Detroit Lions must overcome Arizona collapse to beat the Chargers

What I’m getting at is that while the comeback was disappointing and nauseating, if the Lions had stopped the Cardinals on the last drive of regulation or even scored a touchdown to win the game in overtime instead of the field goal that helped secure a tie, we would all have pointed out how sloppily they finished the game, but would have been encouraged by what positives there were.

This team has opened the door to the possibility of another heart-breaking season, but they have also shown signs of being able to be pretty good if they can eliminate their mistakes and play four solid quarters.

Some fans are already dismissing the possibility of winning this Sunday against the Chargers as being the ‘Lion thing to do’. Give away a game they should have won and then win a game they shouldn’t.

We saw how sloppy they were in giving away the Cardinals game, but if they play four quarters, minimize their mistakes and beat the Chargers all while looking like a real NFL team, then there may be more to this year’s Lions than meets the eye.

But they would have to follow up with consistent performances in the subsequent games.

When given time Stafford looked like the franchise quarterback he’s supposed to be. I’m pretty sure Kerryon Johnson would have looked pretty good too if he had ever been a given an actual hole to run through. The defense made plays and got stops for three quarters, but where was the pass-rush in the fourth quarter?

While we all blame the Lions for Sunday’s atrocity, we have to give credit to the Cardinals for taking advantage of the Lions’ letdown. They played the fourth quarter the way the Lions should have. And once they started to get momentum and belief in themselves, it became twice as hard for the Lions to stop them.

The season isn’t over yet and there is still plenty of opportunity for the Lions to turn this season into a happy ending, even after this agonizing start. But it’s On Matt Patricia, his coaching staff and the players to get the job done.

They blew a great chance to start off the season strong, but now how will they react to adversity? Will they feel sorry for themselves, like we did as fans because of another horrendous exhibition of ‘same old Lions’ football or will the sour taste in their mouth become motivation?

Failure to turn around this season will be completely the fault of these coaches and players if they don’t because they have enough talent to achieve much more than we saw last Sunday. It’s time to step up and do it or surrender to the abysmal history of this team like so many coaches and players have before them.