Detroit Lions Notch First Winnable Game, First Disappointing Loss

Now you can be disappointed.

At the end of the first half against the Vikings, the Detroit Lions were in complete control of the football game. They were up 10-7, and the seven didn’t come until after the two-minute warning.

Final score: Vikings 27, Lions 13.  That’s something to be angry about.

Last week, at New Orleans? Not so much. That was a game the Lions were supposed to lose, and while they hung around, they never gave the impression they were a better team than the Saints.

That has since been confirmed, as the Saints went on to torch the Philadelphia Eagles, a trendy preseason Super Bowl pick, by a greater margin than they beat the Lions.

Against the Vikings, though, the team was different. The Lions were getting pressure on Brett Favre, stopping Adrian Peterson, and moving the ball with consistency on the ground. They were forcing turnovers. Matthew Stafford had his first career touchdown pass.

More importantly, they led for roughly half of the game. As in, they had more points on the board.

Lions fans have become accustomed to twisting stats to make themselves feel better about all the losses, but not often can they speak favorably about the one that counts.

And because of that, I’m not going to go on about all the things that went well. Don’t get me wrong, there were a bunch of them. But that’s not what I’m focused on.

I’m focused on the two Lions teams that showed up on Sunday. The first half team, which resembles the one Lions fans have been hoping to see for years; and the second half team, which Lions fans have seen for too long.

I’m used to seeing the team we saw in the second half. If that’s the team that had shown up for four quarters, I would focus on the bright spots and say we were just outgunned.

That’s what happened against the Saints. The Saints had too much raw talent in too many areas, and the Lions couldn’t match up.

That’s not what happened against the Vikings. If the Vikings were so superior that no game plan, no adjustments, no amount of execution could overcome the talent gap, the Lions wouldn’t have dominated the first 25 minutes of the game.

Instead, they showed the team they could be, then regressed to a 19th consecutive loss.

I’d rather they get blown out, wire-to-wire. Because losing by 40, at least there’s no rollercoaster. After a quarter or two, it’s easy to see which way the game is going, and hey, it’s not like we’re not used to it.

But the way the Lions played Sunday? All it shows is that the team is capable of winning games, it just isn’t doing it.

That, Lions fans, is something to be disappointed about.