2017, Week 10, Detroit Lions vs Cleveland Browns @ Home

Patience.

The 5-4 Detroit Lions beat the 0-9 Cleveland Browns 38-24 in a game that at first was going a little tougher then many expected. In fact the Lions tied the game late in the 3rd quarter before regaining and keeping the lead in the 4th. In the end though, the Lions topped the vegas odds given and won by 14 points to keep them in the playoff race (as the Packers and the Vikings also won their games). To the best of my knowledge the Lions didn't have any major injuries and in fact their left tackle (Decker) managed to play quite a few snaps for the first time this year as he gets back into game shape.

Matthew Stafford was 17 of 26 (65.385%) for 249 yards 3 touchdowns and 1 interception with no fumbles. In fact, no Lion had a fumble but they did manage to cause one, and it was caused and then run back for a touchdown by CB Lawson. Abdullah, Riddick and Stafford tallied up 104 yards on the ground with Abdullah getting the lone rushing touchdown. Touchdown passes were caught by Riddick, Tate and Ebron. Big play Slay had the interception on Kizer, who missed about a quarter of the game after a hit by Diggs (a legal hit) bruised his ribs. Kessler was only 1 of 3 (33.33%) for 5 yards and Kizer was 21 of 37 (56.757%) for 232 yards a touchdown and the interception. The stats make it sound like the Lions easily won the game and excelled in all areas, where in fact it was anyone's game up until the 4th quarter, when the Browns started doing things poorly and the Lions started doing things better (then they had earlier in the game). In the end the Lions won, as they should have, and face the 3-6 Chicago Bears next Sunday before they play the Thanksgiving Day game the following Thursday (against the Minnesota Vikings). Two VERY important games coming up with only 4 days between them.

The Cleveland game showed the Lions still need to work on just about everything from run blocking and pass blocking to reads to routes to retaining focus throughout the game. The defense had good and bad moments and they too have plenty to work on. What was nice though was that many things were worked on during the game and some things were turned around before the game got out of control in the wrong direction. The Browns have a pretty decent defense, a rookie but up and coming quarterback, and what appears to be a pretty decent rookie tight end as well. Despite them being 0-8 (now 0-9) they are not push overs. When it appeared early in the 2nd half that the game might spiral out of control a comment was made in the chat room that the Lions were just protecting their 0-16 season record, was caused me to laugh despite all the errors being made. Some of us didn't quite give up on the Lions as there was plenty of time left plus the Lions are known for doing well in the 4th quarter and unfortunately for Browns' fans the Browns are getting known for losing it later in their games. That's pretty much what happened too, so those of us that didn't give up on the game were rewarded for our patience.

In the end the Lions won, things are still looking okay, and 11 days from now the picture may be clearer or just as foggy as it is now, so patience will be required for at least the time being. I'm not sure if fans can learn to be patient that quickly, so for sanity in the forums and Lions fans stress levels, I'm hopeful the team will be 7-4 before my turkey dinner is over. If so, the entire month of December will be that much more interesting. A month in which children have to learn patience before opening presents might just be what fans need to learn how that works... or not. In fact, probably not, but one can make wishes.