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The Detroit Lions went on the road to face the Oakland Raiders, and in a winnable game, once again, the team’s supposed strength let them down.
Detroit fell behind, tied the game almost immediately, surrendered the lead, took it back, gave it up, fell further behind, tied the score and made a fruitless endeavor to tie the game once again with time running down in the fourth quarter. Instead of overtime, the Lions gave away the game with a poor play call and lost 31-24. The offense was alright, but the defense was terrible.
The Lions drop to 3-4-1, and on a day when they could have made up some ground against their competition, they tripped and fell over their own shoelaces in a big game as is so often the case.
As a result, the Lions continue to fall behind in the playoff chase, and while not officially eliminated from anything yet, it will only be a matter of time before the door slams shut on the team in 2019.
Here’s more about another frustrating weekend on the field.
Matt Patricia’s Defense at Fault
When Matt Patricia was hired, he was hired to fix the team’s defense so that the Lions might win on that side of the ball. In 2019, they’re getting plenty of offense to win games, but their defense has been an utter embarrassment. Patricia just hasn’t had the magic touch with this group in terms of scheme and execution. Against the run, the team is dreadful. Against the pass, they aren’t much better, and the coach has no answers.
There has been injuries and things outside of Patricia’s control, but there is no room for that excuse. Patricia routinely was able to plug lesser known players in successfully in New England. In Detroit, he hasn’t had the same Midas touch whatsoever.
24 points should be enough to win a game on the road, or at least come close. Patricia has to turn around the defense, because his reputation is staked on that side of the ball alone.
Lions Pass Rush Non-Existent
A big reason Detroit can’t get off the field is their lack of a pass rush. Opposing quarterbacks have all day to scan the field and make big throws. Big money addition Trey Flowers has come on in recent weeks, but he simply can’t do it alone. Someone has to step up and help Flowers out. So far, between the group of Romeo Okwara, Devon Kennard and company, nobody has stepped up.
It seems the Lions can no longer depend on their defensive line to be the strength of the team. There’s been injuries up front, but that is not an acceptable excuse for a so-called defensive guru in Patricia and his group of teachers on that side of the ball.
Darrell Bevell Needs to Be Better
Detroit’s offensive coordinator has had a decent year as a whole and has changed the offense for the positive. There are still moments where it looks as if the team’s offensive coordinator doesn’t have much of a clue, though. Through most of the second half, Bevell struggled with balance and kept trying to force the run when the Raiders were slowing down the ground game. Then, with the game on the line, Bevell blew it with a play call which went nowhere given a lack of playmakers on the field.
The Lions have bigger problems than Bevell, but at times, he certainly has the feel of a coordinator who is letting his team down. There has to be a better plan in order to keep the team’s offense more consistent. The Lions far too often try and use the run as a crutch when they should merely feed the hot hands in their receiver room.
Running Back Risk Doesn’t Pay Off
The Lions didn’t address the running back spot at the deadline and that decision proved costly in this game. Not only did Detroit fail to go over 100 yards on the ground during the day, they couldn’t run the ball on a goal and short situation late in the game. Perhaps the team should take a chance on signing Jay Ajayi for the stretch run this week. If he’s not the answer, he’s not the answer. It’s clear Detroit doesn’t have an answer they trust on their roster right now either, though.
Lion? Marvin Jones. Both Jones and Golladay went to work on the afternoon with massive plays, but Jones was most impressive with his big catches and the touchdown early in the game as well. Both wideouts are playing at an incredibly high level, which is why it blows the mind that they were not out there at the end.
Lamb? Darrell Bevell. When a coordinator pulls his top two wideouts on a fourth down play, well, that’s not a recipe for success whatsoever. Bevell had a tough afternoon in terms of balance. Some drives he excelled and others he looked lost. That’s not the kind of consistency the team needs to see in order to win games.
Stat to Note: 2, the number of turnovers the Lions had. Those mistakes led to 14 Oakland points, which was by far the biggest swing in the game. The Lions didn’t take care of the ball early on and they paid dearly for it. The team has to clean up some of their offensive mistakes.
He Said It: “It obviously didn’t work out for us.” -Matt Patricia. After the game, Patricia stated the obvious on WJR’s postgame show in terms of the failed fourth down play. Patricia had better find a way to start winning the inches, or Lions fans are going to lose what little patience they have with the coach and his staff.
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Lions-Raiders Takeaways: Matt Patricia Must Fix Detroit’s Miserable Defense