Detroit Lions: What An Opener

I have begun writing this mere minutes after the conclusion of the game. I have a lot of things to say about what just unfolded. Buckle up, this one is going to be a sizzler.

Setting the Stage

Before we get into the game itself, I am going to lay out a few very noteworthy things that happened regarding our personnel. We started the game down our top receiver, Kenny Golladay, who is, in my opinion, a top-15 receiver in the league, and our first-round pick from this past draft, cornerback Jeff Okudah. Then, early on in the first half, Jamie Collins, our big-name free agent signing this offseason, gets ejected in one of the dumbest ways I have ever seen, by headbutting the ref. He was making a valid point about the Bears' running back, David Montgomery, lowering his helmet, which is against yet another rule that is impossible to properly enforce. Doing it the way he did, however, was stupid. He has been around the game long enough to know that that was not a smart thing to do. So, just like that, our headline free agent is gone. It got even worse as we lost cornerbacks Justin Coleman and Desmond Trufant to hamstring injuries, after already being down Jeff Okudah. So, our defense was quickly depleted to being down our best linebacker and three of our top four cornerbacks. This left us with our top three cornerbacks being Amani Oruwariye, who was starting opposite Trufant to begin with, and new free agents Darryl Roberts and Tony McRae, who are more adept to playing special teams. So, to summarize, we were down four significant pieces on defense and our top threat on offense.

The Rise

The game started like any typical Detroit Lions game, with both teams stalling in the red zone and settling for field goals. Our offense came out conservative, trying and failing to gain yards on the ground. Trubisky was mediocre, missing throws left and right, particularly in the red zone. Then suddenly our offense found its feet. They started airing the ball out more, and we were finding a lot of success. Of all people, fifth-round rookie out of Wisconsin Quintez Cephus seemed to be Stafford’s go-to target, and overall, he did a good job. He had one bad drop near the end zone, but beyond that he had a good game. Danny Amendola was rock solid as always, catching everything that came his way, and had a couple really big plays, such as a conversion on 3rd and 17 and a huge catch down the middle on our last drive to put us in striking distance. Amendola is the definition of dependable, if unspectacular. Marvin Jones had a good day as well, including a beautiful trucking of Bears rookie cornerback Jaylon Johnson, although I really wish he would step up more with Golladay out. At times he seemed to disappear a bit. One of the nicer things to see was T.J. Hockenson having a nice performance, including a great touchdown catch while being draped by a defender. He did not have huge numbers, but it was an improvement over his pathetic season he had last year. He had one play where he double-caught a pass, and he also had a really bad holding penalty and missed a few blocks, so he still has quite a bit of work to do before proving to be close to worth the eighth overall pick two drafts ago, but it was a good sign to see him at least put up some numbers. Beyond that nobody did a lot of damage in the passing game. Marvin Hall was quieter than expected, and cornerback-turned-receiver Jamal Agnew was out there but did not record a catch.

Our three-back rotation was in full effect, with 35-year-old Adrian Peterson leading the charge. I am not excited about him being here, because he is not even close to what he used to be and is only going to continue to decline, but he did very well for himself in this game. His vision was on full display, making nice cuts behind blockers to get as many yards as possible. I would just prefer to see D’Andre Swift and Kerryon Johnson get more carries, because they are young, more electric, and more likely to be here long-term. Neither of the two young backs did much in this game, unfortunately, which probably means we will see a lot more of Peterson in the coming weeks.

Prior to losing both Justin Coleman and Desmond Trufant, our defense was actually doing pretty well after giving up those two field goals. We were once in a while getting pressure on Trubisky, which was nice to see, and every time he dropped back he looked a little uncomfortable, and that led to him making some bad throws, although we were unable to force any turnovers. Coleman had one in his hands that he dropped before getting injured, which would have been really nice to get, and Tracy Walker nearly batted one in the air as Trubisky released it, but it slipped between his arms. The Bears were also unable to get anything going in the run game, as both David Montgomery and Tarik Cohen were largely held in check.

We had a 23-6 lead at the start of the fourth quarter, which eerily resembled the 24-6 lead we had against the Arizona Cardinals in last year’s season opener before choking it away and ending up in a tie at the end of overtime.

Then it all went south.

The Fall

The way I see it, there are two easy places to pin the blame for losing, but in my opinion, there is a much more glaring placement for it.

The first and most obvious place is on second-round rookie D’Andre Swift. There is no way to sugarcoat it, he had the game-winning touchdown in his hands, and he dropped the pass. I am not trying to excuse him of that, because it is a play he must make. It is very similar to the Michigan-Penn State game last season when Ronnie Bell dropped the would-be-game-tying touchdown, and I said the exact same thing. You can go back and read what I said about how Don Brown continually lining up Josh Metellus opposite K.J. Hamler was the reason for that loss. I wish it was anyone except Swift who dropped that pass, with him being one of the most exciting skill position draft picks we have made in a while. He could have been a hero, in his first game as a Lion making the game-winning play, but alas he did not. I will not hold it against him, just like I did not hold it against Ronnie Bell, and there is no doubt in my mind Swift will be a great player for us. I look at the big picture of the entire game, though, and there is no doubt we should have never been in that situation where we needed him to make that play.

The second obvious place to pin the blame is on the defense as a whole. To give up 21 points in the fourth quarter is horrible, especially after doing so well before that. Our pass rush just stopped getting home. Trubisky had more time to throw and started to get in a groove, and with us having so many injuries at the cornerback position, they just struggled to stop the passing attack. Despite all this, I do not put the blame solely on the defense here, either.

This leads me to where I do put the blame for this loss. If the offense had been able to score just one touchdown in the fourth quarter, I can say with confidence that we would have won this game. But I am not putting the blame on the entire offense, I am putting it on one man.

That man is Matthew Stafford.

When we needed him most, he looked flustered and was unable to get anything going. Throughout the game, not just in the fourth quarter, there were multiple throws where he completely missed guys or failed to put any touch on the ball, which has been a problem for him since we drafted him. He also did a lot of running around late in the game, which does not suit his play style at all and I think really worked against him. In the fourth quarter, there are two plays that really stick out to me.

First, the interception. It was a classic example of Stafford just panicking and trying to force a throw on third down that was not there to be made. Marvin Jones was coming over the middle and not only had a defender trailing directly behind him, but also had another defender coming right at him from the opposite direction. Stafford had no idea the second defender was there. Additionally, the ball was thrown behind Jones, allowing for the first defender to get his hand on it. The ball popped straight up in the air, and Kyle Fuller ran under it for an easy interception, allowing the Bears to start in our end down only six points. Stafford had no business throwing that pass. He would have been better off just throwing it away, although as we will get to in a second, he is not exactly keen on doing that.

The other play was on the previous drive where Stafford took a nine-yard sack. This one led to a huge momentum swing. We were comfortably in field goal range, with a 10 point lead, and then Stafford was rolling out to the right, backing away from the pressure, and rather than just sling the ball out of bounds, he kept looking for a throw to make and wound up taking a sack. That was detrimental, because two plays later, Matt Prater missed a 55-yard field goal, dinging it off the right upright. Had Stafford thrown the ball away, we could have maybe converted on 3rd and 8 rather than having to try to pull off a miracle on 3rd and 17. Plus, even if we did not get it, Prater would have had a much more makeable field goal. So, instead of going up 13, we gave the ball back to the Bears on their 45, which is incredible starting field position. Should Prater have made the field goal anyways? Sure, he is one of the best kickers in the league, but Stafford set him up to fail by taking that sack.

This has been one of many examples, especially recently, of Stafford just sputtering in the fourth quarter when we have a lead. Simply put, when the team has a lead, all the offense has to do is score right along with the opponent, and it is a guaranteed win. Heck, like I said, all we really needed was one touchdown and we would have won, and Stafford could not get it done. I know there are a lot of Lions fans that love Stafford, and that think he is a great quarterback, but the fact of the matter is he has not won anything of merit. I know he has all the comebacks that he is so well-known for, but if he is so good at coming from behind, then maintaining a lead should be easy. I have a hard time putting into words why I do not think Stafford has what it takes to lead us to success, especially in the playoffs, but I think today was a perfect example of it. He is just missing that "it" factor that all the great quarterbacks have. That ability to just put games away and not give the other team a chance. It is the difference between quarterbacks that are winners and quarterbacks that are just not. I have been out on Stafford for a little while now, but I think today’s game is officially the final nail in the coffin for me. I would love to see us #TankForTrevor at this point, but I know that Patricia and Quinn are fighting for their jobs, so that is not going to happen. Still, I can dream.

It was an opener to remember, that is for sure. Losing to the Bears is always tough to swallow because they are a division rival, and this season is no different because they just are not very good. They were very beatable, we just choked it away. Maybe this team will be able to put this behind them, but facing the Packers on the road next week followed by going out west to face the Cardinals (again) does not exactly inspire confidence.