The Detroit Lions were lifeless in Week 9 as the team lost to the Minnesota Vikings 24-9. It was the team’s second straight loss and it puts
their playoff hopes on life support. Here are a few things we learned in another
mess of a game:Matthew Stafford needs to be betterMatthew Stafford has been as
inconsistent as ever this season. The quarterback came out incredibly cold to
start the year but seemed to have turned things around. This week he looked like
the guy he was in the early weeks of the season
Kerry Hyder Jersey , though. Stafford’s ball placement was off. His footwork looked terrible as he was often dancing around the pocket when he did not need
to be. The quarterback had a hard time recognizing and reacting to pressure as
well and was partly at fault for the Lions giving up 10 sacks on the day.A lot
of the other players on the team failed to perform as well, but if Stafford is
going to be as bad as he was Sunday, then Detroit stands no chance no matter how
everyone else plays.The offensive line is not the elite unit it was being
heralded asDetroit’s offensive line looked great in pass protection the first
half of the season. Stafford often had a clean pocket to throw from and the
advanced metrics seemed to love them. It all fell apart in Week 9,
though.Minnesota has one of the league’s best pass rushes—featuring both Everson
Griffen and Danielle Hunter among many others—but an elite unit like the one the
Lions were being talked up as has no excuse for being as bad as they were
Sunday. Rick Wagner was playing like one of the best tackles in football for the
first month of the season but has now put together back-to-back bad games
against the Vikings and Seattle Seahawks. T.J. Lang is struggling with injuries
again and backup guard Kenny Wiggins might as well have been a turnstile. Taylor
Decker has been struck with the injury bug as well and the entire unit is once
again falling apart. They gave up 10 sacks, pressures on nearly every drop back
and could not create room for the run game to get going. It has been an overall
terrible couple of weeks for them. Theo Riddick will help replace Golden TateOne
of the biggest story lines for the Lions offense this week was dealing with the
loss of Golden Tate. While TJ Jones and Brandon Powell were the guys many
thought would step up, it looks like running back Theo Riddick will be the guy
to usurp Tate’s role instead. The running back had missed the last two games
with a knee injury but now is back in the lineup. While he still was often lined
up in his regular role as a running back, he was also split out wide a few
times. His shifty route-running ability translated into the slot with ease and
he was the most effective slot receiver for the Lions. He led the team with
seven receptions, though it was only for a lowly 36 yards. Detroit will probably
allow Jones, and eventually Powell, get some work in the slot going forward, but
for now it looks like Riddick is the team’s best chance at replacing their star
wide out. The run defense has improved drastically The addition of Damon
Harrison Sr. is already playing off and then some for Detroit. Harrison has been
a force in the middle of the Lions defensive front, and his impact has been
huge. While Detroit did give up a long
Graham Glasgow Jersey , 70-yard run to running back Dalvin Cook they were great defending the run outside of that one hiccup. For the rest of the game,
Cook and fellow running back Latavius Murray combined for 50 yards on 19
carries— a mere 2.6 yards per carry. Harrison closed out everything inside and
the linebackers did a great job cleaning up behind him. What was the Lions’
biggest issue in the past has been partially alleviated, and that is a good sign
for them going forward. DETROIT — The Detroit Lions took advantage of
some mistakes they forced Green Bay to make and were fortunate some breaks
simply went their way.Matthew Stafford threw two touchdown passes and LeGarrette
Blount ran for two scores, lifting the Lions to a 31-23 win over the Packers on
Sunday.More Packers coveragePhotos of the Week: 7/21/19 – 7/27/19Packers rookie
Gary’s biggest critic is himselfTop Tweets: Former Badger TJ Watt has impressive
four-year transformationPHOTOS: 2019 Green Bay Packers training campPackers’
Rodgers, LaFleur ironing out offense, building chemistryDetroit (2-3) earned a
win it desperately needed under first-year coach Matt Patricia, going into its
bye week.“We get two weeks to 10 days to sit on whatever happens,” said
Stafford, who was 14 of 26 for 183 yards with two TDs and no turnovers. “And, it
feels a whole lot better with a win.”Green Bay (2-2-1) was doomed because
veteran Mason Crosby had the worst game of his life and two-time NFL MVP Aaron
Rodgers lost two fumbles for just the third time in his 14-year career.“We just
couldn’t overcome all the things we did wrong,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy
said. “We did some good things in the second half, but you can’t dig yourself
that kind of hole.”Crosby missed a career-high four field goals in one game and
failed to make an extra point to boot. He connected on a field goal with 2
seconds left
Da'Shawn Hand Jersey White , but that wasn’t of much consolation after his poor performance.“I look back and I’m thinking, in my childhood, in high school,
this is definitely one of the worst ones,” said Crosby, the first NFL kicker to
miss four field goals in a game since 2010.Detroit recovered an onside kick to
seal the win, preventing Rodgers from getting another chance at a game-winning
Hail Mary in Detroit like the one he threw in 2015.The Lions built a big lead in
the first half, picking up where they left off in their last home game, a
16-point win over the New England Patriots.Blount had a pair of 1-yard TD runs
in the first quarter and Stafford’s 8-yard pass to Marvin Jones late in the
second quarter put Detroit up 24-0.Patricia, though, didn’t think the Lions’
cushion was comfortable.“Unfortunately, I’ve seen that quarterback on the other
side there crush a lot of leads pretty quickly and come back
Womens Sylvester Williams Jersey ,” said Patricia, a former Patriots defensive coordinator.Rodgers, missing injured receivers Randall Cobb and
Geronimo Allison, threw short TDs to rookie Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Lance
Kendricks in the third to pull the Packers within 10 points.Stafford answered
with a 5-yard TD pass to Kenny Golladay early in the fourth quarter to give
Detroit a 31-14 lead.“It was big to chew up some time to give our defense a
little bit of a rest and come away with some points,” Stafford said.Rodgers
connected with Davante Adams on a 12-yard throw for a third TD pass, but Crosby
hit the left upright on the extra point to let the Lions keep an 11-point lead
midway through the fourth quarter. Adams has scored in 10 straight road games,
equaling a league record set by Tommy McDonald of the Philadelphia Eagles from
1959 to 1961.Rodgers was 32 of 52 for 442 yards — the second-highest total of
his career — with three TD passes.“We’ve been a one-half team all year,” he
said. “We need to do something about that.”STREAKINGThe Lions, who didn’t face
Rodgers last year, have won three straight in the series for the first time the
1990-91 seasons.SOUND STRATEGYDetroit had success on defense, going after
Rodgers with just four players and dropping seven into coverage. Rodgers held
onto the ball to wait for receivers to get open, but they couldn’t
Youth Austin Bryant Jersey , and it led to three sacks and his two fumbles.“They gave up rushers in order to extend plays, and they got some turnovers out of it,”
McCarthy said. “We’re usually successful in those situations, but they did some
good things.”INJURY REPORTPackers: LB Nick Perry (ankle) and CB Kevin King
(chin) were hurt during the game.Lions: RB Kerryon Johnson, who ran for 70 yards
on 12 carries, went out in the fourth quarter after appearing to hurt his right
ankle. CB Teez Tabor (groin) and CB Jamal Agnew (knee) also left the game with
injuries.UP NEXTPackers: Host San Francisco on Monday, Oct. 15.Lions: Off until
playing at Miami on Oct. 21.
