Tag: D’Andre Swift

Week 1, Studs and Duds: Questionable decisions haunts the Lions once again

2020 Week 1, Studs and Duds illustrate why questionable decisions from the coaching staff and key players continue to be a problem.

The Detroit Lions have yet again disappointed in a season debut.

Though most of the focus will be on how they blew a fourth-quarter lead to the Chicago Bears, there are some players who deserve some credit for their performances throughout the game.

Here are the studs and duds for the Lions this week:

Stud: Tony McRae

The special teams standout from Cincinnati reunited with his former coordinator in Detroit and immediately justified his roster spot with a tackle on Tarik Cohen in the first quarter. Before Cohen could return Jack Fox’s first punt of the game, McRae was there to prevent the running back from making a play.

Dud: Jamie Collins

The veteran linebacker made a careless rookie mistake by headbutting a referee during the first quarter. Collins was ejected, leaving the Lions with an even worse linebacker group than they had at the beginning of the game. Not a great start to his career in Detroit.

Stud: Jason Cabinda

The linebacker-turned-fullback looks comfortable in his new role. In the first quarter, he laid out a clean block on Bears’ linebacker Danny Trevathan to open a path for Adrian Peterson’s 19-yard run.

Dud: The run defense

Detroit’s run defense allowed 149 yards against them in the 23-27 loss. Despite additions like Danny Shelton and Nick Williams on the defensive line, they were unable to contain Tarik Cohen for most of the game.

Stud: T.J. Hockenson

The second-year tight end finished the game with 56 yards and a touchdown. After being unable to finish his rookie year due to injury, it’s nice to see the former first-round pick bounce back.

Dud: D’Andre Swift

Don’t let his second-quarter touchdown fool you; Swift did not have a great rookie debut. The second-round pick rushed for just eight yards on three carries and dropped what would be the game-winning touchdown pass.

Stud: Adrian Peterson

Peterson was by far the best Lions running back on Sunday afternoon, rushing for 93 yards on 14 carries. The 35-year-old must have discovered the fountain of youth because he looked good against Chicago’s defense.

Dud: Tyrell Crosby

With starting right tackle Halapoulivaati Vaitai sitting out of this matchup with a foot injury, the Lions looked to Tyrell Crosby to fill that role. Crosby had a tough time containing the Bears’ pass rush and committed two costly holding penalties. Let’s hope that Vaitai can return soon.

Stud: Quintez Cephus

This rookie made the most out of Kenny Golladay missing thus game with an injury. Stafford targeted him ten times, the most of any receiver in this game. Though Cephus only brought in three of those passes, he proved he can be a safety net for Stafford when the offense inevitably sputters.

Dud: Will Harris

Harris looked lost while covering Allen Robinson and Jimmy Graham. Lucky for him, Graham‘s knee went down before he could reach the endzone. The fact that he’s playing more than Tracy Walker is disgraceful.

Dud: Matt Patricia and Cory Undlin

When you let Mitchell Trubisky score 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, you have a serious problem on defense. Keep coaching like this and you’ll be out of a job by the bye week.