI of #14 Zach Pascal you were talking about and it's clearly intentional considering the look and behavior of the receiver. 
The Colts used pick / rub routes several times with success, taking full advantage of the man coverage scheme.

 

[D6]

Frenchy, in addition to what you mentioned regarding limitations of Jahlini Tavai ( good observations ), Jaguars QB Gardner Minshew II put a move on Tavai in space that resulted in a Jags TD.

Bob Quinn talked about Tavai's unique skills, including his potential as an edge setter, after the Lions drafted Tavai in the upper half of Round 2 in 2019. It's looking more and more that those projecting Tavai as a 4th or 5th Round graded prospect assessed Tavai more accurately than Quinn did.

Another concern is that if the Lions fire Quinn and Matt Patricia, Tavai likely won't be a good fit in the next Lions Defensive system. The Lions would probably not get a better offer than a late Round pick from the Patriots or someone using a somewhat similar system.

[D6]

Frenchy, overall I'm impressed with how well the Colts set up a few other picks / rubs. On the TD reception play to Jack Doyle though, Zach Pascal was indeed fortunate that this officiating crew failed to call Offensive Pass Interference. Instead of a TD, the Colts would have had 1st and Goal from the Lions 17 yard line if the correct call was made.

[frenchylions]

Sure, Philip Rivers took advantage of rub plays vs man coverage on a number of occasions, starting as soon as the 2nd play of the Colts with #20 Wilkins vs #24 Oruwariye for a big 24-yard gain.
More importantly on the 2 Hines' touchdowns (#21 Hines vs #21 Walker in both plays) and the Doyle's touchdown (and the play just before this TD, picking #24 Oruwariye vs #14 Pascal for a 16-yard gain) 
The Colts prepared thoroughly and were able to exploit the Lions' defensive tendencies.

The Lions should make a better job disguising his defensive coverage, it too often is an open book for opponent's QBs.

[D6]

Tracy Walker is a much better option in the Secondary than Will Harris. Yet, Walker hasn't made the jump forward through the first 7 collective games this season that I expected. He's been far too inconsistent, without the overall impact I think he's capable of.

The Lions coaches did a very good job in confusing young QBs Kyler Murray and Gardner Minshew II with varied coverages. On the other hand, even factoring in execution, the ultra experienced Philip Rivers clearly won the mental game battle.

[D6]

Detroit Lions' Matthew Stafford deserves most of the blame for loss to Colts

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On the sack/ fumble by Colts LB Darius Leonard, Matthew Stafford probably could have thrown the ball away and avoided a sack ( and even more important a fumble ). However, Stafford didn't have much time to react. The Lions Offensive Line didn't mentality handle the Colts blitz well

In the overall game, the Colts Defense beat the Lions Offense physically and mentality.

[frenchylions]

I'm certainly not blaming Tracy Walker who is a solid tackler, no defensive back can maintain a tight man coverage when screened by his own teammates.

Well, actually, I think (after reviewing the game thanks to my gamepass he he) that the O-line did not play THAT bad.  There were leaks and miscues here and there but Stafford sometimes keeps the ball for too long, craving for deep passes instead of passing the ball to his checkdown.
Stafford's completion percentage is only 61.4 % this season (lower third of the pack) ... unsatisfying for a seasoned QB.