After falling behind in the first half of the first seven games this season, the Lions jumped out to a quick lead last week against the Jaguars, raising hopes in Detroit that maybe the Lions would finally prove to be a team capable of playing well for 60 minutes.
Yeah, not quite.
Instead, the Lions got off to their usual sloppy start, with penalties, turnovers and blown coverages allowing the Vikings to get out to a quick 10-0 lead.
On Minnesota’s first possession, the Lions’ defense allowed Jarius Wright to get wide open for a 54-yard gain, then allowed him to get open in the end zone for a three-yard touchdown. The Lions then responded on offense with Matthew Stafford throwing an off-balance, sidearm interception to set Minnesota up in field goal range for a 10-0 lead.
For most of this season the Lions have been a lot better late in games than early in games. They’ll need to be again in Minnesota today.