Lions vs. Cowboys: What Just Happened?

Well, that was fun. Of course by fun, I mean it was as much fun as standing in line at the DMV all day. Or performing a home lobotomy with butter knives and a whisk. Both of those things should not be done. Basically what I’m trying to say is, the Lions lost 42-21. Here are my thoughts.

I want to start here. If there’s one thing that caught my eye tonight, it was the sudden flex back into the “SOL’ narrative and oddly attacking Lions beat writers on Twitter. “Fire everyone” and “cut so and so.” As my pal Scott put it, sometimes you just get beat by a better team. The Lions got beat by that better team on Monday. In fact, they got beat by the best team in the league. A team we all knew they would get beat by. Why are we so shocked and appalled now?

Wanted: A’Shawn Robinson for attempted murder

Seems legit right? We can argue all day whether Robinson is in the wrong or not here. My take is that this was a dumb flag. Dumb for the refs, and dumb for Robinson. For the refs, seriously guys. that was the gentlest of “slams” I’ve ever seen. For Robinson, you have to be smarter than that. Just take the guy down and move on. Still, we got this great tweet out of it.

Refs beat the Lions. Actually they didn’t

Look, I know blaming the refs is one of Lions fans’ favorite things to do. But on Monday night, it wasn’t justified. The NFL get’s nothing out of the Cowboys beating the Lions in prime time. Nobody gets anything out of it. Were there some bad calls? Yes. There always is. Did it cost the Lions the game? No, not really. Is the NFL out to get the Lions? Not at all.

I can’t be anymore plain and simple about this. The Lions got outplayed in every facet of the game by a much better team. A team that could very well win it all. The Lions lost this game. nobody lost it for them.

Zenner God

Man, that was awesome. Sometimes you have to take the good with the bad. While it didn’t last long, Lions fans got to see Zach Zenner play his heart out in prime time. The whole country watched a running back they have never heard of go to town on the number one run defense in the league. Then they saw him disappear. But that’s a whole other story

Ziggy got another sack

Nobody got hurt

Well, at least nobody got hurt bad enough. When your team takes a loss this ugly, you have to be happy that all your players walked away unscathed. But seriously James, why was Stafford still in the game down 21?

Asa/Bademosi/Lawson/I feel sick

If the Cowboys had realized earlier in the game that they could throw all over the Lions practice squad corners, the score might have been even worse. Asa Jackson is bad. Like really bad. Like let Cole Beasley school you bad. Nevin Lawson is just not the same without Darius Slay. And Johnson Bademosi is a much better special teamer. The Lions need Slay back next Sunday. They need it so badly they can taste it.

ESPN had a bad day

I rarely complain about the TV experience because I just don’t care enough, but ESPN was all around horrible Monday night. Stupid animated graphics, UFO’s, camera that’ll give you vertigo and whatever the hell this was?

Let’s not forget the announcers. At some point in the third quarter the play-by-play team went full Joe Buck and stopped calling the game to profess their undying love for the Dallas Cowboys. It was so bad that timeouts were happening and nobody could figure out who took it. I have no problem with announcers showing admiration for players or teams, but take it down a notch.

Cheer for the Giants

I don’t want to be Debbie Downer, but chances are the Lions could very well lose to the Packers next week. I mean, we’ve all seen this movie before. But the Lions season doesn’t have to go to waste. If you’re a fan that doesn’t want to see failure, the Lions can make it into the playoffs with a Redskins loss. So go Giants, I guess.

Put this behind you and do right by the fans

You know what cures these two losses? Winning the NFC North on New Year’s Day. The Lions—and America, for that matter—can put all the woes of 2016 behind them and open up 2017 with a huge win. The Lions aren’t out of their element in this game. Can they compete with the upper tier? No, not yet. Can they compete with the Packers at home in front of their own raucous crowd? Absolutely.

So don’t give up yet. I know you’re tired of hearing that. I’m tired of saying it. But the Lions season has not ended yet. They still have chances to make it all better. In the meantime, let me quickly gloat about making it to the Super Bowl in fantasy. I’ll be right back.

Phew. That was some good celebrating. Cheer up everyone. Be sure to leave your comments below or come yell at me on Twitter @POD_Payton. Now to end the piece and keep up with the odd trend I’ve been doing all season, here’s the most emotional Fresh Prince moments ever. Maybe this will help let it all out.