Detroit Lions’ defense brutalized by Tannehill, fall to Titans 46-25
![(Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/03d5f01376631a5d74d34fe927f57f011ffe28cd5d805f72d4cdd268a1cf1556.jpg)
The second half of the game isn’t where things turned around for the Detroit Lions.
Detroit would start out the third quarter with the football, but an untimely turnover by tight end T.J. Hockenson on 4th down followed. Perhaps the bigger issue, however, were the injuries that started to amass to an already thin roster.
Jamie Collins was banged up as well. The Lions just had more and more injuries start piling up as the game went on. Halapoulivaati Vaitai also was ruled out over the course of the Titans and Lions match-up.
In perhaps the Lions’ defense’s only flash of competency all game, Detroit was able to force a Tennessee punt and got the ball deep in their own territory. Stafford continued to play well, including a 36-yard completion to Quintez Cephus, and set Prater up for a 53-yard field goal that split the uprights.
In a season that has deep up and down for the veteran kicker, that field goal was Prater’s 58th of his career from beyond 50 yards. He ties Sebastian Janikowski all-time.
The score: 24-18 with 4:09 left in the third quarter.
The rest of the game was all Tannehill and Henry — and none of the Lions defense. On a ruling that appeared to be a pretty bad spot by the officials, Head Coach Darrell Bevel decided not to challenge. Certainly a questionable decision.
Furthermore, the linebacking core (if we can even call it that) was taken apart from top to bottom, including Jared Davis’s “attempt” to play coverage in the red zone, whether or not it was against A.J. Brown.