Revisiting Lions' Last Victory of 2019
It was many moons ago now -- before Halloween, before Thanksgiving and long before Santa came on his sleigh and delivered gifts for all the kids on his "nice" list -- when the Lions last accomplished a certain feat.
It was something that a majority of the NFL's 31 other franchises did a lot more often in 2019.
That feat: Winning a football game.
It last happened for the Lions on Oct. 27 at Ford Field against the lowly New York Giants. At the time, Detroit fans would've never expected it to be the last win recorded for the year.
It put the Lions at 3-3-1 on the season, and left open the possibility of playoff football.
That small glimmer of hope for postseason play in Detroit head man Matt Patricia's second year on the job quickly vanished, though.
Matthew Stafford started just one more game, and the Lions proceeded to lose their final nine contests with backups Jeff Driskel and David Blough under center.
A lot of ugly football ensued in those final weeks, too.
In fact, Patricia & Co. allowed 38 points, and suffered a 21-point loss at the hands of Jameis Winston and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 15, 38-17. Winston threw for 458 yards and four touchdowns in the contest.
And Blough, an undrafted rookie out of Purdue, threw for no more than 122 yards in back-to-back weeks to end the season -- 117 in Wk. 16 against the Denver Broncos and 122 in Wk. 17 against the Green Bay Packers.
Enough of the negativity for now, though -- trust me, I could go on and on with it.
Let's nip that in the butt momentarily, and take a quick look back at the Lions' last win of the 2019 campaign.
The Lions jumped out to an early 14-0 advantage in their Week 8 contest with the Giants, and led by that same score to end the first quarter.
Linebacker Devon Kennard -- via a 13-yard fumble return for touchdown -- was responsible for Detroit's first score.
On Detroit's next offensive possession, Stafford & Co. marched right down the field. They capped off a six-play, 71-yard drive with a 49-yard TD pass to Marvin Hall.
It was the start of a big day for Stafford, who finished with 342 yards, three TD passes and a lone interception.
His other two TD passes went to Kenny Golladay, who accumulated six catches for 123 yards on the day.
The Giants didn't just roll over in this one.
They responded with 13 unanswered points, and outscored the Lions, 13-3, in the second quarter.
Giants rookie passer Daniel Jones connected with fellow rookie Darius Slayton on 22-yard and 28-yard passes, respectively, for New York's two scores in the quarter.
Jones finished the contest with 322 yards through the air and four TD passes.
Lions kicker Matt Prater, meanwhile, connected on a 52-yard field goal to end the half.
It made it a 17-13 game heading into halftime.
The Lions produced the first score of the second half, via a nine-yard TD throw from Stafford to Golladay.
At the time, it looked like the Lions were in the driver's seat and that they might be able to start running away with the game.
However, they failed to get a stop on the Giants' subsequent offensive possession.
"Danny Dimes" led N.Y. on a 10-play, 78-yard drive that resulted in a two-yard TD toss to tight end Evan Engram.
It cut the deficit to five, 24-19, and the score remained that way until the start of the fourth quarter.
The Lions, at this point, needed a put-away TD drive from Stafford, and he delivered just that. He spearheaded a five-play, 80-yard drive that culminated with a 41-yard TD throw to his favorite target of the day in Golladay.
Golladay played an integral role during the drive.
He hauled in a pass that went for 18 yards prior to his TD grab that sealed the deal.
The "G-Men" did score once more, but it came a little too late with just 1:19 remaining.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Giants tried to execute an onside kick but failed, allowing Patricia & Co. to hold on for the 31-26 victory.
It wasn't the prettiest played game by Detroit, but looking back at it now, at least it resulted in a victory -- something that can't be said about the rest of the games the Lions played in '19.
And it was effectively Detroit's final "shining" moment of the season.
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