Pride Of Detroit - Lions vs. Vikings: Detroit drops to 1-3 with 20-13 loss to MinnesotaA Detroit Lions blog by Lions fans, for Lions fans.https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/51601/pod-fav.png2013-12-29T14:20:53-05:00http://www.prideofdetroit.com/rss/stream/31860812013-12-29T14:20:53-05:002013-12-29T14:20:53-05:00Lions at Vikings: Second half open thread
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<figcaption>Adam Bettcher</figcaption>
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<p>The Detroit Lions are down 7-0 at halftime to the Minnesota Vikings.</p> <p>Only one half to go in the season.</p>
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https://www.prideofdetroit.com/2013/12/29/5249770/lions-vikings-second-half-open-threadSean Yuille2012-10-01T10:01:15-04:002012-10-01T10:01:15-04:00Lions quotes: Stafford, others talk Vikings game
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<p>Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford and other players spoke to the media following Sunday's loss to the Minnesota Vikings.</p> <p>After Sunday's loss to the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.dailynorseman.com/">Minnesota Vikings</a>, various <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.prideofdetroit.com/">Detroit Lions</a> players shared their thoughts on what went down. Via the <a target="_blank" href="http://detroitlions.com/">Lions</a>, here's a look at what they had to say:</p>
<p><b><u>LIONS QB MATTHEW STAFFORD</u></b></p>
<p><b>On being 1-3:</b> "It's frustrating. Obviously you don't like losing football games. We keep shooting ourselves in the foot. Offense, defense, special teams - everybody's had a hand in it. We deserve our record, obviously. We are what we are. Got a bye-week coming up - got to do what we need to do to rectify some things and find a way, on offense, to get the ball in the endzone and win some games."</p>
<p><b>On if this is a good time for the bye week:</b> "I don't know. Bye weeks come whenever they come. We don't plan our season around them, I guess."</p>
<p><b>On what they were doing to shut down the offense:</b> "It was us. That's a good defense - they have good personnel - but they play the same two coverages the whole game and, other than one blitz on the goal line, that's two games in a row without a blitz. Nobody wants to blitz us.</p>
<p>"We've got to find ways to stay ahead of the chains. Had too many negative runs, I missed too many guys, we had too many dropped passes, too many penalties. All of that... Margins in this league are not that big and we're on the other side of the margin right now."</p>
<p><b>On if teams are focusing on taking away big plays and if they have to change their attack:</b> "We don't really have to adjust. Teams are definitely doing that, but we don't have to adjust, necessarily. We had some plays; we do a good job - we have a good intermediate passing game. We just shot ourselves in the foot on first down. They were playing good box the whole game. We struggled running the football, so that's tough."</p>
<p><b>On how damaging it was to come out with nothing on 3<sup>rd</sup>-and-5 and 4<sup>th</sup>-and-5:</b> "It's tough. That was the only blitz we saw all game. I thought it was picked up on the back side. Miscommunication. Just something that happened, obviously. It's tough to not come away with points there. We needed it. Had a lot of opportunities. Had a lot of 3<sup>rd</sup>-and-short. Shoot, almost didn't get the quarterback sneak for a touchdown, too. Got to be better there."</p>
<p><b>On settling for field goals:</b> "Just not executing well enough. Got a good plan. Whether it's me missing guys open or us not being efficient enough in the run game or guys not making plays that they caN make - it's all the way around. It's the whole team. Guys just not making plays that we can make. Guys have got to start playing to their potential and playing to their expectations - it starts with me. I've got to play better."</p>
<p><b>On the sideline after all of the special teams' returns for touchdowns:</b> "It's frustrating, but I'm sure it's frustrating for people to be on the sideline and us go three-and-out, too. We're a team, we play together. Everybody's had a hand in every one of these. We have to find a way to tighten it up a little bit In each phase. You do that... We've got the talent. It's not the players, it's not the scheme. It's just guys executing, going out and making plays; Not shooting ourselves in the foot and just got to stay ahead of the chains, keep it moving and find ways for us to score on offense."</p>
<p><b><u>LIONS WR NATE BURLESON</u></b></p>
<p><b>On whether there is a disconnect with the team: </b>"We've just got to figure out how to start faster. We're a good team, we can put points on the board, defense plays well. But playing from behind week-in and week-out, it's tough. It's the NFL. You get behind, the majority of the time you're not going to come back. I'm pretty sure the fans love an edge-of-your-seat win, but for us it's tough. Teams get to basically figuring out what you're doing if you become one-dimensional because you have to pass at the end of the game, they have the advantage in their play-calling. They can just sit back and basically wait for us to go for a ball."</p>
<p><b>On why the offense isn't scoring early:</b> "If I had that answer they wouldn't be stalling out. I keep saying that once we feel that sense of urgency, we kick it into high gear and we start to move the ball, we put points on the board. We've just got to figure out how to turn on that switch at the beginning of the games and play with that sense of urgency. We just haven't done that lately."</p>
<p><b>On if it is third-and-long that stalls drives:</b> "No. I just think it's playing faster on first and second down. There's going to be third downs in this League. That's what the League is based off of, especially with passing teams. We've got to be successful on third downs but we can kind of eliminate that with taking advantage of our first and second downs. Catching the ball; running good routes, just doing our job, but more importantly, just scoring. We need to score touchdowns early in games. When we get a lead it works wonders for our confidence and we play a lot faster."</p>
<p><b>On if the struggles are due to play calling or execution:</b> "The play calling is fine. As players we've got to execute what we do. As a team, we just didn't make the plays we need to make and that's all phases. I'm not going to point out any guys or any specific side of the ball, offense, defense and special teams. We just didn't do our job today and that hurt us."</p>
<p><b>On QB <span>Matthew Stafford</span> being the only offense player to score for either team:</b> "Yeah, it is a weird day, but we had opportunities. Even though he's the only one that scored, you've got to think about the opportunities we had to score. If we didn't have those opportunities to score and we just never got in the end zone, never got our hands on the ball, then we could say ‘We need to go back to the drawing board, get a new playbook, start from scratch,' but that's not the case. When the play calling is working and guys are open and we're just not executing as players, we've got to dig down a little bit deeper and figure out what it is we need to do as players to make those plays and come up with those big plays that could change the complexity of the game early.</p>
<p><b><u>LIONS RB MIKEL LESHOURE</u></b></p>
<p><b>On if he would have ever expected the offense to only score one touchdown: </b>"No, definitely not. I wouldn't have thought we only had one or Matthew Stafford just having one. Unfortunately, that's the way the game went and, you know, we got to get better."</p>
<p><b>On if he thinks everybody will take the loss personally: </b>"Well, I mean, yeah. I hope everybody does take it personally and get back to the drawing boards.</p>
<p>"This wasn't a special teams loss, this wasn't defensive loss, offensive loss. It was all of us. It was a lot of things that factored in and we've just got to eliminate mistakes."</p>
<p><b>On what needs to be fixed with the team: </b>"We just got to play a full game. It feels like, you know, we're being a second-half team, a fourth quarter team specifically. But we've got to get going from the first quarter on. First series, first drive. And we can't keep settling for three points. When we get down to the red zone we got to score. We got to punch it in."</p>
<p><b>On the frustration of the offense: </b>"Yeah, it is frustrating. It's frustrating because we know we're a better group. We got probably one of the most talented teams offensively in the league and we just need to put it together. We're beating ourselves sometimes, we're missing catches, we're fumbling and we can't have that. Can't have that and win."</p>
<p><b>On how deflating missed opportunities have been for the team: </b> "Fumble. I'll start with myself. A fumble, I mean, it's not characteristic for me. It's nothing that I do but I got caught and, you know, they took advantage of me having the ball not tucked in and put away right. I can't have that. I can't have it, especially not in the red zone because that's when we're about to score. So me personally, I need to eliminate that. As far as the offensive players, we just need to catch the ball and do our jobs."</p>
<p><b><u>LIONS LB DEANDRE LEVY</u></b></p>
<p><b>On if the Vikings did anything on offense that surprised them:</b> "They didn't do too much new - maybe a wrinkle here and there. But, you know, you don't want to put it on things, ‘Oh, it's only six points'. But we're winning this as a team so we've got to make plays all together. If we're in that position we've got to find a way to get turnovers or score on defense or whatever it is. We have to take it up even an extra level. Six points is too much."</p>
<p><b>On how disappointing it is to come home and lose:</b> "It's incredibly disappointing. You know, coming home you'd think we'd have a little bit of energy, a little burst, come out the gates firing. They came out, opened it up with a kickoff return. They took the momentum from the get-go and we were clawing our way back and waited to the end. We've just got to work on starting faster. That's something that we tried to emphasize this week and I don't think we started fast enough."</p>
<p><b>On if the loss stings more because of the upcoming bye week:</b> "Absolutely. I think that was something that was on the guys' minds, you know, going into this bye week on a little bit of a high note. Hopefully, this will simmer for two weeks or whatever and we come back ready to work and ready to get after it."</p>
<p><b><u>LIONS DE CLIFF AVRIL</u></b></p>
<p><b>On if he is hopeful about his injury: </b>"Am I hopeful of what, having a good back? Yes, yeah. I mean I'm fine right now walking around so that's a good sign. Like I said, we'll see what the results say. It just happened. I think I'll be alright. We've just got to figure out what's going on and then, you know, find out what I can do to calm it down and we'll go from there."</p>
<p><b>On if he still feels the team can get to where it needs to be: </b>"Yes, I mean, we put ourselves in these bad situations or whatever. It's our play. So there's just different things we have to correct and luckily we have the bye-week coming up where guys can evaluate themselves and try to get on the right track."</p>
<p><b>On still being disappointed in the game despite a good day defensively: </b>"Is it disappointing? It's a team sport. There's going to be games where offense has to back us up, special teams has to back us up. So, you know, I think once we get all three phases going I think we're unstoppable. It's just about getting all three phases going."</p>
<p><b>On if he's happy with the defense's performance: </b>"We lost. We lost so it doesn't make a difference how good we played. We lost the game so you can't ever feel happy about losing. You know, we just want to make the corrections and proceed to win some games."</p>
<p><b>On the bye-week making it difficult to bounce back right away: </b>"Exactly. There's no 24-hour rule, per say, to get ready for the next team because now you can just dwell on this for the next week. So it leaves a nasty taste in your mouth and hopefully that gets us going, put us in gear to go and try to win some games."</p>
<p><b>On if he was surprised with how well Vikings RB Adrian Peterson played: </b>"No, we watched film. We noticed how good he was. He's been playing pretty good the last few weeks. Can't take anything away from that guy. He's a heck of a football player."</p>
<p><b><u>LIONS K JASON HANSON</u></b></p>
<p><b>On giving up two special teams touchdowns: </b>"It's terrible and so is the frustration of, we can't do anything right now on the kickoff. We're the ones that, you know, we've got to start coming up with slight gimmick stuff which is like conceding defeat. I mean, so I hope the guys take it personally, you know, that we're not good enough. We can't even kick the ball down the field."</p>
<p><b>On if the kickoff return kick was placed correctly: </b>"Yes. Yeah, we just, that guy's good. Percy Harvin's really good. But we play good guys every week in our division. We play out of our division and we're playing good returners and, you know, I don't want to bloop - you take it short, squib. I want to be the team that, you know, they're adjusting to. Right now we've made it so that we're in their back pocket and we got to kick it short."</p>
<p><b>On not learning from special teams mistakes last week at Tennessee: </b>"Yeah, I mean, but you know what, I feel like that's a good pulse of the team right now. Most of the time if you're covering good your team's on fire. You're running hard, you're kicking good. It can be the pulse of the team and to me that's mimicking what we're doing right now. And so, I mean, it isn't right. We've got two weeks to get it right. I'll do whatever it takes and the guys will too. I know we have a break but, I really can't stand again, where we've got to invent stuff to do because we can't do what we're supposed to. I'm saying everyone. Last week I hit it on the wrong side and, I mean, we should cover but it killed us. And then this week we do and we got punched. So it's not good."</p>
<p><b>On the opening kickoff return setting the tone for the rest of the game: </b>"Yeah, I mean, those are killer. We kind of fought for a while and held them and then made some field goals. But you come out the gate and it's just, you're trying to make a statement and you let them make a statement. You know, you're 15 seconds into the game and there's boos and there should be. We fought back from that in a sense. We played some ball after that, but it's just completely unacceptable. I mean, everybody knows it and it still happens. So that's got to get fixed."</p>
<p><b>On changing the little things in the game: </b>"I think big things need to change. There's no excuse for us giving up touchdowns and not covering. I can kick the ball, Nick (Harris) here, he can the ball. We need to do it better and we need to cover better and all special teams need to get their act together because we're good. But we're garbage right now and we're killing our team. So I hope everybody takes it personally. The only way is you play smart but we have got to pick it up and determine, you know, fly. That can't happen. It just can't happen."</p>
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https://www.prideofdetroit.com/2012/10/1/3436486/lions-quotes-matthew-stafford-vikings-gameSean Yuille2012-10-01T08:04:26-04:002012-10-01T08:04:26-04:00Lions quotes: Jim Schwartz talks loss to Vikings
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<figcaption>Leon Halip - Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Detroit Lions head coach Jim Schwartz spoke to the media about Sunday's loss to the Minnesota Vikings.</p> <p>Following Sunday's <a href="http://www.prideofdetroit.com/2012/9/30/3434304/lions-vikings-score-recap-2012">20-13 loss to the Minnesota Vikings</a>, <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.prideofdetroit.com/">Detroit Lions</a> head coach Jim Schwartz met with the media. He addressed several topics, although most of the focus was on the Lions' special teams issues. Via the <a href="http://detroitlions.com/">Lions</a>, here's a look at what he had to say:</p>
<p><b>On special teams: </b>"We've given up five non-defensive scores in the last two weeks. We're 1-3 right now because we deserve to be 1-3 and that's part of the reason. Opening kickoff; one of our major points this week was what we needed to do on kickoff because we knew Harvin's a threat. We had a great kick out of <span>Jason Hanson</span>. Last week we didn't get very good about the location of our kicks, let's make no mistake about it: This time we had great location. Great kick by Jason. We knew he could bring it out. We didn't get guys off blocks and we gave up a touchdown. The other one - honestly, I thought we were going to force a fumble on the play. We had a free guy and I couldn't believe he didn't fair catch the ball. He ran through one tackle and we did an absolutely poor job. But that wasn't just all. Two defensive pass interference penalties set up their only scores. Five or six sacks; we couldn't run the ball against good looks to run the football. We dropped touchdown passes and we fumbled the ball in the plus territory. And that's why when I say we deserve to be 1-3, those are the reasons."</p>
<p><b>On why there have been so many breakdowns on special teams: </b>"It's been different things. Like I said, today we got great kick location. We had a great opportunity to bring the ball all the way across the field. And we knew it was going to be a challenge with Harvin, but there is no excuse there. The other one, we should have that guy wrapped up. We missed a tackle, he broke the tackle - however you want to put it. They're physical mistakes, they're not mental mistakes. We need to play better."</p>
<p><b>On changing personnel on special teams: </b>"You have to look at everything. Other than the throwback it's not like we're getting out-schemed or messing up schemes. We haven't physically been able to make the play."</p>
<p><b>On taking the bye-week to make some major changes and determining what is going on with your team right now: </b>"I think you need to balance both of those. There are certainly things that we can't continue to do but I don't know that we can practice not fumbling the ball. I don't know if we can practice catching the ball. We're professional athletes and those are things that we have to be able to accomplish. We certainly have to be able to run the ball better. Particularly with the defensive game plans we've been getting. Last week we got a lot of first downs. One of the reasons is that we were able to rush the ball against good looks. We got our butts kicked up front. We got sacked and couldn't run the ball. Again, physically we need to be able to do that better."</p>
<p><b>On making a special teams coaching change an option: </b>"No, that's not a consideration. If we were getting out-schemed, if we were making continual mistakes; there are physical plays that we have to make and we're professional athletes. We have to make them."</p>
<p><b>On his level of concern after four games this season: </b>"The first quarter of the season is done; we're 1-3. We didn't start off the way we wanted to. There is nothing to say that we can't get it back and that's our challenge right now is to dig our way out of this. We're not going to sit here for a half-hour and tell you all the circumstances of teams that have done it and everything else. But none of that matters. Doesn't matter if other people have done it, doesn't matter that people have gone to the playoffs and everything else, have lost three in a row during the season or started off bad; I mean everybody has those experiences. None of those matter to this team. What matters to this team is we need to put these mistakes behind us and we need to play better. When we do we'll win. There is a reason we're 1-3 and it hasn't been bad luck. We've made ourselves have to overcome way too much. Even going back to the opener, we won, we were -3 in turnovers. We were lucky to win that game. Last week, today, like I said, five non-defensive scores and today we weren't able to overcome in scoring enough on offense."</p>
<p><b>On what he makes of all the boos of the fans: </b>"They're voicing their same displeasures as is their right to do. We need to play better. I thought the fans were excellent today. At the end, they were loud as can be, got the ball back, nobody was leaving. I thought our fans were fantastic today. We need to play better if we don't want to hear boos."</p>
<p><b>On being satisfied with trying to balance the run game with the pass game: </b>"We have to be able to run and last week I think we did. I think we accomplished what we needed to accomplish from our running game. But today we didn't slow their rush down and we didn't get those first downs or explosives. The one we did, we fumbled and it makes it hard to continue to stick with it. Last week we were able to continue to stick with it because we rushed for 11 first downs and we were moving the chains. This game we didn't do that and that had a big effect on our pass game and had a big effect on the pass rush that we faced."</p>
<p><b>On QB Matthew Stafford having trouble sorting stuff out: "</b>Sorting what out? I mean you give credit to them. We didn't play well enough. I don't know what you're trying to get at."</p>
<p><b>On QB <span>Matthew Stafford's</span> play: </b>"We didn't score enough to win."</p>
<p><b>On if the offense not scoring early is because they're relying on the fact they can come and score later in the game: </b>"No, I don't think that's it at all. I think it has more to do with the more the opponents are playing us. They're playing to bend-but-don't-break, take away big plays, and make us drive the ball and when they do that we have to be efficient. You can't afford a sack; you can't afford a -3 run, a third down incompletion. Those kind of things, those are the things we have to play more efficiently on offense. If the plays aren't there, you can't make them. But again, you have to be able capitalize. And last week even though we didn't score early, we moved the ball, we got first downs, and today we didn't do those things."</p>
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https://www.prideofdetroit.com/2012/10/1/3436482/lions-quotes-jim-schwartz-vikings-gameSean Yuille2012-09-30T19:20:17-04:002012-09-30T19:20:17-04:00Lions fall to 1-3 with 20-13 loss to Vikings
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<p>The Detroit Lions are in shambles after losing to the Minnesota Vikings by a score of 20-13 on Sunday.</p> <p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.prideofdetroit.com/">Detroit Lions</a> needed a win on Sunday against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.dailynorseman.com/">Minnesota Vikings</a> to get back to .500 going into their bye week. As bad as they've played lately, the Lions could have put all of that behind them with a victory on Sunday, setting the tone for the rest of the season.</p>
<p>The Lions did set the tone for the rest of the season, but not in a good way. Detroit came out flat-footed yet again and fell behind early thanks to awful special teams play. Although the defense struggled at times, overall it played pretty well, but the Lions couldn't overcome their mediocre play on offense and special teams. As a result, the Vikings ended up winning by a score of 20-13, handing the Lions their third consecutive loss.</p>
<p>Just as the Lions set the tone for what is shaping up to be a rough season with the loss to the Vikings, they set the tone for another disappointing performance on the opening kickoff of Sunday's game. Their special teams issues from last week carried over with <span>Percy Harvin</span> returning the game's opening kickoff 105 yards for a touchdown. He wasn't even touched, and the Lions once again showed off their awful coverage by allowing him to take the kick to the house.</p>
<p>The Lions actually looked like they might provide a quick and forceful response to the kickoff return for a touchdown. On the Lions' first offensive play, with the Vikings jumping offside, <span>Matthew Stafford</span> threw a bomb to <span>Calvin Johnson</span>, who drew a pass interference penalty. The Lions declined the offside call and accepted the pass interference penalty, which gave them 56 free yards. Unfortunately, just as we've seen in the last couple weeks, the Lions couldn't do anything with the good field position and had to settle for a 40-yard field goal.</p>
<p>After the two teams traded punts, the Vikings worked their way down the field thanks in part to a pass interference penalty on Bill Bentley. Bentley never looked back, making it an easy call for the officials. The penalty gave the Vikings 31 yards and put them in position to ultimately kick a 49-yard field goal, making this a 10-3 game.</p>
<p>Following yet another Lions punt, the Vikings got the ball back deep in their own territory. They weren't there for long, though. An 18-yard run by <span>Adrian Peterson</span> got the Vikings out of the shadow of their own goal posts, and a 17-yard pass from <span>Christian Ponder</span> to Harvin moved the ball to near midfield. Then, after another pass interference penalty on Bentley (this one good for 26 yards), the Vikings were able to once again kick a field goal after the Lions' defense made a stop. This time <span>Blair Walsh</span> connected from 27 yards out to give the Vikings a 13-3 lead.</p>
<p>The Lions' offense finally had some success moving the ball on their next drive. Stafford had a big 19-yard pass to Johnson, and then he found <span>Titus Young</span> for 17 yards on the very next play. An unnecessary roughness penalty shortly after moved the Lions into first-and-goal territory, which is when the drive stalled. Stafford was sacked, and after Johnson couldn't hang on in the end zone when he took a big hit and <span>Brandon Pettigrew</span> had an awful drop when he was wide open in the end zone, the Lions had to settle for a 31-yard <span>Jason Hanson</span> field goal.</p>
<p>The Vikings were unable to score before halftime thanks to some excellent pressure by the Lions' defense. This meant that the Lions got to start the second half with the ball and down only a touchdown. Unsurprisingly, they didn't capitalize on the opportunity to put points on the board. The Lions picked up 16 yards on the first play of the third quarter, but the drive stalled after that, forcing a punt. This turned out to be a big disaster for the Lions, as <span>Marcus Sherels</span> took <span>Nick Harris</span>' punt back 77 yards for yet another special teams touchdown. <span>Kassim Osgood</span> whiffed on a tackle as soon as Sherels got the ball, and several other Lions missed tackles, allowing Sherels to score the touchdown.</p>
<p>Now with no momentum whatsoever, the Lions needed to really come out and make a statement if they were going to get back into this game. They got off to a good start on the next drive with a 26-yard pass to <span>Nate Burleson</span>, but that was just about all they could manage. Fast forward to third-and-one at the Minnesota 40 a few plays later and the Lions got stuffed. Then, on fourth-and-one, the Lions decided to punt instead of trying to go for it. The crowd booed and the Lions looked like they were just about done.</p>
<p>The Lions' defense rose to the occasion by getting a stop, and a 27-yard punt return by <span>Stefan Logan</span> gave Detroit great field position yet again. The offense once again couldn't do anything with it, though, as the Lions went three-and-out. After the Vikings responded with a three-and-out of their own, the Lions again had good field position. After a 10-yard pass to Pettigrew on third down moved the chains, things were looking up for the Lions, especially after <span>Mikel Leshoure</span> finally found some daylight and rumbled for 14 yards. Unfortunately, that 14-yard run ended with Leshoure fumbling the ball away to the Vikings, once again killing any momentum the Lions had built up.</p>
<p>After taking over following the turnover, Minnesota put together an 11-play drive that carried over into the fourth quarter and ran 6:07 off the clock. The Lions were able to get a stop, and Walsh missed a 46-yard field goal. This gave the Lions new life by keeping the score within two possessions, and the offense looked like it was finally going to take advantage of a Minnesota mistake. However, just like seemingly every possession as of late, the offense couldn't sustain a drive once it got into the red zone. The Lions had second-and-eight from the Minnesota 10, and Stafford awkwardly scrambled for a gain of three. On third down, he nearly got picked off trying to escape pressure by shoveling a pass in the direction of Joique Bell. Then, on fourth down, Stafford was sacked for a loss of 10 yards on an all-out blitz by Minnesota.</p>
<p>As disastrous as that sequence was, the Lions weren't out of the game just yet. The defense came up with another big stop, and the offense finally did manage to find the end zone. Operating out of the no huddle, Stafford led the Lions down the field by looking in the direction of Bell quite often. The Vikings were playing deep coverage, allowing Bell to go for gains of four, 16, 13 and 23 yards on passes from Stafford. Eventually, Stafford capped off the drive by leaping up and putting the ball over the plane of the goal line for a one-yard touchdown with 2:56 left on the clock. The Lions now trailed 20-13.</p>
<p>The defense did its job by getting a stop, giving the Lions one last chance to go down the field and tie this up. Stafford and company took over at their own two-yard line, so the Lions needed to pick up big chunks of yards very quickly with only 1:42 on the clock. The Lions did pick up gains of nine and 11 yards to open the drive, but after three incompletions, they were running out of time. This wasn't actually the biggest concern when the Lions faced fourth-and-10; simply extending the game by picking up a first down was. Luckily, Stafford found Johnson for a gain of 17, moving the ball up to the Lions' 39 and keeping hope alive of another ridiculous comeback.</p>
<p>The next play pretty much killed any chances of this comeback attempt actually producing overtime, as Stafford was sacked. The ball came out and was recovered by Minnesota, but a booth review overturned the fumble call. The Lions ended up with nine seconds left, and after a quick six-yard pass to Pettigrew, there was time for only one more play -- a Hail Mary. There was no miracle touchdown this week. In fact, Stafford didn't even get a pass off. He looked lost throughout the game any time he faced pressure, and that was especially true on the game's final play, which ended up being an 11-yard sack. The Lions couldn't even get a Hail Mary attempt off as they fell 20-13 to the Vikings.</p>
<p>It goes without saying, but this team is in a lot of trouble. A 1-3 start is inexcusable, and the Lions are just an absolute mess. Certainly they've been the victim of some bad luck, but that is not why they are 1-3. They are 1-3 because they are not a good team. They've allowed four special teams touchdowns in the last two weeks, and the offense still can't figure out how to sustain drives and score from the red zone on a consistent basis. The defense was actually pretty good aside from a select group of plays on Sunday, but there are a lot of issues on that side of the ball as well.</p>
<p>The good news for the Lions is that they won't have to worry about their losing streak growing to four games next week. Week 5 is the Lions' bye, meaning they will get two weeks to get things figured out before they head to Philadelphia to play the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.bleedinggreennation.com/">Eagles</a> in Week 6. Changes need to be made, both from a coaching and personnel standpoint, if the Lions are going to get this season turned around and prevent it from being a wasted year. I certainly hope they use their bye week wisely.</p>
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https://www.prideofdetroit.com/2012/9/30/3434304/lions-vikings-score-recap-2012Sean Yuille2012-09-30T16:08:48-04:002012-09-30T16:08:48-04:001-3
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<figcaption>Raj Mehta-US PRESSWIRE - Presswire</figcaption>
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<p>The Lions have dropped to 1-3 with their loss to the Vikings on Sunday.</p> <p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.prideofdetroit.com/">Detroit Lions</a> are an absolute mess heading into their bye week. Following Sunday's 20-13 loss to the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.dailynorseman.com/">Minnesota Vikings</a>, Detroit is now 1-3 on the season.</p>
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https://www.prideofdetroit.com/2012/9/30/3433884/lions-vikings-recordSean Yuille2012-09-30T14:28:54-04:002012-09-30T14:28:54-04:00Lions vs. Vikings: Second half open thread
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<figcaption>Tim Fuller-US PRESSWIRE - Presswire</figcaption>
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<p>Your second half open thread for Lions vs. Vikings.</p> <p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.prideofdetroit.com/">Detroit Lions</a> are down to the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.dailynorseman.com/">Minnesota Vikings</a> by a score of 13-6 at halftime.</p>
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https://www.prideofdetroit.com/2012/9/30/3433400/detroit-lions-vs-minnesota-vikings-second-half-open-threadSean Yuille2012-09-30T12:36:21-04:002012-09-30T12:36:21-04:00Detroit Lions vs. Minnesota Vikings: Open thread
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<figcaption>Leon Halip - Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>The Detroit Lions take on the Minnesota Vikings at Ford Field on Sunday afternoon.</p> <table bordercolor="#ffffff" border="1" align="center" width="454" bgcolor="#ffffff" style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><tbody> <tr align="center"> <td width="192" bgcolor="#006db0"><strong><span style="color: #ffffff;">DETROIT LIONS (1-2)</span></strong></td> <td width="70" bgcolor="#000000"><strong><span style="color: #ffffff;">GAME #4</span></strong></td> <td width="192" bgcolor="#310051"><strong><span style="color: #ffffff;">MINNESOTA VIKINGS (2-1)</span></strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center" width="192"><img src="http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/158119/Detroit_Lions.png" style="vertical-align: middle;"></td> <td align="center" width="70" bgcolor="#d4d4d4" style="vertical-align: middle; font-size: 23px;"><strong>VS.</strong></td> <td align="center" width="192"><img src="http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/2364/Vikings_Icon_medium.jpg" style="vertical-align: middle;"></td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#000000"><td colspan="6"></td></tr> </tbody></table>
<table bordercolor="#ffffff" border="1" align="center" width="454" bgcolor="#ffffff" style="margin-top: 0px;"><tbody> <tr align="center" bgcolor="#eeeeee"> <td width="100" bgcolor="#d4d4d4"><strong>Date:</strong></td> <td width="127">September 30, 2012<br> </td> <td width="100" bgcolor="#d4d4d4"><strong>Location:</strong></td> <td width="127">Detroit, MI<br> </td> </tr> <tr align="center" bgcolor="#eeeeee"> <td width="100" bgcolor="#d4d4d4" style="vertical-align: middle;"><strong>Time:</strong></td> <td width="127" style="vertical-align: middle;">1 p.m. ET<br> </td> <td width="100" bgcolor="#d4d4d4" style="vertical-align: middle;"><strong>Stadium:</strong></td> <td width="127" style="vertical-align: middle;">Ford Field<br> </td> </tr> <tr align="center" bgcolor="#eeeeee"> <td width="100" bgcolor="#d4d4d4"><strong>TV:</strong></td> <td width="127">FOX<br> </td> <td width="100" bgcolor="#d4d4d4"><strong>Weather:</strong></td> <td width="127">Domed Stadium<br> </td> </tr> <tr align="center" bgcolor="#eeeeee"> <td width="100" bgcolor="#d4d4d4"><strong>SBN Coverage:</strong></td> <td width="127"><a href="http://dailynorseman.com/" target="_blank">Daily Norseman</a></td> <td width="100" bgcolor="#d4d4d4"><strong>Inactives:</strong></td> <td width="127"><a href="http://www.prideofdetroit.com/2012/9/30/3432638/lions-vikings-inactives-ricardo-silva-mikel-leshoure" target="_blank">Click Here</a></td> </tr> </tbody></table>
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https://www.prideofdetroit.com/2012/9/30/3432792/detroit-lions-vs-minnesota-vikings-open-threadSean Yuille