DETROIT — Jared Goff threw away the football on fourth down the last time he played at Ford Field. That’s a bizarre mistake, and considering no one was guarding D’Andre Swift on the other side of the field, an unconscionable one. He admitted to as much after the game, saying he saw a flag for holding against Penei Sewell and thought it was a free play, forgetting that Cincinnati could, um, decline the penalty.
“I saw the holding call (against Sewell) and had a complete lapse of judgment of, ‘OK, they’re gonna bring this ball back, we were going to punt it anyways,’” Goff said. “Obviously we need a positive gain for that to happen.”
That’s bad.
Then in his return to Ford Field, he did it again. He was soaked in the loudest boos of the day for it. And considering the day featured a 44-6 bloodletting against an awful Philadelphia Eagles team, that is saying something.
Because they were booed. They were booed often and loudly and lustfully, and deserved every decibel.
They were booed when Goff took sacks on back-to-back drives in the first quarter, one of which set up a third-and-long that killed a drive, the other on third down that killed another. Next series, same trash. Goff took a third straight sack when he spun into a pressure allowed by Sewell, while Philadelphia came back the other way for a third straight score to build a 17-0 lead.
Goff finished the first half by taking a sack on fourth-and-1, ensuring Detroit would be shut out in the first half for the fourth time in six weeks. Then after Philadelphia tacked on another touchdown to open the second half, Goff, well, did whatever it is Goff does on fourth down. Which apparently includes throwing away the football for the second time in as many games in this building.
Just dumb, inexcusable, unconscionable stuff that led to some of the loudest, most lustful boos of an already ugly day. Then Darius Slay scooped up a D’Andre Swift fumble, and returned it to the house for a 38-0 lead in his old house.
Then Jared Goff said hold this beer, and fumbled on the following series as the chants grew louder.
“WE WANT BLOUGH! WE WANT BLOUGH! WE WANT BLOUGH”
With 1:44 left in the game, they got their wish. Goff was benched in a 44-6 game for David Blough.
On his second play of the season, Blough was strip-sack’d.
Wash. Rinse. Repeat.
No, seriously. If you were anywhere near this game, you’re going to need to take a shower to get the filth off after this one.
Let’s get to some observations:
— At 0-8, Dan Campbell is off to the worst start by a new Lions head coach in two decades. And he’s closing in on Marty Mornhinweg’s franchise record of 12 straight, set back in 2001. The Lions have lost 12 straight games overall, dating back to a win against Chicago last December.
— If it wasn’t clear before, it is now. Jared Goff is not the quarterback to see through this rebuild. Yes, he won some games early in his career with the Rams. But the Rams gave Detroit three draft picks — including two first-rounders — to dump him for a reason. Because he was too conservative, too mistake-prone, took locked onto certain reads while ignoring others. The Lions said they had to plan to fix all that, but then gave him a bunch of wideouts from the bargain bin at the dollar store to throw to and told him to go make it work. Suprise! A struggling quarterback who was given a worse roster to work with is now struggling even more. And it all came to a head in the third quarter, when Goff threw away the football on fourth down (again), threw a pick-six (again) and then fumbled (again). He looks like a broken man out there. It’s a toxic situation that won’t get better until he has NFL-grade receivers, and that won’t happen until 2022, by which time the Lions might have already drafted his eventual replacement. And if the first eight games of the Goff era are any indication whatsoever, they absolutely should.
Goff’s final line, by the way: 25 of 34 passing for 222 yards, no touchdowns, one fumble and five sacks.
— The defense certainly did its part on the meltdown too, including allowing first downs on 20 of their first 39 plays of the day, against one of the worst quarterbacks operating one of the worst offenses in the league. The Lions allowed 237 yards on the ground, a season worst. Philadelphia hadn’t rushed for more than 173 yards all season. Yikes.
— The smartest thing the Lions did all day was bench owner Sheila Ford Hamp for the halftime ceremony honoring Chris Spielman. Ford Hamp was booed so loudly while trying to honor Calvin Johnson during a similar ceremony a couple weeks ago that she could not be heard from the press box. And considering the first half her team turned in on Sunday, no doubt she would have faced another embarrassment had she tried to step to mic again. Instead, Barry Sanders introduced Spielman — a smart move, because no matter how bad things get, no one is going to boo that guy in this town. Then it was Spielman’s turn, and the linebacker great — who recently returned to the team as a special advisor — grew emotional while promising better days are head.
“I’ve been given a second chance to do my best to represent you and give you what you deserve” Spielman said. “And I promise you in the near future — the very near future — we will give you what you all want.”
Perhaps. There’s a lot to like about where things are headed under Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes. But as this team continues to show every week and especially on this Sunday, that very near future is still a long ways away.
— For everyone yelling the Lions should try Taylor Decker, please press play on the film. Because fill-in offensive tackle Matt Nelson got worked by Josh Sweat, including allowing two back-breaking sacks in the first quarter alone. Nelson got beat by a speed rush off the edge on the second series of the day, which set up a third-and-long Detroit couldn’t convert. Then it appeared tight end T.J. Hockenson stepped on him on third down on the following series, leading to another sack, more boos and another punt. And Jared Goff didn’t help the situation by failing to feel the pressure, especially on the first one. Get rid of the ball, man.
The Lions have spent tremendous resources trying to build up their offensive line. Now they have something good going with Frank Ragnow at center and Taylor Decker and Penei Sewell at offensive tackle. So why should they turn around and trade one of those pieces? To acquire more draft picks to spend on players who probably won’t be as good? I just don’t understand the “TRADE EVERYBODY” posture that some have adopted. Two good offensive tackles are better than one, right?
— With slot corner A.J. Parker scratched because of a neck injury, plus Jeff Okudah and Ifeati Melifonwu on injured reserve, Detroit was stretched so thin at cornerback that it had to turn to safety Will Harris as the primary slot against Philadelphia. It went about as you’d expect when asking a guy who can’t play his primary position to play a new position too. Then again, it’s not like there were many other options
— KhaDarel Hodge was benched after missing a bunch of assignments in the loss against Cincinnati two weeks ago. He returned to the field against Philadelphia, and promptly dropped two passes, one of which came after he got some separation from Darius Slay, and another in the end zone. He finished with zero catches for, yep, zero yards.
— Darius Slay was terrific in his return to Ford Field. He wasn’t even tested by Jared Goff until the second quarter, when Slay dropped Amon-Ra St. Brown after a modest 5-yard gain short of the sticks. He got his first pass breakup later in the quarter, then scooped up a D’Andre Swift fumble in the third quarter and returned it 33 yards for a touchdown that stretched Philadelphia’s lead to a staggering 38-0.
— Rookie running back Jermar Jefferson finally got the Lions on the board with an 8-yard touchdown run that made it a 41-6 game with 7:18. The seventh-round pick had played in just one game all year, and not at all on offense, while stuck behind D’Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams on offense, plus Godwin Igwebuike on special teams. But Williams couldn’t play against Philadelphia because of a nagging thigh injury, and Jefferson got his first taste of the offensive backfield. He finished with 29 yards on six touches, four of them receptions out of the backfield.