The Lions proved they're a legit playoff contender in loss to Packers

There should have been a resounding cry of support for the Detroit Lions on Tuesday morning. Matt Patricia’s Lions (2-2-1) should be 3-1-1 and they should have upset the Packers in Green Bay. And we should be talking about how the Lions are among the NFL’s best.

Even though the officials robbed the Lions of a win — and, in turn, of these storylines — I’m going to write about the Detroit and Patricia anyway.

Media members in Detroit were dubious of Patricia from the start when the Lions hired him in 2018. He was reportedly in danger of losing his players in training camp last year. His gimmicky look — with a pencil over his ear — felt like a bit too much. (We get it: You’re a rocket scientist.) And of course, he was a Bill Belichick product. Belichick’s coaching tree is littered with rotten apples that fell too far from the tree, perhaps because their successes are due to Belichick and not their own merits. When Patricia began barking at media members in 2018 and vehemently defending practicing in the snow, he seemed to be doing his Belichick impression, one that would surely fail.

Patricia has continued that Belichick impression. But now, it’s happening where it counts: on the field. Paricia’s week-to-week game plan (which is the way Belichick works) is beginning to look coherent. The Lions coach is properly anticipating and challenging each opponent’s strengths — he’s making offenses uncomfortable in many of the same ways the Belichick does. Step 1: Eliminate your opponent’s top option. Step 2: Use smart and versatile players to disguise what you’re doing on a play-to-play basis.

Before the officials began interfering with the Lions’ victory, Patricia and the Lions were holding Aaron Rodgers to 13 points through 56 minutes. Obviously, football is a 60-minute game and obviously those final four minutes are what cost the Lions the win. But I’d argue that the officials were to blame for Detroit’s loss — and not the Lions. The officials errantly flagged the Lions for illegal-use-of-hands penalties on third down in each of the Packers’ final two drives — that gave Green Bay a much easier path to victory. Then there was Allen Lazard’s fourth-quarter touchdown, which wasn’t a touchdown (because he was down before the line) and the seemingly one-sided approach to pass-interference penalties. Some of the officiating criticism is undue, but it’s very easy to imagine Patricia’s Lions winning with better officiating.

The performance came just weeks after Patricia kept the scoreline close against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Lions’ defensive game plan may have come up short, but Detroit executed extremely well and showed promise, as they held the offense to just 27 points. It may not look as impressive in recent weeks, after the Chiefs have stumbled against the Colts and Texans. But Patrick Mahomes’ ankle injury likely has something to do with Kansas City’s offensive issues.

The good news for the Lions is that they have a handful of favorable matchups in the coming weeks to make up ground in the NFC North. The Lions get the Minnesota Vikings (whose passing resurgence is a mirage because of poor competition), the New York Giants and the Oakland Raiders (who are sneakily good but probably not as sneakily good as the Lions). Detroit could easily rip off a three-game winning streak.

Considering Patricia’s history of overcoming slow starts in New England, where the Patriots went 2-2 before winning Super Bowl XLIX, there’s reason for optimism. So perhaps in three weeks, the Lions will get some national buzz and the credit they’re due.