Peterson Says D'Andre Swift Is 'Pretty Upset' over Dropped Pass
The Detroit Lions were trailing, 27-23, against their rivals from the NFC North, the Chicago Bears, late in the fourth quarter of their season-opening contest.
Lions franchise passer Matthew Stafford had led his team down the field against the Bears' defense, with an opportunity to march into the end zone for the go-ahead score.
On second down with 11 seconds remaining in a tight ballgame, Stafford found an open D'Andre Swift in the end zone.
But, the rookie running back out of Georgia dropped the football, and the Lions went on to lose in heartbreaking fashion.
Teammates and Detroit head coach Matt Patricia in the postgame made sure to point out that Swift was not solely to blame for Detroit's loss.
"He (Swift) had a great night," veteran running back Adrian Peterson said after the loss.
"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."
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