Detroit Lions – Page 146

Five things to watch as Lions face Washington

Riding a two-game losing streak, the Detroit Lions (3-5) have a chance to win their first game at Ford Field in more than a year. That win against the Giants on Oct. 27, 2019, seems like a very long time ago.

On Sunday the Lions face Washington (2-6) which has lost six of its last seven.

“We know how dangerous they are; they’ve got some great players. Just like every week, they’ve got a lot of good guys out there.,’’ Lions coach Matt Patricia said.

Washington quarterback Alex Smith, the best comeback story in the NFL this season, will make his first start since 2018 when his leg was brutally broken. He fought infection and went through multiple surgeries to get back to football. He’s made appearances this season (including last week when he threw 1 touchdown and 3 interceptions), but this will be his first start.

“I think, obviously, Alex Smith is an amazing story. Everything that he’s been through and his ability to battle through all that and step out onto that field and perform, it’s pretty amazing,’’ Patricia said.

This is a big game for both teams to try to get back on track.

Here are five things to watch:

1. The Lions offense struggled last week without wide receiver Kenny Golladay (hip) and they will be without him again on Sunday. It could be a double-whammy with tight end T.J. Hockenson (toe) who is questionable to play. “We’ve got a lot of guys that can step up in different situations, and certainly, a lot of guys that can produce. … Whatever the design is will be for whether we have them or don’t have them, and then we’ve just got to go out and execute those plays,’’ Patricia said.

2. For the good news, Matthew Stafford was able to practice this week unlike last week when he was quarantined after being exposed to COVID-19. He’s thrown three interceptions in the past two games which has to stop and he knows that.

3. The Lions run game has been inconsistent all season, although seemed to bounce back in the loss last week at Minnesota. Rookie D’Andre Swift ran for 64 of the 129 total. “Running the ball is great. It’s a great part of this game. Certainly it’s something we want to do. We didn’t do it well a couple weeks ago. I thought we got back on track a little bit last week with it, and that’s where we have to continue to go,’’ Patricia said.

4. Stopping the run just did not happen last week. Part of it was the magic of Dalvin Cook (22 carries, 206 yards), but much of it was on the Lions’ defense which didn’t appear ready even though they knew what was coming in Cook. The Vikings finished with 275 rushing yards. Enough said. Washington’s run game, led by Antonio Gibson, should not be as much of a threat. He had just 6 carries for 20 yards last week in the loss to the Giants.

5. Coaching has been an issue and it’s not just Patricia. Defensive coordinator Cory Undlin took full credit for having 10 players out on the field on defense in each of the last two games. “So when you have 10 guys out there that – obviously there was some miscommunication at some point on somewhere down the line and that’s it. It’s poor coaching,’’ Undlin said this week. “I met with the whole defense (Monday), and I told them exactly the same thing. We’re trying to be critical of these guys, we put a lot of pressure on these guys all the time. Then when we as coaches can’t get 11 guys out there – that’s on us.’’

PREDICTION: Washington 28, Lions 24

Five reasons Lions lost to Vikings, 34-20

The first quarter set the tone for the Lions’ 34-20 loss at the Minnesota Vikings on Monday.

The Lions’ offense got the ball first and went three-and-out. With the Vikings first possession they moved downfield like the Detroit defense wasn’t even there. Five plays, 67 yards and boom, touchdown run by Dalvin Cook.

At the end of that first quarter, Detroit was down 13-0. It wasn’t like the game was out of reach, but sure seemed like it.

It was the second straight loss for the Lions (3-5) while the Vikings (3-5) notched their second straight NFC North win after beating the Packers a week ago. The teams own matching records, but seem to be headed in opposite directions.

Five reasons the Lions lost:

1. The defense could not stop running back Dalvin Cook (22 carries, 206 yards, 2 touchdowns). In the fourth quarter Cook scored his second touchdown on a 70-yard scamper. Stopping the run was one of the keys in this matchup and the Detroit defense failed miserably. Cook ran up 163 yards on the Packers the previous week.

2. By letting the Vikings’ run game flourish, it opened up the field for Kirk Cousins who threw for 220 yards and three touchdown passes.

3. Matthew Stafford, who didn’t practice all week because he was quarantined due to exposure to COVID-19, looked sharp in the first half, going 16 of 18 for 123 yards and a touchdown pass to Marvin Jones Jr. After missing on a deep ball to Marvin Hall on the first play from scrimmage, he completed 16 straight passes. Then he threw two interceptions in the third quarter and after a sack early in the fourth, he was examined for a concussion and didn’t return. However good news after the game is that he passed the concussion protocol. Chase Daniel filled in with a touchdown and an interception.

4. The consistency of the offense again an issue. Some of it is on Stafford, but he had a hot first half and they only managed 10 points. The run game was 100 yards better than last week when they accumulated just 29 yards (10 from Stafford). D’Andre Swift carried 13 times for 64 yards, averaging 4.9 yards per carry. A big difference from loss to Colts when he had six carries for 1 yard. Still, not enough.

5. Matt Patricia’s coaching once again an issue. The Lions defense was clearly not ready to play, allowing 487 total yards, the second-most they’ve given up this season. Patricia is now 12-27-1 as head coach in Detroit. Can’t see how he keeps his job, just not sure if they’ll let this season play out.

BY THE NUMBERS: Austin Bryant blocked a punt in the third quarter and Romeo Okwara blacked another in the fourth quarter. It marked the first time since 1977 that the Lions had blocked punts in back-to-back games. Miles Killebrew blocked one last week. … The Lions were 2-5 (40 percent) in red zone efficiency while the Vikings were 3-4 (75 percent). Matt Prater went 2-of-3 missing a 46-yard field goal attempt. … Time of possession went to Detroit: 32:49 to 27:11. … Detroit only had 3 penalties (37 yards) while the Vikings had 9 (69 yards).

(Photo courtesy of Detroit Lions)

Five things to watch as Lions face Vikings

Every NFL team has to deal with the limitations due to the coronavirus pandemic. This week it was the Lions that took a hit with Matthew Stafford and Jarrad Davis being exposed and forced into quarantine.

Still the Lions (3-4) had to keep an eye on the goal for this week — beating the Vikings (2-5) at Minnesota on Sunday.

“I think for us it’s really important that we’re trying to do everything we can protocol-wise to stay in front of it and stay safe,’’ coach Matt Patricia said. “We knew that probably getting towards the month of November and December as flu season kicked up – we certainly understood that situations might change, and things might change from that aspect of it.’’

Luckily many of the team and individual group meetings are virtual. So Stafford and Davis have been able to keep up that way.

“Obviously trying to stay ahead as far as what’s going on out in the communities and knowing that will definitely affect us as we go. Doing the best we can to stay in front of it from that standpoint and trying to always go more extreme than we need to, just to make sure that we’re staying safe, but understand that everything can change, you know, day-by-day,’’ Patricia said.

Five things to look for against the Vikings:

1. Stafford has not been able to practice but that shouldn’t be a huge factor. “I think if you called Matt Stafford on an April day and said, ‘Hey, we’re going to go play a 60-minute football game,’ he’d be able to go out there and rip it. He’d be fine. He’d see defenses; he’d see coverage. He’d be doing all the right things. He’s a great vet. He knows how to play the game,’’ Patricia said. “… I trust Matt Stafford to always do the right things, be ready to go and that’s where we are right now. I think just in general – I think that the game of 11 guys working together at the same time, that’s why some of that stuff is important. It’s not necessary, but it’s definitely important.”

2. Defensive end Everson Griffen will be playing his first game for the Lions and it’s against his former team. After the trade from Dallas, Griffen could not join the team immediately due to coronavirus stipulations. His first practice was Wednesday. “I thought his communication was really good on the field, and he’s got a high motor. He practices at a high level, so that was really good. It was good for us to be out there in pads and to be able to see some of that and just get him used to some of the communication out on the field. I thought it was a good first step,’’ Patricia said.

3. After losing five of their first six games, the Vikings upset the Green Bay Packers last week. Minnesota’s ground game averages 144 yards per game while the Lions defense has had some trouble stopping the run. Last week the Colts ran for 119 yards. Running back Dalvin Cook is the workhorse with 10 rushing touchdowns. Three of those were against the Packers last week.

4. The Vikings defense is young but strong through the middle. “Certainly, to me, it starts with (Eric) Kendricks in the middle (with) his ability to communicate, especially with the front. I think the front’s improving every single week. Those guys are long, they get off the ball, they knock the line of scrimmage back,’’ Patricia said. So, I think he’s done an outstanding job in the middle (of) kind of settling all that down, and certainly (Eric) Wilson, he’s played a lot of football for them and he’s a good player. I feel that the strength at the linebackers, plus the strength of the safety position – Harrison Smith, obviously, and Anthony Harris – those guys are phenomenal. A lot of what they do out of their pressure packages is because of the disguise that those two can come up with. They’re very in sync with all that, and you see them communicating out to the corners. I feel that their defense is getting better each week. I think that those guys are out there and they’re getting more familiar with each other and the communication looks like it’s getting better. Those guys are playing at a high level. The strength through the middle of the defense, I think, is important. They have that.”

5. No excuses for the Lions who are coming off the 41-21 loss to the Colts at home. They will be missing three key players — Kenny Golladay, Jamal Agnew and Tracy Walker are out with injuries. Also, Joe Dahl, Christian Jones, Darryl Roberts and Halapoulivaati Vaitai are questionable.

PREDICTION: Vikings 28, Lions 24