Wojo: Lions and Matt Patricia avert disaster, at least for now

Detroit News

Bob Wojnowski
 
| The Detroit News

Detroit — The Lions did what they’re prone to do, and it was just barely enough to fight another week. They took a big lead and blew a big lead against a bad team, then made a couple gasping plays to win it.

Good for them, but in the process, they told us absolutely nothing we didn’t already know. Matt Prater, one of the great clutch kickers, nailed a 59-yard field goal to win it. Matthew Stafford, one of the renowned late-drive quarterbacks, zipped the Lions into position to avert disaster. When on the mat, the Lions went to their Matts and edged Washington, 30-27, Sunday in a game that lurched madly from routine to wretched.

As for the other Matt (Patricia), this likely changes nothing and proves little. Washington is so generically mediocre, it’s appropriately identified as the Washington Football Team. And yet behind 36-year-old Alex Smith, making his first start in two years after a horrific leg injury, Washington erased a 21-point deficit and tied it with 16 seconds left.

You could argue Patricia should’ve been fired right then, right there on the Lions logo in the middle of Ford Field. If the Lions had lost, he indeed might’ve been canned, rightly so. For a team that has set all sorts of dubious records for blown leads, this would’ve tied the largest squandered margin in franchise history. Washington came in ranked 30th in offense and piled up an astounding 464 yards and 34 first downs, scoring on every possession in the second half.

Owner Sheila Ford Hamp has given no indication she’s ready to dismiss anyone right now, but Patricia’s Lions keep offering up reasons to do it, likely at the end of the season. The Lions are 4-5 and may yet qualify for the playoff “contention” that was ostensibly mandated, but they’re no closer to being a complete team, saddled with a dreary defense.

‘A win is a win,’ but it’s not enough

It’s murky what will happen the rest of the way, but it’s clear what needs to happen. Asked if the Lions could be in the playoff hunt, Patricia wasn’t biting. They know by now not to celebrate small advances.

“We’re just happy to get the win here, and we’re going to keep it in the world of one week at a time right now,” Patricia said. “Really great job by our team today. The players executed when they had to at the end. We’ll enjoy this one for just a little bit and then we have to get back to work.”

They took one notable stride by finally turning the running duties over to rookie D’Andre Swift, who leaped and darted for 81 yards rushing and 68 receiving. It was a stirring start, in the first start of his career. And then the game nearly ended with a back-pedaling defense, passive play-calling and an inexplicable inability to close opponents out. It was the Lions’ first home victory in more than a year and it looked like many other contests, a grab-bag of big plays here, big gaffes there and one final twist.

“Every game we win, we’ve got to clean stuff up; this one is no different,” Stafford said. “There are definitely some things we can do better and it’ll help stretch the lead, but I’m just proud of our guys for fighting. A win is a win. It’s tough to win in this league and I’m never going to apologize for one. Could we play better? Yeah.”

To be clear, no apologies are ever required for any victory in the ridiculously balanced NFL. Washington (2-7) came in with a feeble offense but its defense was stout upfront and No. 1 against the pass. Stafford was much sharper than he’d been, completing 24 of 33 for 276 yards and three touchdowns, and he didn’t turn the ball over, while the offensive line held up nicely.

The final drive began on the Lions’ 25 with a mere 16 seconds left, after Washington’s Dustin Hopkins tied it 27-27 on a 41-yard field goal. Stafford completed two passes, including a 9-yard strike to Marvin Jones with three seconds left to set up the winner. The Lions also got the type of gift they’re used to giving, when first-round pick Chase Young was penalized for roughing Stafford.

It was enough, just barely enough, although Prater made the kick with several yards to spare. He’d been strangely inconsistent this season, 14-for-20 on field goals before Sunday.

“The same as any other kick, just go out and swing hard and hope it goes straight type thing,” Prater said. “I don’t need any more pressure on myself. I know I haven’t had the best year, but any time I go out, I expect to make them.”

Swing Swift

Before Prater delivered the swift kick to win it, the Lions got a terrific kick from Swift. When he dashed 15 yards for a touchdown on a pass from Stafford, the Lions led 24-3 midway through the third quarter. Of course, you considered it over only if you’d never watched a Lions game in your life. Washington scored touchdowns on three consecutive possessions covering 82, 84 and 66 yards, as the Lions struggled to get pressure on Smith.

They did record a couple of sacks but this is a quarterback whose mobility was sapped by 17 surgeries over two years. He stood in and completed 38 of 55 for 390 yards, and Washington’s surge in the final quarter-plus is the exact reason it’s impossible to believe the Lions are ever on the verge of a run, even with 3-7 Carolina up next.

You’d like to think Stafford is getting back in a smooth-throwing groove, and Jones will keep making clutch catches, and Kenny Golladay will return soon from his hamstring injury, and Swift perhaps is the legitimate difference-maker we thought he was. At times, it seems plausible, and then everything goes stagnant and the defense is so devoid of playmakers, it’s practically waiting to get picked apart.

As the lead was dwindling, the Lions swore they weren’t having flashbacks.

“No, we shouldn’t ever have that thought,” said Jones, who caught eight passes for 96 yards. “The fact of the matter is, when that starts to happen, we have to bunker down, we have to refocus and really just do our job. If we do that, you see we can drive down the field with ease at times. We can’t say, ‘Oh, my God, it’s happening again,’ cause that puts us at a disadvantage.”

But OMG, it was happening again. On Washington’s drive for the tying field goal, Smith converted four third downs and a fourth down, helped by a couple of penalties on cornerback Desmond Trufant. If not for the late poise from the Matts — Prater and Stafford — it absolutely was happening again.

Patricia and his team bought some time with this victory, but not much credibility. If that’s what they seek, they’ll have to show a whole lot more, for a whole lot longer.

bob.wojnowski@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @bobwojnowski

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