The Detroit Lions seized control of last place in the NFC North with a poorly coached, poorly executed game plan in a 34-20 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. The loss drops the Lions to 3-5, the same as the Vikings, but Minnesota owns the tie-breaker.
They also own the Lions. This was Detroit’s ninth straight loss within the NFC North. Matt Patricia has never beaten the Vikings. Heck, he’s never come within 10 points of the Vikings in any of their five meetings.
This one wasn’t nearly as close as the final score indicated. Chase Daniel, in for Matthew Stafford after the starting QB left for a concussion check, threw a garbage-time TD to T.J. Hockenson to close the gap.
Outside of two blocked punts, great kick coverage, a great veteran TD connection from Stafford to Marvin Jones and one perfectly timed blitz from Desmond Trufant that sacked Kirk Cousins, this game was a complete and abject failure by the Lions.
Stafford was solid early but fell apart with two terrible interceptions. D’Andre Swift had another critical drop in the passing game. The offensive line was mauled by a Vikings front that has struggled all year. And the offense was the better side of the ball for Detroit.
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The same very basic play concepts continue to completely flummox the Lions defense every single week. It’s getting worse, not better. Dalvin Cook posted 206 yards on the ground by making simplistic cuts and running away from the perennially step-late linebackers and safeties. Backup Alexander Mattison hit 69 yards on 12 carries and made it look very easy.
Then again, it’s easy to run when the defense only has 10 defenders on the field. Again…
Guys, you're not going to believe this, but on Cook's 70-yard TD, Lions had 10 men on the field. pic.twitter.com/bEG5m5QSFq
— Justin Rogers (@Justin_Rogers) November 8, 2020
Just for good measure, fading kicker Matt Prater missed his sixth field goal attempt on the season. Add placekicker to the list of problem spots in Detroit.
The Vikings played well, and they deserve credit. The Lions tried doing the exact same things that have led to a 12-26-1 record under Patricia over the last two-plus seasons. At some point, either Patricia will realize that staying the course on his obviously flawed strategies isn’t working or the Lions ownership will pull the plug.
Based on what we’ve seen from Patricia, particularly when he keeps losing in the same ways over and over again, it’s hard to expect the former. It’s time to expect the latter.