For the fans who were or still are outraged by last Sundays Titanic-like effort by the Lions to sink themselves, you have every right to be angry. You have every right to be frustrated, and you have every right to say ‘same old Lions’. Because we all expected more. Two straight years of being done-in by a rookie quarterback in the season opener is absolutely unacceptable.
However, here’s the deal: The season isn’t over yet, despite those who have already declared it kaput. What the Lions have done is make it more difficult on themselves and if they want to win back the fans, it has to start this Sunday against a pretty good Los Angeles Chargers team.
We also need to understand that last Sunday’s embarrassment wasn’t the result of one time out or one particular play. The Lions lost for two reasons; the first was missed opportunities and the second was letting up when the game seemed to be over.
Think about Tracy Walker‘s interception that would have resulted in at least a field goal if the Lions hadn’t been able to advance the ball even one yard. Instead, Taylor Decker was beat like a rented mule and the blindside hit on Matthew Stafford caused a fumble to give the Cardinals the ball back.
That’s called a missed opportunity. Jamal Agnew fumbling the punt return was another big missed opportunity and quite frankly, despite the Lions being in control of the game in the first three-quarters of play, they didn’t execute as well as they should have. They should have had a much bigger lead in the fourth quarter than they did.
For those of you who blame the coaching staff, think about how well in general, despite mistakes, the offense looked in the first three-quarters of play. They looked ready to bust out at any moment. Was the ground game a disappointment? Definitely, but what about the passing game? And it underachieved too.
Yes, they got too conservative in the fourth quarter and frankly needed to go to the T.J. Hockenson well more often because between practices, preseason and the opener, he still hasn’t been covered yet.