There was a palpable energy to the Detroit Lions in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s win over the Arizona Cardinals. The players had an energy and air of confidence about them in the fourth quarter of the tightly competitive game.
Even in the largely empty stadium, Patricia and the Lions could feel the momentum and energy as the team drove for Matt Prater’s game-winning field goal.
“You could feel the energy on the sideline,” Patricia said in his Monday meeting with the press. “You could feel (the) offense and defense, and really both of them rooting for special teams. You could feel those guys encouraging them out there to just be ready to go and execute and keep pushing each other. I think that was really good. I think that’s needed. I think that’s part of the new 2020 with the way that the stadiums are. Sometimes even on the road trips, even just having hostile fans yell at you, I mean that’s enough to motivate you. But I think it’s kind of getting used to all those different atmospheres. I think the guys know that they’re relying on each other to pick up that energy. I thought they did a really good job of it in the fourth quarter.”
After a largely flat finish in Week 2, the vibrant performance in crunch time in Week 3 was a welcome new energy to Patricia’s Lions.