Lions Hope Monday Night Game Restores the Roar After Muted Preseason
The Detroit Lions begin playing games that count when the team takes on the New York Jets on Monday Night Football. The showcase game follows a poor preseason showing for Detroit. Can the Lions make a playoff run playing in the suddenly very tough NFC North?
The Detroit Lions begin playing the games that count when the team takes on the New York Jets in the NFL’s Monday Night Football showcase.
It’s a new NFL season. But will it be the same old Detroit Lions?
The Lions are coming off of a dismal showing in the preseason.
But the writer covering the Lions for Sports Illustrated, Andy Benoit, says he believes new Lions Head Coach Matt Patricia avoided showing all the tricks he learned as a defensive coach with the perennial Super Bowl favorite New England Patriots during the preseason.
Benoit says the Lions should be a different animal in the regular season, employing all the defensive tactics in Patricia’s arsenal.
Benoit also notes the Lions face a New York Jets team featuring a highly-touted quarterback, Sam Darnold, who is still only a rookie.
The Sports Illustrated writer predicts Darnold’s inexperience could be the difference in the game.
“They’re gonna have to play around Darnold. It’ll probably be a low-scoring game. (Those are) a couple of pretty good defenses. Detroit’s got more weapons than New York though.”
Benoit predicts that if Detroit can show a semblance of a running game, the team has a realistic shot at a wild card playoff berth.
