Lions Hammer Bengals for three Quarters in Win

NFL games are four quarters long, and as the headline alludes, the Lions pretty much forgot how to play defense in the fourth quarter of what should have been a cakewalk win. Entering the 4th qtr with a 28-3 lead, having picked off the opposing QB three times, you would expect that a team would close it out strong and pile on in the 4th. Not yesterday, as the Lions wilted under the pressure of defensive backfield injuries and an offense that got away from what had led them to 28 pts, allowing the Bengals to claw their way back within two score and make it interesting. With the Chiefs and Bucs looming, and injuries mounting, the Lions need to get themselves in better position to bolster their secondary as they face two high-profile QBs that will make you pay for trotting out guys that aren’t ready to play big boy ball.

Barnes calls "Game" sacking Browning for a Safety

What Went Wrong: There were three glaring issues in this game, and a not so subtle third that was a result of one of the top two. First were the in-game injuries to an already depleted secondary. Terrion Arnold was playing pretty well (one bad hold notwithstanding) and held Ja’Maar Chase to reasonable output through three quarters. Then he reinjured his shoulder, left the game, and Rock Ya-Sin started cramping. At one point, we had street free agent Tre Flowers, all of one week of practice, playing against two of the best WRs in the game. The second issue was the pass rush not getting home. It was plenty disruptive with 9 QB Hits and 2 sacks but felt like browning should have been sacked at least 5-6 times and we just couldn’t get him on the ground. This has popped up a couple times now, we need to get it fixed before next week. Third was the inopportune penalties *8-56 accepted), that impacted the game. There were a couple DPIs/Holds on defense, some were suspect, that wiped out 3rd down stops and Sacks and turnovers, and the offense had a couple of false starts that put us behind the sticks. Not unexpected based on those Crews tendencies, but still needs to be cleaned up. Lastly, the collapse of the defense in the 4th qtr, allowing 21 points and the Bengals to come back from being down three scores made this game a lot closer than it should have been. Injuries clearly played a part, but this is the first game where Shep didn’t make great second half adjustments to stay ahead of his opponent IMO.

Manu Giving up Strip Sack to Hendrickson

What Went Right: Despite a double-digit win that covered the spread, this sure feels like a loss. However, there was plenty to like, including the offense dominating and capitalizing on Bengals errors, the run game and passing game looking sharp, and once again putting up 30+ points in a game. Standouts on offense were LaPorta, St Brown, Goff and Gibbs/Monty. For defense, Campbell, Barnes Amik and Kerby all had great games. Special shou t out to several players that broke up passes, including Anzalone (3), Ya-Sin (2), Arnold (2), joseph (2) and both Amik and Tyliek Williams (1 each).

Anzalone Interception

A secondary shout out to Terrion Arnold. He has been getting blasted by the fans due to the penalties (some deserved, many not), but this stat caught my eye:

• Bengals points scored with Terrion Arnold on the field — 3

• Bengals points scored with Terrion Arnold off the field — 24

Sometimes grass isn’t always greener….

What’s Next: The Lions return to NBC Sunday Night Football with a trip to Arrowhead Stadium to take on the Chiefs. Chiefs will be coming off a Monday night game on the road in Jacksonville, so Lion may catch them on short rest. They most certainly aren’t playing like the Super Bowl champs of years past, but they are still dangerous and will be a massive test of perseverance for the Lions. Chiefs are pretty much middle third in every offense ranking (Yards, Pts, Rush, Pass). Their defense fares better, being in the top 15 in most stats, including 5th for pts allowed, all pending tonight’s outcome