Detroit Lions Monday Morning Quarterback: Week 8 vs. Washington Redskins

The Game

In an exciting seesaw affair that featured many lead changes, the Detroit Lions came away with a 37-25 victory over the Washington Redskins.

This game was won by Detroit’s defensive line.  The tone was set early, as Cliff Avril sacked Donovan McNabb on the first play of the game for an eight-yard loss.

In his first game back, Matthew Stafford struggled for much of the first half, but rebounded brilliantly and ended up with four touchdown passes, three of which went to Calvin Johnson.

The Good

The Defensive Line

The starting defensive linemen combined for 18 tackles, six sacks, nine quarterback hits, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a touchdown.  That is absolute domination by any standard.  Ndamukong Suh was his usual brilliant self; he continues to lead all NFL interior linemen with 6.5 sacks.  Kyle Vanden Bosch was a monster all day long.  He spent about as much time in Washington’s backfield as Donovan McNabb did. 

The most encouraging sign is that they did a much better job against the run.  All you need to know about the D-line’s performance is that the team’s three leading tacklers were all linemen. 

Calvin Johnson

Calvin Johnson had his second-straight 100-yard receiving performance, and added another three touchdowns.  He now has an NFC-best eight touchdowns, second only to Antonio Gates’ nine touchdowns in the NFL.  He would have had an even bigger day if Matthew Stafford didn’t miss him when he had gotten wide open behind the defense early in the game. 

Alphonso Smith

How often have we heard sports radio hosts talk about the proverbial “it?” You know the thing that allows some players to, more often than not, come up with big plays at crucial moments.  That is the thing that Alphonso Smith seems to have. 

He did drop a potential interception for a touchdown near the end of the first half, but when the game was on the line, he made a brilliant play to undercut a throw by McNabb and intercept a pass intended for Anthony Armstrong.  Armstrong made a valiant effort by fighting for the ball, but Smith was just too strong. 

This is the second time that Smith has won a battle with a wide receiver for an interception.  Earlier in the year, against the Green Bay Packers, he out-fought Greg Jennings for an interception.  I bring this up because the knock on Smith, at the time he was traded to the Lions, was that he did not have the strength to fight for the ball.  

Kevin Smith

Smith’s final stat line was not overly impressive; he totaled only 67 yards from scrimmage and no touchdowns.  But when Smith was in the game the running game looked different.  The coaches also seem to trust him more than they do rookie Jahvid Best, as they chose to go primarily with Smith late in the game.

The Bad

Nate Burleson

For the second game in a row, Burleson committed a crucial fumble.  This time it was at the end of a beautiful catch and run.  Burleson wasn’t overly careless with the ball, but he did cough it up.  Former Lion Phillip Buchanon made a nice play to force the fumble. 

If this was Burleson’s first fumble it would not have been a big deal, but with two fumbles in two weeks it’s becoming a concern. 

Brandon Pettigrew

Pettigrew had one of his worst games as a Lion.  Granted he caught a touchdown pass, and that can ease some of the sting, but he dropped two passes thrown his way and committed two crucial holding penalties, one of which wiped out a 19-yard pass to Calvin Johnson.  

Penalties

Penalties continue to plague the Lions. The Lions had seven penalties for 65 yards.  The only bright spot is that the Washington Redskins managed to commit more penalties than the Lions.  They also committed the most crucial penalty of the game on a field goal attempt by the Lions that gave Detroit a first down and eventually a touchdown. 

Detroit’s Other Safety

Whether it was C.C. Brown before he got injured or Amari Spievey, whomever the Lions put out there opposite Louis Delmas struggled.  Washington’s three longest plays—50 and 35-yard passes to Anthony Armstrong and a 36-yard run by Donovan McNabb—can all be traced to breakdowns in safety play.

The Ugly

The Coverage Units

Special teams nearly lost this game for the Lions.  While the return units did their job, it was the coverage units that struggled all day.  They allowed two kickoff returns for touchdowns, but were bailed out by a block in the back penalty.  Stefan Logan was the one who drew the penalty, and he was not in position to make the tackle.

It might be time for the Lions to consider signing a kickoff specialist.  It has now been three years that Hanson has not been able to kick the ball into the end zone and that has to put a strain on the coverage unit.

The Ugly (Part Two)

Normally I reserve the good, bad and ugly sections strictly for what the Lions did, but Mike Shanahan’s decision to bench Donovan McNabb at the end of the game deserves special mention. 

The Redskins traded for McNabb prior to the start of OTAs and mini camps.  McNabb was there for all offseason activities and has started every game this year.  To take him out in favor of a mediocre quarterback like Rex Grossman is not only inexplicable but completely asinine. 

To claim that the decision was made because Grossman knew the two-minute drill better than McNabb made an already idiotic decision even worse.  Sure Grossman was in the system last year, but all he did was watch Matt Schaub run the offense from the sideline. 

Prior to this game, Grossman had completed a total of three passes since Week 11 of the 2008 season.  How could he possibly be the better choice to come in and try to win a game over McNabb?  Today, I have to believe that Shanahan is a liar.  I think this decision came from offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan.  I believe the elder Shanahan was covering for his son.

Misleading Stat of the Day: Matt Stafford's 202 passing yards

Stafford's 202 passing yards is pedestrian at best.  Stafford finished the first half with a QB rating of 51.2 and only 72 passing yards, but his play in the second half was a major difference in this game.  I know some could be surprised that Stafford and his four touchdowns were not included in the “good” section of this article, but if Stafford had played better in the first half, this game would have been a blowout.

Play of the Day

The fourth-down pass to Calvin Johnson to give the Lions the lead for good in the fourth quarter was a gutsy call by Jim Schwartz.  I believe we are seeing the growth of Schwartz into a head coach that gives his team an advantage on Sundays.  He learned from earlier in the year, especially the Green Bay game, that he needs to be aggressive to give his team a chance to win.

Quote of the Day

“The play was made from communication on the sideline. Every series, after we came off, we went over and talked about what was going on because the Redskins repeat a lot of their [plays]."

"They try to come back to plays that they had success on. It was actually the first play of the game when he slipped down. As soon as the guy went in, it registered in my head. Guys like Louis [Delmas] and Amari Spievey and Chris Houston were all talking about it. You just have to see it, and as soon as I saw it, I was like, ‘Alright, it’s time to make a play, this is the one to steal,’” Alphonso Smith, talking about his fourth-quarter interception. 

I chose this quote because it is a sample of what all the Lions were saying at the end of the game.  They were all giving credit to each other for good plays.  Ndamukong Suh took a similar route when asked about how well he played.  He deferred credit to his fellow linemen. 

This is a sign of a team that cares about each other.  No one is looking to hog the spotlight.  This team is full of players who care about each other and just want to win.

Random Thoughts

For once it was the other team that made crucial mistakes.

It was nice to see the Lions get the ball to Calvin Johnson.

How many punts did this game have?

I am excited to see Stafford vs. Sanchez next week.

Overall Impression

It wasn’t a perfect game, but the Lions won.  The nice thing was that the Lions were able to recover from their mistakes.  The defensive line dominated and the offensive line played well.  When was the last time the lines were a strength for the Lions? 

Next Week

The Jets and the Sanch-ize come into town next week.  Any of you that have read any of my material know that I have passionate hate for Mark Sanchez.  I am looking forward to seeing the defensive line take turns slamming him to the ground.