Well, if you missed preseason football, it was on full display this afternoon. In a game where five total quarterbacks took a snap, the Lions ineptitude was on full display, getting absolutely demolished, 47-7, by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who punched their ticket into the playoffs today.
There isn’t much you can hang your hat on for the Lions today. With a Bucs offense littered with offensive weapons and a coach who likes to go for it, the Lions had zero answers and were embarrassed at home.
Tom Brady finished the day with 348 yards, four touchdowns, and a perfect passer rating. The worst part about that is that was all done in the first half. Blaine Gabbert finished off the rest of the game with 143 passing yards and two touchdowns of his own. In total, the Bucs finished with 588 total yards on offense and made the Lions defense they own personal practice dummy.
For a pivotal part of the game, there really wasn’t much to go with due to the fact this was over basically as soon as it started. With the sheer amount of personnel missing on the Lions roster and coaching staff, they needed all hands on the deck to limit the bleeding.
On the Lions’ first offensive drive, after a completed pass to Danny Amendola it looked like Stafford tweaked his ankle to a point he could not put any weight on it. He hobbled into the locker room, came back with a heavy-duty tape job and it became clear, there wasn’t any way he was going to make his return to this contest.
As soon as Stafford went out, the Lions’ offense shifted to basic formations and looked more like a high school team than a professional one. With only 187 yards of total offense, they could not keep up with how fast the Bucs were rolling. Only converting 1-10 third downs, the Lions were giving the Bucs more drives to continue the onslaught and the defense was clearly worn out and done.
It is hard to say if the end result would have been different if Stafford stayed in the game, but you would have to think they would’ve put some points on the board and held a little dignity this week.
The Lions will wrap up the season at home next week against division foe, the Minnesota Vikings, who are coming off their own loss against the New Orleans Saints — giving up 52 points.
With nothing to play for from either team, it’ll be interesting to see how situations shape up for the season finale — but it’s probably time for the Lions to keep Stafford on the bench and let him heal from his multitude of injuries.
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December 27, 2020 at 05:34AM
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Lions pivotal play of Week 16: Matthew Stafford’s early exit stifles offense - Yahoo Sports
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