If not for so many teachable moments, Lions offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn probably would have burned the tape of last week's loss to the Bengals. He probably would have expunged it from the history of football.
Punt, punt, interception, turnover on downs. Those were Detroit's first four drives. Punt, punt, punt, punt. Those were its next four. Through the first three quarters, the Lions averaged 1.9 yards per play. One-point-nine. They were down 27-0 before they scored a point.
So Lynn isn't lying to himself or anyone else. He isn't searching for positives where there are none to be found. When he reviewed the tape of the Lions' offense last week, here's what he liked:
"Not a damn thing," he said Thursday. "Not a damn thing. Every game up until then, I could have come up here and told you some positives. But after that game, it’s just the way I felt. And I think our squad feels that way offensively. We’re blessed to have another opportunity on Sunday."
Part of the problem, said Lynn, was the Lions relied too much on players who barely practiced in the days prior. That may have been an issue when Jared Goff failed to connect with a wide-open T.J. Hockenson for a likely touchdown in the second quarter. Hockenson was limited throughout practice last week due to a lingering knee issue, and Goff later hinted at some miscommunication on the play in question.
"You had some guys that didn’t practice as much last week and it showed up in the game," said Lynn. "So guys that don’t practice as much, we won’t put as much on their plate (this week), regardless of who they are. That’s one of the things we’re going to do."
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Asked specifically about Hockenson, who sat out practice again Wednesday but plans to play Sunday against the Rams, Lynn said, "It wasn’t just T.J. It was a few guys, but we just started slow last week and it seemed like we never got out of that funk."
They better get out of it Sunday against Aaron Donald, Jalen Ramsey and one of the most star-studded defenses in the NFL. Or Lynn won't like a damn thing he sees for the second week in a row.
"We have yet to focus for four quarters, and we talk about this intense focus that it takes to be successful in this league," he said. I do believe we are a gritty group, but last week we did take a step backward and I think guys are eager to go play this week against a good football team and just see where we stand."