Welp. I just don’t know what to say anymore about this team. Earlier in the week after the Lions suffered a hosing at the hands of the Green Bay REFS Packers, I wrote that, however the Lions responded after that debacle would be what would ultimately be what defined their season. Well, they responded with a 42-30 loss to a division rival for a third straight loss.
As always, I have thoughts on this game. These are those thoughts.
Lions defense was completely non existent
Somehow this team has been able to somehow perform really well against some of the league’s best quarterbacks, but came out and laid an egg against a middle-tier guy like Kirk Cousins. Look, I’m not gonna take anything away from Cousins. He’s been absolutely balling these last few weeks and Sunday was no different. He was a whiz when it came to play action passes and the Lions bit every single time. Cousins went 24-34 for 337 yards and four touchdowns and completed 70.6% of his passes.
The reason for that is probably because Dalvin Cook was unstoppable all day. He finished the day with 142 yards and two touchdowns. We knew the Lions would have trouble stopping the Vikings run game, but all hope for that was swiftly shut down when Cook continued to beat this defense up for his fifth 100-yard game of the season.
The Lions have a chance for their defense to rebound, as their next two opponents (Giants, Raiders) feature offenses that are currently struggling. But allowing Cousins to pass deep to Stefon Diggs late in a game when you have three timeouts and a chance to get the ball back just isn’t going to cut it anymore.
Kirk Cousins deep over to Diggs
— Arif Hasan, but spooky (@ArifHasanNFL) October 20, 2019
Diggs making a promise to never let go pic.twitter.com/MNQ4GrsixL
The Vikings sealed the game two plays later with another touchdown.
Who are the Lions?
They’re many things, but I’m not sure a good team is one of them anymore. I can’t harp on it enough. The Lions really needed to prove themselves on Sunday after what happened on “Monday Night Football.” They didn’t. They also needed to prove they could beat a good football team. They didn’t do that either.
So with 10 games left and the Lions sitting now at the bottom of the NFC North, is it time to start thinking about next year? Worse yet, is it time to start wondering about this coaching staff and even the man that runs the team, GM Bob Quinn. The Lions really need to get things turned around as soon as possible.
But there was this
The Lions didn’t win the game. But I’m not going to ignore what Marvin Jones did on Sunday. There is just something about this guy when he plays against the Vikings. I just can’t explain it. Jones went off with 10 receptions for 93 yards and four touchdowns. Two of those came against Xavier Rhodes. The last touchdown caused Rhodes to throw his helmet to the ground in anger and frustrated. I get it. I used to be frustrated when I couldn’t beat my dad at things too. Then I turned 15.
Matthew Stafford’s big day at work
Again, the Lions didn’t win. But they did get another good performance from their quarterback. Stafford went 30-45 for 364 yards and four touchdowns. Oh yeah, he also became the quickest quarterback to reach 40,000 career passing yards. Stafford may never get to hoist the Lombardi Trophy or win an MVP award, but the record books will have his name all over them. Let’s just hope someday I’ll be wrong about those two other things.
Injury bug always bites hard
Let me preface this by saying that all injuries are bad. But the Lions always seem to have the game changing injuries rather than losing a guy who plays special teams or a number four receiver. The Lions lost Kerryon Johnson and Darius Slay on Sunday for who knows how long. Even if it’s just one game, the Lions can’t really afford it right now being under .500. Throw on top of that the fact that Da’Shawn Hand has yet to play a game this season and you have trouble going forward, even if the Lions schedule lightens up.
Speaking of lightening up
The Lions can’t do it. There’s 10 games left now and while the Lions will have some easier teams to play against like the Giants, Raiders, Bucs, Washington and the Broncos, they can afford no slip-ups now. The hopes of winning the NFC North are likely dashed again. I’m sorry to say it. I just don’t see how the Lions can catch the Packers being four games back and also having to compete with a Vikings team that just dropped 42 points on them and a Bears team that might be good too.
Right now the Lions have to focus on making the playoffs and they’re pretty much going to have to win eight of the next 10 games to just get a chance to do it. After seven week and Sunday’s performance, my usual optimism is waning pretty hard. I’m sure I’m not alone there.
Anyways, I always end this thing with a song I think reflects this game. So here’s this one.