Detroit Lions: 10 observations from Sunday’s loss to Colts

5. Yes, Jack Fox punts it well. That’s not really something to celebrate

In his most recent display of stratosphere-shattering boots, Fox had 262 punting yards on Sunday. He snagged a low snap that was rolling on the turf and still managed a 57 yard bomb with his first kick. At this rate, Fox legitimately has a chance to earn All-Pro honors as a rookie.

The three and outs have to stop. The sacks taken on third down have to stop. Wasted downs with runs up the middle for no gain have to stop. He’s done a fantastic job, but I really don’t want to know whether Jack Fox punts it well or not.

6. This team is woefully bad at gaining momentum, and even worse at holding onto it

Sunday’s examples:

• Leading 7-0, the D forces a huge three-way sack on third down to knock the Colts out of field goal range. Danny Shelton wastes it with an unnecessary roughness penalty. I heard the whistle blowing. Somebody twenty feet away in an empty stadium can hear it too. The Colts scored a few plays later and the onslaught was on.
• Trailing 20-7, Stafford leads a frantic drive to get into field goal range for the final play of the half. Matt Prater misses his fifth field goal of the season, this one a hooked 48-yarder that wasn’t even close.
• Trailing 20-14, both the offense and defense look good in unison for a few possessions. Stafford not only takes a third down sack with the Lions in field goal range, but the ball is stripped and the Colts recover.
• Overall: Riding the feel goods of a two game winning streak and returning home for the first time in a month, the Lions lay another egg that leaves us once again pissed off at ourselves for starting to have some optimism.