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If the Detroit Lions lose to the Chicago Bears, all bets are off

By Robert Jones

1 SEP 1992: THE DETROIT LIONS OFFENSE LINES UP WITH THE CHICAGO BEARS DEFENSE AT THE LINE OF SCRIMMAGE DURING THE LIONS 27-24 LOSS AT SOLDIER FIELD IN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS. MANDATORY CREDIT: JONATHAN DANIEL/ALLSPORT
1 SEP 1992: THE DETROIT LIONS OFFENSE LINES UP WITH THE CHICAGO BEARS DEFENSE AT THE LINE OF SCRIMMAGE DURING THE LIONS 27-24 LOSS AT SOLDIER FIELD IN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS. MANDATORY CREDIT: JONATHAN DANIEL/ALLSPORT /
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Motor City meltdowns

So what are we thankful for today? A running game that has started to be productive, even if the Lions can’t win? A defense that keeps everyone on the edge of their seats waiting for them to give up the winning score to their opponents? A coaching staff that can’t seem to find a way to make these players play respectably on special teams or defense?

I have gone on record before as saying that the Bob Quinn/Matt Patricia regime is perhaps the best I’ve seen in Detroit, which is still pretty much the case. Yet as this season continues to slip away down the drain, I can’t bring myself to change my mind because of how bad so many regimes before this have been.

So does that make this regime the best of the worst or is it just that the scale has been so bad that it isn’t hard to get to the top of the list?

Yet despite all of the problems these Lions have had this year, the one that bothers me the most is the defense. Matt Patricia came to Detroit billed as the man who would turnaround the defense. His work in New England as the Patriots defensive coordinator was outstanding, however, here we are, a little over a season and a half into his regime and the Lions can’t muster a good defense.

Even after an offseason filled with signing and drafting players that fit his scheme.

The Detroit Lions have the distinct ignominy of being the only one of three teams in the NFL that has led in every game they have played this season but has a losing record. Both the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers have a lot to show for those leads, but the Lions? Their 3-7-1 record only shows that they couldn’t finish off eight games, which includes the opener against the Cardinals that ended in a tie.

Does anyone else have defense envy?

Now anyone who says the Lions have battled this year and kept themselves in games wouldn’t be incorrect. Teams simply don’t take the lead at some point in every game without battling, but at some point don’t the results matter?

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