At this point, the Detroit Lions actually lost against the Washington Football Team because Matt Patricia gets more time.
It came down to a field goal, but thanks to a 59-yard kick from Matt Prater, the Detroit Lions survive another week in the NFC North. Although the battle to win the division is tough, it’s far from over.
The harsh reality? Detroit actually lost Sunday. The scoreboard shows a “W” over the Washington Football Team, but as long as Matt Patricia remains employed, things won’t get better. And with each win inching them closer to a .500 season, it could mean more than likely that “defensive guru” will have another season to prove his worth.
Patricia was brought in thanks to his defensive mind working under Bill Belichick. So far, it’s the defensive play has been the team’s Achilles heel throughout his tenure as head coach.
The game should have been over well before the closing seconds
Stafford set the team up for an easy closing quarter, tallying over 250 passing yards and three touchdowns. All the defense had to do was hold Smith from finding the end zone.
In three straight drives, Washington capitalized in the red zone. All three scores came from less than five yards outing, meaning the defensive front couldn’t shed a block to save their lives. And sure, the secondary might not have allowed a touchdown, but Smith did throw a season-high 390 yards to set up a Dustin Hopkins 41-yard kick.
For the eighth time this season, Patricia’s defense has allowed their opponent to score more than 21 points in under 60 minutes. The Lions’ run defense ranks in the bottom three of the league and the team has only stumbled forward to tally 11 sacks on the year. Washington finished with more yards, first downs, led the time of possession and averaged a 46.7 percent success rate on third down.
Yet somehow, Washington is sitting at 2-8, almost officially knocking it out of the NFC East race.
Patricia continues to make massive mistakes calling the shots on defense. Any functional coach would be able to hold an offense with limited weapons to a 21-point lead at home and end the day on a positive note. Instead, fans were holding their breath, hoping that Prater could sink a deep shot to keep them out of overtime.
Detroit needs to realize that while a win is a win, Patricia was a loss by the organization. The pieces are there for a winning formula, but it’s not rocket science to realize their head coach will likely keep them out of another postseason appearance in 2020.