Detroit Lions: Studs and duds from dramatic walk off win vs. Falcons
By Tayyib Abu
The Detroit Lions are alive and roaring after a dramatic Week 7 win in Atlanta.
The Detroit Lions will never give their fans an easy Sunday. The Lions put their fans through the emotional ringer every week. Every Lions game is interspersed with many good, a lot of bad and the downright unbelievable.
Sunday’s Week 7 game against the Falcons had all of that and much more. Let me get it clear: the Lions did not play a good game in Atlanta. A plethora of head-scratching decisions from the sidelines and, for a long time, it looked like it would end in another heartbreaking defeat.
With Matt Patricia stuck on the hot seat, a loss here to a 1-5 team would surely have been the end for the third-year head coach. And in the late stages of the fourth quarter, it looked like defeat was certain. All Atlanta had to do was bleed the clock and kick a field goal. That was until Todd Gurley accidentally broke the plane and scored a touchdown, which gave Matthew Stafford the ball back with just enough time on the clock.
What followed was vintage Stafford, with maybe the best fourth-quarter comeback drive in his career. Stafford is a flawed quarterback. He has a habit of making ugly throws and forcing a pass where there isn’t one. But he is absolute money when trailing in the fourth quarter and has the ball in his hands. It was the 30th fourth-quarter comeback in his career.
This wasn’t a perfect game for the Detroit Lions. There were huge struggles on offense before the last drive, and there are still some concerns about the pass defense. The Lions may be alive, but they’ll need to improve again. But for now, Detroit Lions fans need to enjoy this win, and here are some studs and duds from this dramatic victory.