PATRICIA’S FUTURE CLOUDY AFTER DEFEAT
The Detroit Lions scored two quick touchdowns to take a 14-0 lead within the f irst five minutes against New Orleans.
By this point, every Lions fan should have known the game was far from over.
For a third time in four games this season, the Lions lost after leading by double digits. This time, it was the injury-riddled
Saints who came away with a 35-29 victory Sunday. New Orleans scored 35 unanswered points after Detroit’s early advantage, and as the Lions head into their open date, it’s becoming harder to avoid the question of whether Matt Patricia will be their coach much longer.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” Patricia said. “Certainly, when I came to Detroit, there was a lot of work to do and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
That assessment is unlikely to sit well with Lions fans. Detroit went 9-7 in 2017 under Jim Caldwell before he was fired and replaced by Patricia after that season. Patricia is now 10-25-1, and although he had previous experience as a defensive coordinator with New England, the Lions (1-3) have looked particularly out of sorts lately on that side of the ball.
“It’s very frustrating,” offensive lineman Taylor Decker said. “We start fast, and we show that we can get up on teams and score points on teams and stop teams, but at the end of the day, it’s a 60-minute game.”
The last time the Lions made major in-season changes was in 2015, when they fired GM Martin Mayhew after reaching their open week on the schedule. They were 1-7 at the time. A week earlier, they’d replaced their offensive coordinator.
So it’s not too early to wonder if owner Sheila Ford Hamp might act. Hamp’s mother, Martha Firestone Ford, handed the team over to her earlier this year.
Players have remained supportive of Patricia, while understanding their performance hasn’t been good enough.
“We all believe in the plan that’s put in place,” Decker said. “We’re professional athletes. We’re expected to come here and perform, and follow the lead of the things that the coaches have us do. We believe in what’s being taught here, and then if we didn’t, frankly we wouldn’t be here.”
Browns’ Chubb injured
Cleveland half back Nick Chubb, who was fourth in the league in rushing entering the week, sustained a knee injury.
Chubb was injured in the first quarter when his right leg was rolled up on by a pair of opposing linemen engaged with each other. He limped to the locker room. Coach Kevin Stefanski said Chubb will have an MRI. He did not know the extent of the injury.
The Browns ran for 307 yards and three touchdowns despite losing Chubb.
Browns receiver KhaDarel Hodge hurt his hamstring in pregame warmups and did not play. Defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi left with an abdominal injury. The Cowboys had center Joe Looney injure his right knee on the first offensive play of the game and not return.
• The Saints lost offensive tackle Ryan Ramczyk (concussion) and receiverreturner Deonte Harris (undisclosed) against Detroit. The Lions had cornerback Desmond Trufant aggravate a hamstring injury in his first game of the season. Defensive tackle Nick Williams left with a shoulder injury.
• Texans tight end Jordan Akins was knocked out of a game against Minnesota with a concussion.
• Washington saw safety Greg Stroman injure his right leg on an ill-advised punt return. He left the game.
• The Panthers lost cornerback Eli Apple to a hamstring injury in their win over the Cardinals.
• The Jaguars lost more than a game in Cincinnati. Cornerback CJ Henderson (shoulder), linebacker Myles Jack (ankle), tight end Tyler Eifert (concussion) and cornerback D.J. Hayden (hamstring) all left the game. The Bengals had receiver A.J. Green leave with a wrist injury.
• The Colts lost linebacker Darius Leonard against Chicago with a groin injury.
• Bills cornerback Levi Wallace was ruled out after suffering a left ankle injury in the first half against Las Vegas. The Raiders had defensive back Lamarcus Joyner (rib) and defensive tackle Maliek Collins (shoulder) leave the game.
The Stanley Cup took in the action at the ChargersBuccaneers game in Tampa. Several members of the NHL champion Tampa Bay Lightning, including captain Steven Stamkos, defenseman Ryan McDonagh and goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, attended the game in a suite at Raymond James Stadium.
Star player Nikita Kucherov donned a Rob Gronkowski jersey for the occasion and forward Anthony Cirelli showed wearing a Tom Brady Buccaneers T-shirt.
Notable
Another Titans player, fullback Khari Blasingame, and another staff member have tested positive for the coronavirus, while the rest of the NFL returned no new positives on Sunday, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press. The Titans’ outbreak is now at 20 cases.
• Minnesota safety Harrison Smith was ejected from the Vikings’ game at Houston. Jordan Akins grabbed a 26-yard reception late in the second quarter and was being tackled by Eric Kendricks when Smith made a f lying helmet-to-helmet hit on Akins. Smith was assessed a personal foul for leading with his helmet on the tackle and ejected.
• Patriots quarterback Cam Newton said he’ll use his time off from football while battling the coronavirus to quote — “get healthy and self ref lect on the other amazing things that I should be grateful for.”