The Detroit Lions had no answers for the Tennessee Titans offensive onslaught, dropping their second straight, this time by a 46-25 score.
Once again, it was the Lions offense that was able to keep them in the game, with injured Matthew Stafford leading the charge. Considering the amount of protection Stafford was fitted with today, he was able to keep drives alive and did the best he could to keep the Lions competitive throughout the game. Sadly, it was not enough to walk away with the upset today.
Unfortunately, the Lions’ defensive limitations reared their ugly head once again, as the Titans ran all over them, averaging over five yards a carry. On top of that, Ryan Tannehill added nice complementation in the air and the ground tacking on 273 passing yards, 21 yards rushing, and five total touchdowns (3 passing, 2 rushing).
Surprisingly, the Lions were right in the thick of it, only down 24-15 walking into the second half of the contest. The Lions had the first crack and given a chance to tie up the game. Regrettably, that went out the window with another ill-timed blunder.
The Setup
The Lions started off on their own 25-yard line. Mohamed Sanu made a 12-yard snag, followed by a nifty run from D’Andre Swift, and the Lions were finding some momentum. The Lions shot themselves in the foot when they committed back-to-back penalties that took from 3rd-and-3 to 3rd-and-13 in a blink of an eye.
Fortunately, the Lions had been finding success in converting third downs, and they were able to dig themselves out of the hole with another magnificent catch from Sanu, keeping the Lions drive alive.
After a few runs from Adrian Peterson, Jamal Agnew, and Swift, along with more of Sanu, the Lions found themselves in the Titans’ red zone, knocking on the door of the endzone.
The Lions needed another 3rd down to keep the drive alive and this time it was only a 3rd-and-1.
The play called was an end around handoff to T.J. Hockenson who bullied his way for that one yard. Initially, it looked like he had converted it, the chain gang was brought out and confirmed he made the line to gain.
The extra time to measure ended up being costly.
It gave Titans’ coach Mike Vrabel enough time to look over the play, and not only did he feel Hockenson didn’t make the line to gain, he felt he actually fumbled the ball with a Titans’ recovery. Vrabel challenged the play, and it confirmed what he saw — Hockenson fumbled the ball with a clear Titans’ recovery.
This turnover halted any momentum the Lions had in orchestrating what could’ve been a game-tying drive. The Lions were able to force the Titans to punt for the first time on their ensuing drive, and Matt Prater nailed a 53-yard field on the Lions next drive, but the Titans next three drives all resulted in touchdowns putting this game far out of reach for the Lions.
There were a few other key mistakes, like the Joe Dahl botched snap, and the failed punt fake, but the Hockenson fumble is where it started to go downhill for the Lions.
The Lions head back home to play against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 16, who came back to beat the Atlanta Falcons 31-27 this afternoon. With the plethora of weapons the Bucs possess and the problems that exist amongst the Lions defense, it’s hard to see the Lions coming away with a home victory.