Week 9 Offered A Glimmer of Optimism For the Lions Transferring Ahead
The NFL is a weekly league. Unlike college football, where Georgia infuses every single game with absurd results, unpredictability is what makes people scream for the NFL. The Detroit Lions have been predictable of wins and losses this year. After the goodbye they sit at 0-8. As they roll out their plan of attack against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 10, what happened in Week 9 can give them some hope.
The Jacksonville Jaguars were a joke this year. Their squad is talented but not enough to fight for a nearby playoff spot. Urban Meyer, who is in his freshman year, has had more than his fair share of debacles on and off the field.
Jacksonville welcomed Josh Allen and the AFC-leading Buffalo Bills on Sunday. The Jaguars were 14.5 points underdog. In a game that seemed like a minor matter, Meyer’s team somehow emerged with a 9-6 win. A defense that had just given up 31 points to Geno Smith kept Allen at six. It didn’t make sense, but sometimes the NFL doesn’t either.
If the Jaguars can beat the Bills, the Lions can certainly beat one of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, Chicago Bears or Minnesota Vikings in the next four weeks. Nobody demands a winning streak. Nobody expects a post-bye run into the competency. Detroit fans just want one win. That alone would help alleviate the anxiety and recurring nightmares of the 2008 0-16 season.
This week the Dallas Cowboys arrived in Minnesota in a game where they started Cooper to freak out Rush as quarterback after a street win. With Dak Prescott back in the middle, they would certainly have no problem with the Denver Broncos. Dallas came up as a 10.5 point favorite. This was a no-brainer. Not correct.
The Broncos didn’t just beat the Dallas cowboys. They tore them down.
Teddy Bridgewater looked like a starting quarterback, rookie running back Javonte Williams was finally let go and Denver dominated. A quarterback who was below average this year played above average, and a young running back who was up and down in terms of touch got a lot and thrived in that role. Look familiar to a Lions fan?
Jared Goff isn’t the long-term solution for the quarterback. But he’s an average QB who has been below par this year, much like Bridgewater. D’Andre Swift has what it takes to be a star that runs backwards. Still, head coach Dan Campbell and offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn had some headaches when they left Swift on the fixtures for the year. The Broncos put it together in a game against a 6-1 cowboys team. Detroit has no excuses. They should be able to do that too.
If you get the impression that these two were outliers for a week during an 18-week one-season marathon, you’re wrong.
The Cleveland Browns were underdogs in Cincinnati on Sunday and won straight away. The same goes for the Tennessee Titans and their win over the Los Angeles Rams in SoFi. How about the Atlanta Falcons as the touchdown dog going to the Big Easy and beating the New Orleans Saints?
One key difference is that the Lions are closer to the Jaguars than the other underdogs who have won. That alone shows that Detroit can achieve something in the next few weeks.
They’ll be underdogs in all of their next four games, but they can throw that thought out the window. As long as something very strange happens, Lions will be underdogs in any remaining competition on their schedule. It does not matter.
Detroit had two extremely tight calls that year, and both were lost to game-winning field goals after time ran out. You’ve had inspiring performances, but that means absolutely nothing in the NFL. Before Goodbye Week, the Philadelphia Eagles blew them out at Ford Field. It was by far the worst performance by Campbell’s side in the whole year. So the goodbye week came at a perfect time.
Now that Lions have had a chance to catch their breath, they can turn the page and consider this a fresh start. First up are the Steelers, who will leave their seats a short week after the Chicago Bears game on Monday night. The Lions have had plenty of time to prepare for this tournament while Pittsburgh will compete against the clock. It may not mean much, but Detroit can take the positive where it finds it.
There were seven games in week 9 that the underdogs won. If Colt McCoy can end the San Francisco 49ers and Jaguars on the Bills offensive, Goff and the Lions may soon find a solution. At least they hope it is.
