Detroit Lions play hard for Darrell Bevell despite being shorthanded

It’s apparent that the Detroit Lions won’t back down with Darrell Bevell serving as the teams’ head coach.

The Detroit Lions were in it right until the end Sunday, losing 31-24 to the NFC leading Green Bay Packers.  Sure, a loss is a loss, but the shorthanded Lions played their butts off for their current head coach, something we can’t say about the former.

The Detroit Lions were forced to play without a host of impact players Sunday and still found a way to punch their way off of the ropes time and time again.  It was a defense without Trey Flowers, Everson Griffin, Julian Okwara, Desmond Trufant, and Jeff Okudah. Just to name a few, and an offense missing its top playmaker in Kenny Golladay along with Tyrell Crosby and Halapoilivaati Vaitai.  Entering the day, winning was a longshot but Detroit managed to keep it interesting.

I know the often negative driven crowd feels that the Green Bay Packers were in complete control Sunday, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.  Maybe if the Lions didn’t enter the game with an abundance of injuries, things would have turned out differently.

This Lions’ team has provided acting head coach Darrell Bevell with a gallant effort over the last two weeks.  It’s a Lions defense that failed to slow down a plastic bag blowing in the wind under the direction of the ‘defensive-genius’ Matt Patricia, but a shorthanded defense got stops in back-to-back weeks when they needed them the most, late in each game.  Although a week ago the Lions were able to turn it into a victory, Sunday they gave Green Bay all they could handle.

Sunday was another typical Packers/Lions game where the officials failed to make the correct call at a critical juncture in the game.  Stafford delivered a dime to Marvin Jones in the fourth quarter that looked to be a catch touchdown but was ruled incomplete on the field with not enough evidence to overturn the ruling.

https://twitter.com/thecheckdown/status/1338271753819234304?s=20

It is also noteworthy that if this play had been called a catch, there would not have been enough evidence to overturn it.  Even worse, an injury that would knock Matthew Stafford out of the game after scrambling for a first down deep into Green Bay territory would not have been necessary.  Stafford’s status is to be determined but he left with an apparent rib injury.

Talk about insult to injury.

The Lions would nearly secure an onside kick attempt late that would also be reviewed but would stand as called.

Stafford would finish 24/34 throwing for 244 yards and a score.  D’Andre Swift led the Lions with 24 rushing yards on a team-leading 11 totes.  Danny Amendola made six catches totaling 66 yards, followed by Jones’ four for 48 and Hockenson’s six for 43 and a score.

In beating the Detroit Lions and seeing the New Orleans Saints lose to the Jalen Hurts-led Philadelphia Eagles, the Packers find themselves atop the NFC.