NFL Power Rankings, Week 3: Packers, Ravens set dominant tone
By Randy Gurzi
50. . . Previous: 23rd. Detroit Lions. 24. team
Week 1 ended with a tough loss for the Detroit Lions as they allowed Mitch Trubisky and the Chicago Bears to lead a fourth-quarter touchdown drive to take the lead. They then led their own drive but Matt Stafford’s pass to D’Andre Swift hit the turf when the rookie dropped the ball.
They went out in Week 2 and tried to move forward and even had an early 14-3 lead over the Green Bay Packers. However, they then surrendered 31 unanswered points as Aaron Rodgers was precise through the air and Aaron Jones was deadly on the ground. Jones took over and had 168 yards rushing and 68 receiving while scoring three touchdowns, and Detroit simply had no answers for him.
Their own running game was fine, with 89 yards on 21 carries but they weren’t explosive. And while Stafford was good, he couldn’t do enough to keep up with the Packers and their explosive offense.
It’s been a rough ride for head coach Matt Patricia who entered 2020 on the thinnest of ice. He now finds himself not only sitting at 0-2 to start this campaign, but both losses came against divisional opponents. That’s a tough hole to get out of, especially when you’re already losing the in-division tiebreakers.