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Five things to watch as Lions face Falcons

The Detroit Lions have a chance to win their second straight game on Sunday for the first time since games 2 and 3 of the 2019 season.

The Lions (2-3) face the Falcons (1-5) at Atlanta at 1 p.m.

Coach Matt Patricia said stacking wins is the goal, looking at each Sunday as a one-game season.

“Certainly, I think there is a mentality about that where, OK, when you come off of a win and you played a game that is positive, that you learn from whatever mistakes may have showed up, and obviously we’ll learn from the good things that you did, and then carry that over into the next week to build on it and kind of – we say stack them together or build on top of each other – and I think that’s how you show your growth and your improvement,’’ Patricia said this week on a Zoom call.

The Falcons, who already ditched head coach Dan Quinn and are playing under interim coach Raheem Morris, are coming off their first win.

Five things to watch:

1. Don’t give up on the run. The Lions’ run game has been a standout so far averaging 117 rushing yards per game. In the win at Jacksonville last week they ran for 180 yards (116 by D’Andre Swift). This has been an issue for the Lions for years, but seems to be looking up. “Certainly gameplan-wise, it opens up some stuff for you. I think (Matthew) Stafford does a great job of utilizing all of those different runs that we have and mixing with the play passes, the misdirection plays, the boot plays, things like that. So I think it just helps us be able to reach the ball into different areas of the field,’’ Patricia said.

2. Keep an eye on Matthew Stafford and Atlanta’s Matt Ryan.  Stafford ranks second in NFL history with an average of 274.4 passing yards per game, and Ryan is 3rd with a 271.9 average. Stafford has more yards this season per game (248) but it’s not all about the two quarterbacks who happen to be great friends. Stafford got off to a bit of a slow start this season but has improved. Had his best game in win at Jacksonville last week.

3. Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones returned last week and had his best game this season with eight catches for 137 yards and a pair of touchdowns. “Obviously offensively for them, it starts with the quarterback, with Matt Ryan, but Julio Jones – his return, his play, his speed, his strength, his power, his run after catch, all of it – just showed in its full form, and I think that you just see on tape how dominant he is as a receiver, how great of a player he is,’’ Patricia said. “It’s like I say all the time – when you’re that great of a player, and everybody knows you are, try to do everything you can to limit what you can do, but you still go out and do what you do every single game. It’s pretty amazing.’’ He’ll be a handful for the Lions secondary who will be without CB Desmond Trufant (hamstring).

4. Detroit can’t overlook Atlanta due to its 1-5 record. “I think for all of us, you just look at their players and you can see how dangerous and how good they are. Certainly, from our standpoint, I think we know that it’s 60 minutes of football in the NFL. Sometimes it’s more. That’s just what it is. Like we talk about all the time, I think it’s 67 percent of the games are one possession (games) or seven points-or-less, and 34 percent are three points-or-less. I think you’re seeing that in the NFL this year,’’ Patricia said.

5. The Lions are healthy with the exception of Trufant. It’s been rough early in the season due to injuries, although that’s no excuse. Patricia is not big on momentum but was very happy last Sunday when they were able to see their two weeks of work (with the bye) show up on the field. “I thought that was really great,’’ Patricia said.

PREDICTION: Lions 28, Falcons 24

Five reasons Detroit Lions beat lowly Jaguars

That was more like it. The Detroit Lions picked up their second win with a 34-16 trouncing of the Jaguars in Jacksonville on Sunday.

Coming off the bye and with a 1-3 record, it was nearly a must-win game for Detroit and coach Matt Patricia.

The defense came up huge as did the offense. Get this, it was the first time in nearly seven seasons that the Lions had both a 100-yard rusher (D’Andre Swift, 116 yards) and 100-yard receiver (Kenny Golladay, 105 yards) in a game. Last time was Nov. 28, 2013, when Calvin Johnson had 101 receiving yards and Reggie Bush ran for 117.

Five reasons the Lions won:

1. The Jaguars are just a lousy team on offense, defense and special teams. Heck their kicker was in his first NFL game. Quarterback Gardner Minshew showed flashes, but he’s just a second-year guy trying to find his way. It would’ve been embarrassing if the Lions lost.

2. The Lions defense which has struggled to stop the run in the first four games this season found a way to contain James Robinson and the rest of the Jaguars, holding them to 44 rushing yards. Robinson had a dozen carries for just 29 yards. The defense also pressured Minshew which is something we haven’t seen enough of this season. But it worked because they stopped the run. 

3. Running back D’Andre Swift had a career game that included a pair of rushing touchdowns and a 54-yard scamper on first down on the offense’s first play from scrimmage. It was a sign of things to come. It was a career game for Swift, the rookie. He finished with 14 carries for 116 yards.

4. Matthew Stafford had his best game this season despite at least four drops from his receivers. The banged-up line prevented him from being sacked after a dozen sacks in the first four game. Of course it helped that the run game was effective. He seemed more sure of himself. The Jaguars were the only NFL team Stafford had never thrown a touchdown against. He took care of that with a nifty pass to T.J. Hockenson. He finished 19 of 31 for 223 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Stafford even threw a sidearm pass on third down — maybe for old time’s sake. (His wife Kelly posted on Instagram that move reminded her of when he tosses her a diaper when their other 3 daughters are swarming him.)

5. Let’s give coach Matt Patricia a little credit. He had the team ready, corrected past mistakes and kept his foot on the gas. His seat is a little less hot heading into next Sunday’s game at Atlanta. This win does not solve all of the problems and he knows that, but perhaps it’s a first step.

BY THE NUMBERS: The Lions rushed for 3 touchdowns which equals the number of rushing TDs from the first four games total. … Detroit was 4-5 in the Red Zone while Jacksonville was 2-5. … Lions led in total net yards, 403-275. … Detroit rushed for 180 yards and held Jaguars to 44 rushing yards. … Rookie cornerback Jeff Okudah led defense with 8 tackles, Jamie Collins had 7. … Trey Flowers had the only sack of Minshew. 

(Photo courtesy of Detroit Lions)

Five things to watch: Lions at Jaguars

Owner Sheila Hamp was awarded the game ball from the Lions only win this season at practice this week.

Will she add another ball after Sunday’s game at the Jacksonville Jaguars?

Actually, the game ball is not a concern, but beating a 1-4 team at their home stadium tops the list.

If the 1-3 Lions, coming off a bye, can’t beat the Jaguars will coach Matt Patricia still be the coach next week?

That’s the biggest question and it’s legitimate.

Of course Patricia knows the situation. The players do too.

“For us, every week, we’re just trying to go out and compete and win and do everything that we can to get better. We come in, and we do our job. That’s what we do,’’ Patricia said on a Zoom meeting this week. “I don’t think you get into anything other than that, and you don’t ride that wave. You just try to go out and do the best you can that week.”

OK, then.

Five things to watch as Lions face Jags:

1. The offense has come out red hot, but can’t keep the fire going after the first quarter. It’s a bit of a mess. It has been lifted by a stronger ground game (thanks to Adrian Peterson), but can do better. They took a closer look at themselves and the team during the bye week.  “As far as things we can do better – I think a little bit of everything,’’ Matthew Stafford said on a Zoom call. “You look at it obviously we can be a little better in the red zone, I think we can be more efficient, more explosive, all of it. I think we’ve done a nice job in the run game, that can always be better. I think we just look at everything and find ways to make ourselves and our team better.’’

2. The 1-3 record is not all on the offense. The defense has failed to pressure quarterbacks. Sacks aren’t the be-all, end-all for a defensive line but they are an indication of whether the line is effective. In four games, the Lions have sacked opposing QBs just five times (they got to Drew Brees twice) while Stafford has gone down a dozen times. Not a great ratio.

3. Jags quarterback Gardner Minshew has played well even though they’ve lost four straight. He’s thrown 10 touchdown passes against just four interceptions, completing 69.9 percent of his passes. “I think he’s done a great job of showing that he can really be quite dynamic in the passing game. We know he’s athletic. He has a very strong arm. He does a good job with the deep balls, (he has) some phenomenal skill players around him that can run vertical, get open, big-catch-radius guys. He has that element of athleticism so they can mix in some of the read-option stuff with him too, and certainly the extended plays that he gets out of the pocket on scrambles are outstanding,’’ Patricia said. The second-year QB will pose a challenge for the Lions secondary which will be without cornerback Desmond Trufant (hamstring). D.J. Clark, the Jags’ top receiver is questionable with a sprained ankle.

4. Guard Joe Dahl is back after recovering from a groin injury and could get the start at center. Center Frank Ragnow (groin) was listed as questionable in Friday’s report but did make the trip to Jacksonville. If Ragnow is a go, then Patricia has to decide whether to let Dahl or Halapoulivaati Vaitai start at right guard. “I think it’s great for us to have our guys healthy and get back out there and compete. Certainly, Joe has been working really hard to get back on the field and he’s got to get out there and practice and kind of get back in the swing of things, but we know how good of a guard he is, and we know how good of a player he is for us,’’ Patricia said.

5. All the talk about consistency and execution is swell, but we’ve heard it for years. Years. Time to put it to work and beat the Jags. No more excuses.

Prediction: Lions 27, Jags 24.