D'Andre Swift 'Pretty Upset' About Dropped Pass at the End of Detriot Lions Loss
D'Andre Swift was on his way towards a pretty solid rookie debut in Sunday's NFL Opener. He earned his first professional rushing touchdown, had 3 catches for 15 yards, but that's unfortunately not how the game will be remembered for Swift.
With less than a minute to go, the Lions led by Matthew Stafford were driving down the field in need of a touchdown to win the game, and on second down with 11 seconds to go, Stafford threw the ball to a wide-open D'Andre Swift for what would have been a game-winning touchdown pass. The rookie dropped the ball, and the Lions went on to lose the game with the clock expiring on the next snap. And according to veteran teammates, Adrian Peterson and Matthew Stafford, Swift is pretty upset about the play.
"He had a great day out there in his first game as a rookie. He showed up -- he made plays, some good plays on different situations that he was in there on. I just pulled him to the side, and told him, 'Hey, it's all about how you respond to this. Don't let it get you down.' I can imagine how he feels in that situation. What he showed me today is that he's going to be able to help us. He's going to win games for us going into the season. So, keep your head up, man," Peterson explained.
Immediately after the game, Patricia put his arms around Swift as they both walked into the locker room, and let him know that it was not solely his fault the team lost.
Teammates also spent time talking to Swift, and attempted to lift his spirits.
"Guys were talking to him, telling him to keep his head up," Peterson said. "He's pretty upset right now. I'm glad he is, because now, it's all about how he responds to it -- realize what you can do better and move forward."
"I think he's trying to play it, man. There's so many plays in this game that caused it to go the way that it went," Matthew Stafford said postgame. "So that's one of them. Their's plays we all wish we could have back. I can't turn the ball over in the fourth quarter. There's no question about that. So it's on everybody. We're all there to pick him up."
John Maakaron of SI.com's AllLions contributed to this piece. Visit AllLions.com for all your needs regarding Detriot Lions football.
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