Free Press sports columnist Jeff Seidel answers three questions following the Detroit Lions 24-6 loss Sunday to the Dallas Cowboys:
Where do the Lions go from here?
Here’s the scary thing: There is no single solution to fix this team.
They lost because of a long list of reasons. There is no single theme. No problem that can be easily fixed with a simple change. Because there’s been no consistent problem.
Even though the Lions are 1-5, it’s a perplexing 1-5. Over the last few weeks, strengths have come and gone, weaknesses pop up and then seemingly disappear. And it changes every game.
It’s always something.
On Sunday, the Lions lost because of turnovers. It was fumbles and interceptions and a whole lot of maddening, frustrating, stumbling and bumbling.
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They lost because of some drive-killing penalties — discipline and technique goes to coaching, of course.
They lost because their best players were out with injuries — running back D’Andre Swift (shoulder) missed his third straight game and Amon Ra-St. Brown suffered a concussion. Nobody is to blame for injuries. But Swift has been injured enough to cause concern.
They lost because Jamaal Williams couldn’t hold onto the ball near the goal line.
Certainly, all of those things contributed to this loss.
But more than anything, they lost because Jared Goff played another bad game, unable to protect the ball.
He threw two interceptions, fumbled away the ball twice and didn’t throw a touchdown pass.
And yes, you could say he was in trouble because he was missing playmakers.
But has become a troubling trend.
Where there any encouraging signs?
Actually, yes.
The defense played its best game of the season. So that’s a huge positive. And I might even suggest that the increased intensity and physicality at practice showed up in this game. Another positive.
The Lions found a way to get Aidan Hutchinson more productive — he was credited with 1.5 sacks. His 4.5 sacks tie for the second-most a Lions player has produced through six career games. Certainly, another positive.
The Lions found a way to unleash Jeff Okudah. He was flying around, playing physical and tough, racking up 15 tackles, including 12 solos. He is the only NFL cornerback since at least 1994 to produce a game with 15 total tackles and a tackle for loss. But I think that could be debated. Yes, technically, he is a corner. But he looked more like a safety in the box, a beast flying up in run support.
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But the Lions waisted Okudah’s defensive performance.
Shoot, the Lions wasted a fine defensive effort by the entire team.
In many ways, that’s the story of this season.
When the offense was humming, the Lions wasted it because the defense was so bad.
Now, that defense has improved, but the offense has disappeared.
It doesn’t make any sense.
Of course, it never does with the Lions.
The Lions played without their best running back … and still rushed for more than 100 yards for the sixth straight game. The last time the Lions did that was in 1976.
Of course, right?
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What do you think about St. Brown getting pulled out of the game?
I applaud the NFL.
This is how it should work.
If there is any suggestion that a player has a concussion, get him the heck out of the game.
St. Brown was hit in the head in the first quarter. He appeared to lose his balance and stumble. The clock was stopped, and the umpire sent him off the field.
After a medical evaluation, he was ruled out for the game because of a concussion.
All of this stems to the incident involving Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
But the NFL changed it’s policies.
Did that change potentially hurt the Lions on Sunday?
Yes.
But player safety is far more important.
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Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @seideljeff.
To read his recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel.