If the Lions front office was looking for a reason to fire Matt Patricia, they might have found one on Sunday. In one of the worst performances by any team this season, the Lions looked like they simply gave up on Patricia during the team’s 20-0 loss to the Carolina Panthers.
If you’re wondering what the temperature is of Patricia’s hot seat in Detroit, just open up your oven before you cook your turkey on Thanksgiving and you’ll have a good idea. In this embarrassing loss, the offense couldn’t move the ball, the defense couldn’t stop a former XFL quarterback (P.J. Walker) and all of that led to the Lions getting shut out for the first time since 2009.
The mistakes started early for Detroit, with one of the ugliest ones coming on a shotgun snap from Frank Ragnow to Matthew Stafford in the first quarter. On the play, Ragnow short-hopped the snap, and Stafford — who had been dealing with a sore thumb all week — just couldn’t hold on to it, and eventually the Panthers ended up with the ball.
If one play epitomized the Lions’ day, it was definitely that one.
Craving even more NFL coverage focusing on previews, recaps, news and analysis? Listen below and subscribe to the Pick Six podcast for a daily dose of everything you need to follow pro football.
It’s almost a blessing for Stafford that the snap didn’t get to him, because anytime the ball ended up in his hands, he was getting destroyed. The Lions quarterback was sacked five times and faced constant pressure from a Panthers defense that made the Lions’ offensive line look like a turnstile at a concert where all the tickets were free.
The Lions simply couldn’t do anything on offense, and on the few times where they did, Patricia killed the drives by punting. On two consecutive drives in the second quarter, the Lions PUNTED the ball from Carolina territory. Patricia should have shown some faith in his offense and gone for it, because in the worst case scenario, he was giving it back to a Panthers offense that was led by a former XFL QB. Instead, he punted both times and the Lions would never threaten to score a touchdown in this game.
The Lions didn’t reach the red zone a single time and they only drove inside of Carolina’s 30-yard line one time. This was a game the Lions had to win and they fell flat on their face.
The Lions were sitting at 4-5 going into Sunday and they even seemed to have an outside shot at getting back into the NFC playoff race, but that won’t be happening now. The only question that seems to remain in Detroit is whether or not Patricia will survive the season.
Alright, let’s get to the grades for every game from Week 11. If you’re looking for a deeper dive on the Cardinals-Seahawks game that was played Thursday, be sure to click here.
Carolina 20-0 over Detroit
New Orleans 24-9 over Atlanta
Washington 20-9 over Cincinnati
Cleveland 22-17 over Philadelphia
Eagles-Browns grades by Jeff Kerr (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Houston 27-20 over New England
Patriots-Texans grades by Tyler Sullivan (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Tennessee 30-24 over Baltimore (OT)
Titans-Ravens grades by Jordan Dajani (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Pittsburgh 27-3 Jacksonville
Steelers-Jaguars grades by Bryan DeArdo (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Denver 20-13 over Miami
Dolphins-Broncos grades by Josh Edwards (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Dallas 31-28 over Minnesota
Cowboys-Vikings grades by Patrik Walker (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
Indianapolis 34-31 over Green Bay
L.A. Chargers 34-28 over N.Y. Jets
Kansas City 35-31 over Las Vegas
Chiefs-Raiders grades by Cody Benjamin (Love the grades? Hate the grades? Let him know on Twitter.)
