Post by D6 on Nov 16, 2020 2:33:34 GMT -5
Thoughts in ****
Quick observations: Lions cough up another huge lead before stunning Washington at buzzer
Quick observations: Lions cough up another huge lead before stunning Washington at buzzer
Updated Nov 15, 2020; Posted Nov 15, 2020
NFL football: Detroit Lions vs. Washington Football Team – November 15, 2020
By Kyle Meinke | kmeinke@mlive.com
Kyle Meinke - mlive.com
Read articles written by Kyle Meinke for mlive.com.
DETROIT -- They won, Matt Prater broke out of his month-long swoon and D’Andre Swift was fabulous in his first career start.
As far as good news goes, that’s about it for the Detroit Lions.
Prater split the pipes with a 59-yard buzzer-beater that sent Detroit to a 30-27 win on Sunday against the Washington Football Team. That snapped a two-game losing streak, and a seven-game home losing streak overall. Detroit (4-5) had not won a game at Ford Field since topping the New York Giants all the way back on Oct. 27, 2019.
That’s good. Winning games is a good thing, and certainly preferred to the altnernative. Then again, coughing up a 21-point lead in just 17 minutes against one of the three worst offenses in the league -- a bottom-three offense starting a backup at quarterback, mind you -- doesn’t exactly make you feel any better about the direction of a team that has been historically bad at holding onto leads under Matt Patricia.
The Lions led in 15 games last year, and finished 3-12-1. They blew double-digit leads against Chicago and Green Bay to open this season, then did it again in Week 4 against New Orleans. Total it all up, and Detroit blew six straight games in which it led by double digits. If that sounds like a lot, well, that’s because it is. In fact, it had never happened in the first 100 years this game was played. Not once.
This defense -- Matt Patricia’s draft picks, Matt Patricia’s free agents, Matt Patricia’s scheme, Matt Patricia’s defense -- has just been historically bad at protecting leads. They looked the part against Washington too. Swift caught a 15-yard touchdown pass to push Detroit ahead 24-3, then watched as that defense allowed touchdown drives of 11 plays (for 82 yards), 11 plays (for 84 yards) and six plays (for 66 yards).
The Lions needed just 17 minutes to turn a 24-3 lead into a 24-all tie against a two-win team starting a backup quarterback. Lucky for them, they also had Swift on their side, and the rookie -- finally making his first career start -- put Detroit on his back on the ensuing drive, touching the football on six of the first seven plays and gaining 46 yards overall to help move Detroit into field-goal position. Prater piped a 37-yarder with 2:37 left to push the Lions back ahead 27-24.
Of course, this defense being what it is, the game wasn’t over quite yet.
Washington took over at its own 11-yard line because of a penalty, was pushed back to its own 8 because of another penalty, then the Lions went to work, allowing conversions on third-and-13, fourth-and-5, third-and-10 and then another third-and-10. A stop anywhere would have finished the game, but the Lions couldn’t do it, over and over again, just like we’ve seen over and over again, and Washington was able to kick a game-tying field goal with 16 seconds left.
But 16 seconds is more than enough for Matthew Stafford, and he worked his magic again despite playing without starting receivers Kenny Golladay (who did not play because of a hip injury) and Danny Amendola (who left the game with a hip injury).
He hit rookie Quintez Cephus for a 10-yard pass to open the drive, then he heaved a bomb to Cephus down the field. Cephus was open too, but the rookie slowed down for some reason and the pass sailed a couple feet out of his reach. But Washington rookie Chase Young was flagged for roughing up Stafford on the play, which gave the Lions 15 yards and possession at the 50 with a stopped clock. Stafford completed a quick 9-yard pass to Marvin Jones, Detroit called time out and Prater trotted on for a 59-yard field-goal attempt.
That’s a massive distance -- in fact, it matches Prater’s team record -- and it’s especially daunting considering Prater’s struggles over the last month. He’s missed six kicks overall this season, already a personal high in Detroit, and at least one in each of his last four games. But he was great in this one, and sent this one through too, ending what could have been another disaster for Detroit.
Wins are nice, and the Lions certainly needed this one. But even in victory, they seem to confirm who they are, which isn’t very good. Washington sucks, doesn’t have its starting quarterback, trailed by 21 points in the second half and Detroit still needed a miraculous 16-second drive just to set up a franchise-record field goal to prevail. Not exactly instilling any confidence they’re headed in the right direction, you know?
**** Matthew Stafford, Matt Prater, and the players that contributed to the Lions winning this game in improbable fashion very well might have saved the jobs of Matt Patricia and Bob Quinn until at least Thanksgiving Day. IMHO, the only reason Patricia might have kept his job if the Lions ended up losing the game was because of the highly, highly questionable pass interference penalty on 4th and 5 from the WFT 39 yard line when the Lions led 27-24. The reality of the situation is a team should never lose when leading 24-3 late in the 3rd QTR. But it might have been more difficult for Sheila Ford Hamp to fire Patricia if a late game officiating call turned a Lions win into an eventual Lions loss.
I'm not optimistic in the Lions reaching the playoffs even as a 7th seed in an expanded NFL playoff system. I have serious doubts this team will even go 8-8. The Lions Defense has major problems, with the difficulty of generating a pass rush the # 1 problem. Even if Trey Flowers comes back from I.R. soon, I have doubts that will be enough to propel the Lions to the playoffs. Unless the Lions Defense has a substantial turnaround, I think this is Patricia's final season with the Lions. It's far from a given Patricia will even last the season. ****
Here are some more quick observations from the game:
-- Garbage. Let’s just get that out of the way, because that’s exactly what that pass interference call was against Desmond Trufant late in the fourth quarter. It was garbage. The Lions had a stop on a fourth-and-4, the game was in hand, but the officials flagged Trufant for pass interference for some reason. And I’ve yet to see a replay that justifies a penalty of that magnitude. Of course, the Lions also hurt themselves over and over again on that series, allowing conversions on third-and-13, third-and-10 and third-and-10. That’s just comically inept.
**** After the bad pass interference call on Desmond Trufant, the fatigue factor was magnified. I'm more critical of the Lions not preventing a 3rd and 13 completion to Terry McLaurin ( even though he's a legit # 1 caliber WR ) than the conversions for a 1st Down that followed. ****
-- D’Andre Swift started. The Lions scored a touchdown on that series. Then D’Andre Swift started the second half, and the Lions scored a touchdown there too. I know may this sound crazy, but maybe consider starting D’Andre Swift more often? It was easy to understand his bench role to open the season because he missed so much of camp with a hip injury. But he’s continued to come off the bench, week after week after week, even as Adrian Peterson’s struggles worsened. That never made sense. Watching Swift rack up 149 total yards in his first start on Sunday, it became even harder to figure out why it took 10 weeks -- 10! -- for Detroit to start its second-round pick.
Swift ran for 32 yards on the first drive alone, 16 of which came on a play where he jumped over Deshazor Everett. Then he started the second half too -- crazy, I know! -- and accounted for 72 yards all by himself on that series. This time he scored after motioning out into quads-right, catching the football in the open and then putting linebacker Jon Bostic on a poster en route to the end zone from 15 yards out. Then with the game locked in a tie late in the fourth quarter, Swift took over, touching the football six times on seven plays and grinding out another 46 yards that moved Detroit into position for a go-ahead field goal.
He was powerful, he was electric, he stuffed the stat sheet and he was big in crunch time. All told, he ran for 81 yards on 16 carries and caught all five of his targets for 68 yards. That’s 149 yards on 21 touches, one touchdown, while setting up another touchdown as well as a go-ahead field goal. So, yeah. Perhaps the Lions should consider starting him more often than once every 10 weeks.
**** D'Andre Swift had a terrific performance. Until this game, he wasn't consistent enough to be the Lions clear # 1 RB. ****
-- Matthew Stafford injured his throwing hand when he took a big hit early in the game, but was able to play through it. He got a tape job around the thumb/wrist area on the bench, took a few warmup throws, then re-entered the game and dropped a 27-yard touchdown pass to Marvin Jones' back shoulder. After struggling with turnovers and late mistakes the last couple weeks, Stafford was terrific in this one. That includes needing just 16 seconds to engineer that final go-ahead drive. He finished 24 of 33 overall for 276 yards, three touchdowns and no turnovers.
**** Other than a 3rd down push pass soon after the throwing hand injury, I thought Matthew Stafford did a very good job keeping the ball out of harms way. Stafford played well enough for the Lions to win by a sizable margin. Yet, too many in his supporting cast were inconsistent to the extent that it almost cost the Lions the game. ***
-- That touchdown catch was Marvin Jones' fifth of the season and 32nd overall since joining Detroit in 2016. That ties him with Cloyce Box for sixth most in franchise history.
**** The smart play in which Marvin Jones caught the ball that set up Matt Prater's 59 yard game winning FG, as a result of getting to the ground VERY soon after the catch, was also a huge part of the Lions win. Jones also caught a 10 yard pass on 2nd and 11 on the Lions drive that resulted in the go ahead FG ( 27-24 ). ****
-- Offensive linemen usually get singled out only when they do something bad, so allow me to throw a spotlight on Taylor Decker real quick for another good effort. He did have one holding penalty in this one, but was otherwise stout against a Washington front that is as good, as deep, as talented as any in the league. In fact, the Lions were pretty good across that front. Matthew Stafford was sacked just once while the running game pounded out 105 yards on just 21 carries.
**** One sack was erased as a result of a Personal Foul by LB Kevin Pierre-Louis, on Matthew Stafford.
In addition to Taylor Decker, major props to RT Tyrell Crosby on his all around performance. The WFT did use Chase Young at LDE frequently in this game. Even when ( hopefully) Big V is relatively healthy, the Lions should continue to use Crosby as the starting RT. I understood the decision why the Lions coaches didn't against the Colts. However, the decision backfired. ****
-- Everson Griffen came off the bench for the second time in as many weeks since joining the team, but was more disruptive against Washington, including snuffing out a reverse on the game’s opening drive for a 10-yard loss. He hit Alex Smith five times and sacked him once, Griffen’s first sack in Detroit. It went for nothing though, as Washington’s next two plays picked up a fourth-and-13 and then scored a 2-yard touchdown. (Adding insult to injury, former Lions tight end Logan Thomas and running back J.D. McKissic made those plays.) Just like that, Detroit’s lead was 24-10 late in the third quarter, and Washington was on the move.
****Everson Griffen was more impactful in this game than the previous game at Minnesota. Unfortunately, he hasn't been getting QB pressure enough. Part of this is not enough talent around him. But part could well be that his skills have dimensioned significantly. I hope Griffen has a chance to play with Trey Flowers and Romeo Okwara on the same plays. It remains to be seen when Flowers will be back, if he will be back this season. ****
-- What a find Romeo Okwara has turned out to be. The Lions loved what they saw from him when the New York Giants came to Allen Park for joint practices back in 2018, claimed him off waivers when he was cut after training camp -- and three years later, he’s the closest thing the Lions have to a consistent pass rusher. He was at it again on Sunday, opening the game with a 14-yard sack that pushed Washington out of field-goal range. That gives him six sacks this season, a team high, and 15 overall since joining the Lions less than three years ago. That’s second in franchise history by a player who was not drafted, trailing only James Hall (33).
**** Everson Griffen's push on LT Cornelius Lucas contributed greatly to Romeo Okwara's sack.
Though Okwara has been the Lions best pass rusher this season, he's not near the top of NFL edge rushers. The Lions have to be careful not to significantly overpay him as an UFA. ****
-- Cornerback Justin Coleman, who already missed five games with a hamstring injury, left this one in the second quarter with a knee injury. Defensive lineman Frank Herron, called up from the practice squad because Detroit is so beat up, left the game in the second quarter with an injury of his own. Then Danny Amendola went down with a hip injury the second half, leaving Detroit without two of its starting receivers due to hip injuries. (Kenny Golladay did not play at all.)
**** The good news is Justin Coleman and Frank Herron came back into game. Herron's snaps were much more limited, even beyond him being a backup rotation player. Herron made at least two good plays vs. the run and had a pass deflection on the WFT drive that ultimately resulted in a game tying FG. ****
-- Jeff Okudah started over Amani Oruwariye last week. He was benched this week, although continued to alternate with Oruwariye. You can understand why the Lions want Okudah on the field -- they have no choice but to develop the third overall pick as quickly as possible -- but Oruwariye has also been the better, more consistent player this year. If the Lions really think they can still make the playoffs, and that is what they say, then they have to get their best guys on the field. Oruwariye is better. But as we saw today, both have to play, because Detroit needs the Okudah pick to work out.
**** Jeff Okudah had a roller coaster game, even as a tackler. Very good play in the WFT backfield on a run that resulted in a loss. On the other hand, Okudah missed tackles on consecutive plays early on the WFT drive when the Lions led 24-3. Those miscues helped ignite the WFT Offense. ****
-- Matt Prater made his 100th appearance for Detroit on Sunday. He was signed to be a band-aid in the middle of the 2014 season, after unsuccessful experiments with Nate Freese and Alex Henery sunk Detroit’s kicking unit to the very bottom of the league. But Prater has proven to be much more than that. In fact, he now owns all five of the franchise’s longest fields, including a record 59-yarder back in 2015. He’s been more inconsistent this year, and missed attempts in each of his last four games, before burying another 59-yarder for the win at the buzzer on Sunday. Happy 100th, Matt.
**** When games have absolutely been on the line, no one has been better than Matt Prater in his combined seasons with the Lions. ****
.......
This new thread is a continuation of the following thread:
Lions vs. WFT preview: Game # 9 ( 2020 )
detroit-lions-forum.proboards.com/thread/815/lions-wft-preview-game-2020?page=1&scrollTo=3882
Quick observations: Lions cough up another huge lead before stunning Washington at buzzer
Quick observations: Lions cough up another huge lead before stunning Washington at buzzer
Updated Nov 15, 2020; Posted Nov 15, 2020
NFL football: Detroit Lions vs. Washington Football Team – November 15, 2020
By Kyle Meinke | kmeinke@mlive.com
Kyle Meinke - mlive.com
Read articles written by Kyle Meinke for mlive.com.
DETROIT -- They won, Matt Prater broke out of his month-long swoon and D’Andre Swift was fabulous in his first career start.
As far as good news goes, that’s about it for the Detroit Lions.
Prater split the pipes with a 59-yard buzzer-beater that sent Detroit to a 30-27 win on Sunday against the Washington Football Team. That snapped a two-game losing streak, and a seven-game home losing streak overall. Detroit (4-5) had not won a game at Ford Field since topping the New York Giants all the way back on Oct. 27, 2019.
That’s good. Winning games is a good thing, and certainly preferred to the altnernative. Then again, coughing up a 21-point lead in just 17 minutes against one of the three worst offenses in the league -- a bottom-three offense starting a backup at quarterback, mind you -- doesn’t exactly make you feel any better about the direction of a team that has been historically bad at holding onto leads under Matt Patricia.
The Lions led in 15 games last year, and finished 3-12-1. They blew double-digit leads against Chicago and Green Bay to open this season, then did it again in Week 4 against New Orleans. Total it all up, and Detroit blew six straight games in which it led by double digits. If that sounds like a lot, well, that’s because it is. In fact, it had never happened in the first 100 years this game was played. Not once.
This defense -- Matt Patricia’s draft picks, Matt Patricia’s free agents, Matt Patricia’s scheme, Matt Patricia’s defense -- has just been historically bad at protecting leads. They looked the part against Washington too. Swift caught a 15-yard touchdown pass to push Detroit ahead 24-3, then watched as that defense allowed touchdown drives of 11 plays (for 82 yards), 11 plays (for 84 yards) and six plays (for 66 yards).
The Lions needed just 17 minutes to turn a 24-3 lead into a 24-all tie against a two-win team starting a backup quarterback. Lucky for them, they also had Swift on their side, and the rookie -- finally making his first career start -- put Detroit on his back on the ensuing drive, touching the football on six of the first seven plays and gaining 46 yards overall to help move Detroit into field-goal position. Prater piped a 37-yarder with 2:37 left to push the Lions back ahead 27-24.
Of course, this defense being what it is, the game wasn’t over quite yet.
Washington took over at its own 11-yard line because of a penalty, was pushed back to its own 8 because of another penalty, then the Lions went to work, allowing conversions on third-and-13, fourth-and-5, third-and-10 and then another third-and-10. A stop anywhere would have finished the game, but the Lions couldn’t do it, over and over again, just like we’ve seen over and over again, and Washington was able to kick a game-tying field goal with 16 seconds left.
But 16 seconds is more than enough for Matthew Stafford, and he worked his magic again despite playing without starting receivers Kenny Golladay (who did not play because of a hip injury) and Danny Amendola (who left the game with a hip injury).
He hit rookie Quintez Cephus for a 10-yard pass to open the drive, then he heaved a bomb to Cephus down the field. Cephus was open too, but the rookie slowed down for some reason and the pass sailed a couple feet out of his reach. But Washington rookie Chase Young was flagged for roughing up Stafford on the play, which gave the Lions 15 yards and possession at the 50 with a stopped clock. Stafford completed a quick 9-yard pass to Marvin Jones, Detroit called time out and Prater trotted on for a 59-yard field-goal attempt.
That’s a massive distance -- in fact, it matches Prater’s team record -- and it’s especially daunting considering Prater’s struggles over the last month. He’s missed six kicks overall this season, already a personal high in Detroit, and at least one in each of his last four games. But he was great in this one, and sent this one through too, ending what could have been another disaster for Detroit.
Wins are nice, and the Lions certainly needed this one. But even in victory, they seem to confirm who they are, which isn’t very good. Washington sucks, doesn’t have its starting quarterback, trailed by 21 points in the second half and Detroit still needed a miraculous 16-second drive just to set up a franchise-record field goal to prevail. Not exactly instilling any confidence they’re headed in the right direction, you know?
**** Matthew Stafford, Matt Prater, and the players that contributed to the Lions winning this game in improbable fashion very well might have saved the jobs of Matt Patricia and Bob Quinn until at least Thanksgiving Day. IMHO, the only reason Patricia might have kept his job if the Lions ended up losing the game was because of the highly, highly questionable pass interference penalty on 4th and 5 from the WFT 39 yard line when the Lions led 27-24. The reality of the situation is a team should never lose when leading 24-3 late in the 3rd QTR. But it might have been more difficult for Sheila Ford Hamp to fire Patricia if a late game officiating call turned a Lions win into an eventual Lions loss.
I'm not optimistic in the Lions reaching the playoffs even as a 7th seed in an expanded NFL playoff system. I have serious doubts this team will even go 8-8. The Lions Defense has major problems, with the difficulty of generating a pass rush the # 1 problem. Even if Trey Flowers comes back from I.R. soon, I have doubts that will be enough to propel the Lions to the playoffs. Unless the Lions Defense has a substantial turnaround, I think this is Patricia's final season with the Lions. It's far from a given Patricia will even last the season. ****
Here are some more quick observations from the game:
-- Garbage. Let’s just get that out of the way, because that’s exactly what that pass interference call was against Desmond Trufant late in the fourth quarter. It was garbage. The Lions had a stop on a fourth-and-4, the game was in hand, but the officials flagged Trufant for pass interference for some reason. And I’ve yet to see a replay that justifies a penalty of that magnitude. Of course, the Lions also hurt themselves over and over again on that series, allowing conversions on third-and-13, third-and-10 and third-and-10. That’s just comically inept.
**** After the bad pass interference call on Desmond Trufant, the fatigue factor was magnified. I'm more critical of the Lions not preventing a 3rd and 13 completion to Terry McLaurin ( even though he's a legit # 1 caliber WR ) than the conversions for a 1st Down that followed. ****
-- D’Andre Swift started. The Lions scored a touchdown on that series. Then D’Andre Swift started the second half, and the Lions scored a touchdown there too. I know may this sound crazy, but maybe consider starting D’Andre Swift more often? It was easy to understand his bench role to open the season because he missed so much of camp with a hip injury. But he’s continued to come off the bench, week after week after week, even as Adrian Peterson’s struggles worsened. That never made sense. Watching Swift rack up 149 total yards in his first start on Sunday, it became even harder to figure out why it took 10 weeks -- 10! -- for Detroit to start its second-round pick.
Swift ran for 32 yards on the first drive alone, 16 of which came on a play where he jumped over Deshazor Everett. Then he started the second half too -- crazy, I know! -- and accounted for 72 yards all by himself on that series. This time he scored after motioning out into quads-right, catching the football in the open and then putting linebacker Jon Bostic on a poster en route to the end zone from 15 yards out. Then with the game locked in a tie late in the fourth quarter, Swift took over, touching the football six times on seven plays and grinding out another 46 yards that moved Detroit into position for a go-ahead field goal.
He was powerful, he was electric, he stuffed the stat sheet and he was big in crunch time. All told, he ran for 81 yards on 16 carries and caught all five of his targets for 68 yards. That’s 149 yards on 21 touches, one touchdown, while setting up another touchdown as well as a go-ahead field goal. So, yeah. Perhaps the Lions should consider starting him more often than once every 10 weeks.
**** D'Andre Swift had a terrific performance. Until this game, he wasn't consistent enough to be the Lions clear # 1 RB. ****
-- Matthew Stafford injured his throwing hand when he took a big hit early in the game, but was able to play through it. He got a tape job around the thumb/wrist area on the bench, took a few warmup throws, then re-entered the game and dropped a 27-yard touchdown pass to Marvin Jones' back shoulder. After struggling with turnovers and late mistakes the last couple weeks, Stafford was terrific in this one. That includes needing just 16 seconds to engineer that final go-ahead drive. He finished 24 of 33 overall for 276 yards, three touchdowns and no turnovers.
**** Other than a 3rd down push pass soon after the throwing hand injury, I thought Matthew Stafford did a very good job keeping the ball out of harms way. Stafford played well enough for the Lions to win by a sizable margin. Yet, too many in his supporting cast were inconsistent to the extent that it almost cost the Lions the game. ***
-- That touchdown catch was Marvin Jones' fifth of the season and 32nd overall since joining Detroit in 2016. That ties him with Cloyce Box for sixth most in franchise history.
**** The smart play in which Marvin Jones caught the ball that set up Matt Prater's 59 yard game winning FG, as a result of getting to the ground VERY soon after the catch, was also a huge part of the Lions win. Jones also caught a 10 yard pass on 2nd and 11 on the Lions drive that resulted in the go ahead FG ( 27-24 ). ****
-- Offensive linemen usually get singled out only when they do something bad, so allow me to throw a spotlight on Taylor Decker real quick for another good effort. He did have one holding penalty in this one, but was otherwise stout against a Washington front that is as good, as deep, as talented as any in the league. In fact, the Lions were pretty good across that front. Matthew Stafford was sacked just once while the running game pounded out 105 yards on just 21 carries.
**** One sack was erased as a result of a Personal Foul by LB Kevin Pierre-Louis, on Matthew Stafford.
In addition to Taylor Decker, major props to RT Tyrell Crosby on his all around performance. The WFT did use Chase Young at LDE frequently in this game. Even when ( hopefully) Big V is relatively healthy, the Lions should continue to use Crosby as the starting RT. I understood the decision why the Lions coaches didn't against the Colts. However, the decision backfired. ****
-- Everson Griffen came off the bench for the second time in as many weeks since joining the team, but was more disruptive against Washington, including snuffing out a reverse on the game’s opening drive for a 10-yard loss. He hit Alex Smith five times and sacked him once, Griffen’s first sack in Detroit. It went for nothing though, as Washington’s next two plays picked up a fourth-and-13 and then scored a 2-yard touchdown. (Adding insult to injury, former Lions tight end Logan Thomas and running back J.D. McKissic made those plays.) Just like that, Detroit’s lead was 24-10 late in the third quarter, and Washington was on the move.
****Everson Griffen was more impactful in this game than the previous game at Minnesota. Unfortunately, he hasn't been getting QB pressure enough. Part of this is not enough talent around him. But part could well be that his skills have dimensioned significantly. I hope Griffen has a chance to play with Trey Flowers and Romeo Okwara on the same plays. It remains to be seen when Flowers will be back, if he will be back this season. ****
-- What a find Romeo Okwara has turned out to be. The Lions loved what they saw from him when the New York Giants came to Allen Park for joint practices back in 2018, claimed him off waivers when he was cut after training camp -- and three years later, he’s the closest thing the Lions have to a consistent pass rusher. He was at it again on Sunday, opening the game with a 14-yard sack that pushed Washington out of field-goal range. That gives him six sacks this season, a team high, and 15 overall since joining the Lions less than three years ago. That’s second in franchise history by a player who was not drafted, trailing only James Hall (33).
**** Everson Griffen's push on LT Cornelius Lucas contributed greatly to Romeo Okwara's sack.
Though Okwara has been the Lions best pass rusher this season, he's not near the top of NFL edge rushers. The Lions have to be careful not to significantly overpay him as an UFA. ****
-- Cornerback Justin Coleman, who already missed five games with a hamstring injury, left this one in the second quarter with a knee injury. Defensive lineman Frank Herron, called up from the practice squad because Detroit is so beat up, left the game in the second quarter with an injury of his own. Then Danny Amendola went down with a hip injury the second half, leaving Detroit without two of its starting receivers due to hip injuries. (Kenny Golladay did not play at all.)
**** The good news is Justin Coleman and Frank Herron came back into game. Herron's snaps were much more limited, even beyond him being a backup rotation player. Herron made at least two good plays vs. the run and had a pass deflection on the WFT drive that ultimately resulted in a game tying FG. ****
-- Jeff Okudah started over Amani Oruwariye last week. He was benched this week, although continued to alternate with Oruwariye. You can understand why the Lions want Okudah on the field -- they have no choice but to develop the third overall pick as quickly as possible -- but Oruwariye has also been the better, more consistent player this year. If the Lions really think they can still make the playoffs, and that is what they say, then they have to get their best guys on the field. Oruwariye is better. But as we saw today, both have to play, because Detroit needs the Okudah pick to work out.
**** Jeff Okudah had a roller coaster game, even as a tackler. Very good play in the WFT backfield on a run that resulted in a loss. On the other hand, Okudah missed tackles on consecutive plays early on the WFT drive when the Lions led 24-3. Those miscues helped ignite the WFT Offense. ****
-- Matt Prater made his 100th appearance for Detroit on Sunday. He was signed to be a band-aid in the middle of the 2014 season, after unsuccessful experiments with Nate Freese and Alex Henery sunk Detroit’s kicking unit to the very bottom of the league. But Prater has proven to be much more than that. In fact, he now owns all five of the franchise’s longest fields, including a record 59-yarder back in 2015. He’s been more inconsistent this year, and missed attempts in each of his last four games, before burying another 59-yarder for the win at the buzzer on Sunday. Happy 100th, Matt.
**** When games have absolutely been on the line, no one has been better than Matt Prater in his combined seasons with the Lions. ****
.......
This new thread is a continuation of the following thread:
Lions vs. WFT preview: Game # 9 ( 2020 )
detroit-lions-forum.proboards.com/thread/815/lions-wft-preview-game-2020?page=1&scrollTo=3882
